Hokies Fall to Oklahoma State in Battle of Bats
Friday morning, the No. 5 Oklahoma State Cowgirls defeated the No. 9 Virginia Tech Hokies 10-9 in a strong offensive showing at the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational.
Before facing Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech was a perfect 5-0 this season with three shutouts, allowing just three runs on the year. The Hokies’ lights-out pitching has been arguably the biggest piece of their success during the last few seasons, closing out last year with a 46-9 record.
The Hokies started off hot with a two-run homer by junior Madison Hanson in the second inning to bring in Maija Louko. The Cowgirls soon answered with their own two-run homer by Micaela Wark to tie up the game in the second inning.
Oklahoma State took over the game in the fourth inning, bringing in a whopping six runs to take a handsome 3-9 lead. Chyenne Factor set the bats ablaze to start the fourth with a single up the middle, followed by Wark with a double. Megan Bloodworth, Rachel Becker, and Tallen Edwards continued the hot streak with singles of their own, but it was Kiley Naomi’s first-pitch bomb to left field that stole the show, bringing in Becker and Edwards for three RBI’s.
Senior Jayme Bailey continued the heavy hitting with her own three RBI shot over the right-center fence to bring the game back within reach for Virginia Tech during the fifth to make it a 6-9 ballgame. The momentum carried over into the last two innings as the Hokies rallied for three more clutch runs to tie up the game going into the bottom of the seventh.
Factor led off the seventh with a single to right, then advanced to second as Wark grounded out to shortstop. Pinch hitter Katie Lott then came in to close out the game with a walk-off double in the right-center gap to drive in Factor, putting an end to Virginia Tech’s perfect start to the season.
The top-ten matchup was riddled with big hits on both sides, totaling eight home runs during the game.
The Hokies will continue with their five-game stint in Clearwater, Florida against the Nebraska Cornhuskers today at 4 p.m. They’ll then play Saturday against No. 2 UCLA and No. 10 Arizona, and Sunday against South Florida to close out the weekend.
