No. 19 virginiA TECH TAKES FIRST GAME OF WEEKEND SERIES AGAINST DUKE

Colby Talley

April 3, 2021

DURHAM, N.C. - No. 19 Virginia Tech picked up arguably its most impressive win of the season on Friday as it defeated No. 12 Duke 4-1 on the road.

The Hokies (21-5, 14-5 ACC) and the Blue Devils (26-4, 14-4 ACC) both came into the first game of the weekend series as two of the top teams in the conference, sitting in third and fourth in the standings, respectively.

Additionally, the Blue Devils came into this game looking to rebound from their first back-to-back losses of the season at the hands of Clemson.

This game prominently showcased the strength of the pitching on both teams as the Hokies turned to their ace Keely Rochard and the Blue Devils gave the nod to Peyton St. George.

Both Rochard and St. George rank in the top ten of the ACC in ERA and are the two best pitchers in the opposing batting average.

The first offense of the game came when Hokies infielder Kelsey Bennett hit a triple to left field to lead off the top of the second inning. Then, Hokies outfielder Darby Trull made it to second base with a walk and a steal.

From there, a sacrifice fly from Emma Ritter and a double from Cana Davis brought in both runners to give the Hokies a 2-0 lead.

The Blue Devils finally responded in the fourth inning when infielder Kristina Foreman got on base after being hit with a pitch. After advancing to second base on a groundout, Foreman scored on a deep sacrifice fly by Gisele Tapia, making the score 2-1.

Duke had a chance to tie the game in the same inning when infielder Deja Davis got on base with a single and advanced to third base on a wild pitch, but Rochard struck out Francesca Frelick to end the inning.

Rochard’s pitching with runners in scoring was what kept the Hokies ahead for most of the game. The Blue Devils got runners in scoring position in every inning after the fourth, but Rochard managed to keep all of them at bay.

The Hokies supplemented their lead in the seventh inning with RBIs from Grace Chavez and Jayme Bailey.

In the bottom of the inning, the Blue Devils got two runners in scoring position with Formman representing the tying run in the batter's box. After a hard-fought six-pitch at-bat, Rochard struck out Foreman to clinch the game for the Hokies.

The weekend series will continue on Saturday with a doubleheader at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.