Newton's First Law of Inertia Giveth and Taketh For Virginia Tech Softball

Momentum is a funny thing. It can work for you or work against you. It embodies Newton’s First Law of Motion: Inertia - once an object starts in motion, it will stay in motion until an outside force stops it. 

Virginia Tech Head Coach Pete D’Amour talked after the ACC Championship game about how the post-season is all about facing good pitching, which means hits may be hard to come by. He has emphasized to both his players and the media that the key in the regionals would be to maximize opportunities.

The 17th-seeded Hokies traveled to the 2026 NCAA Softball Baton Rouge regional hosted by LSU with the goal of advancing to the Super Regionals and, ultimately, the World Series in Oklahoma. Virginia Tech kicked off its Regional journey with a round one game on Friday against the Jaguars of South Alabama.  

FIRST ROUND REGIONAL GAME:  VIRGINIA TECH  6,  SOUTH ALABAMA  0

The Jaguars had won the Sun Belt Conference Softball Championship as the 5th seed with wins over three higher-seeded opponents.  Earning the Sun Belt’s automatic bid, the Jaguars were making their seventh NCAA Regional appearance in program history, the first since 2015.

South Alabama junior pitcher Ryley Harrison made the start for the Jaguars against the Hokies.  She had earned all three tournament wins, including pitching two complete games and throwing 25 strikeouts across 16 innings, to win the Sun Belt Tournament Most Outstanding Player.

Indeed, for much of the first three innings, Virginia Tech’s batters could not generate much offense against Harrison as they tended to get under the ball for popouts or flyouts.  Even when left fielder Nora Abromavage reached when South Alabama’s first baseman muffed a throw to first, the Hokies could not bring Abromavage around. In the second inning, Harrison induced two strikeouts and a foul out.

ACC Freshman of the Year Bree Carrico got the start for Virginia Tech. There was concern that Carrico had strained her forearm in the Duke game in the ACC Championship tournament, but both she and D’Amour indicated she was fine. She was!

South Alabama got a runner on in each of the first four innings, but Carrico and the defense behind her snuffed out the threat. Second baseman Rachel Castine scooped the lead-off grounder to Michelle Chatfield for the first out. After a first-pitch double to the left-center gap, Carrico got the next two batters to pop out or ground out. 

In the second inning, Carrico walked the lead off batter, who was replaced by pinchrunner Gracie McDonald m, who stole second. After getting the next batter to foul out, Carrico induced another foul popup that MIchelle Chatfield ranged over toward the dugout to get the out. She then alertly threw across the diamond to third to get the speedy McDaniel out on a nice tag by third baseman Jordan Lynch. The nifty double play got the Hokies out of the inning unscathed.

Coach D'Amour said that the good thing about the play was “that she [Chatfield] caught it and was ready to throw right away. If she hesitated just a split second, the kid would be safe at third. A heads up play by her. She's a great first baseman, defensively.”

Carrico cruised through the third inning. She struck out the first two batters looking but then gave up a single. She appeared to shake her arm a little after some of the pitches, which brought a mound visit from the Hokies’ pitching coach.  After indicating she was good, Carrico got the final batter in the inning to fly out to left field.

The fourth inning was more of the same. After giving up a 2-out full-count walk, Carrico struck out the final batter of the inning to calmly end the Jaguars’ threat.

The Virginia Tech offense woke up in the bottom of the third. Freshman right fielder Gaby Mizelle displayed great plate discipline in earning a walk. Short stop Annika Rohs followed with a nice single through the left side to put two runners on the basepaths. With one out, Lynch then beat out an infield throw when South Alabama’s first baseman mishandled the throw.

Designated player Kylie came up two batters later with the bases loaded and two outs.  She swung at and missed the first two pitches to go down 0-2 and had to protect the plate. Aldridge, who has struck out only five times all season, drew a ball and then cranked the next pitch over the right-center field wall for a grand slam that gave the Hokies a 4-0 lead. In fact, her home run knocked a section of the scoreboard out of commission, but proved Coach D’Anour correct: maximize your swings and hit the ball hard even in the face of limited at bats and something good can happen.

When asked about the grand slam, her 11th home run of the season, Aldirdge said, “I was trying to put the ball in play. I swung and missed at the same pitch two times in a row, so I kind of figured that was what I was going to get when it got to the 1-2 count. I kind of sold out for that pitch and I happened to connect with it.”

Regarding striking out so little, especially when she faces a 2-strike out, Aldridge said, "Just trying to shorten up my stride and just looking for that pitch, so it worked out. She is a great pitcher, and I did a good job because my teammates were on base in front of me. Being able to pass the bat.”

Momentum has a way of picking up steam once the door is open. Catcher Zoe Yaeger came to the plate with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning and slammed the first pitch she saw over the left field wall for her 10th home run of the year. 

It was a good moment for Yaeger who had expressed earlier in the season that she had not hit well in the month of March. “She’s the most underrated player on our team, the most underrated. You look at her stats, and what is it, .320 – .330. She went through a spell where probably hit eight balls right at people that were line drives. So that .330 going through is .380,” Coach D’Amour expressed. “One thing with her is to keep fighting. She might have expressed frustrations, but she is a smart player. When you play softball, you don’t control what happens once you hit the ball. So, just stick with it, get through those doldrums, as we call them, and hit balls hard. I can’t say it enough. She’s the most underrated player on our team and the most underrated in the country, I think.” 

Staked to a 5-0 lead the Hokies brought in freshman pitcher Avery Layton in relief of Carrico to start the fifth inning. Beyond giving up only two hits, South Alabama could not get a bead on Layton. She faced eleven batters over three innings and looked like the dominant pitcher that shut down Florida State in the ACC Championship game.  Indeed, she did not give up a walk and struck out four batters.

The Hokies tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Aldridge hit the ball hard again for a lead-off single and then gave way to pinchrunner Sara McNelly. Two batters later, Castine singled into the shortstop hole to easily reach first base ahead of the throw. Yaeger, the only other hitter besides Aldridge to get two hits in the game, dropped the ball into left field to score McNelly from second and make it 6-0.

Bree Carrico secured the win to go 15-1 on the season and lower her ERA to 1.57. She only gave up two hits and two walks, while striking out three. Regarding her performance, “I felt good. I think just going out there and competing and throwing strikes and how my defense played was a big part of it,” Carrico said. “I think just throwing strikes and letting my defense work. Just getting ahead of batters, I think, was a big thing.”

Avery Layton earned her second save of the year with her three inning performance: she gave up two hits and no walks, while striking out four.

Regarding Layton, D’Amour said, “Avery came in, throwing hard, around the strike zone. Didn't have any walks. She’s more comfortable throwing at this level. That’s the big part of it. She’s always had great stuff, highly touted recruit, getting her opportunities now. This is the kid we recruited. I’m not surprised by it. She’s got good stuff, low 70s, up and down, good change-up. Just more comfortable as a freshman.”

Ever since the ACC Championship tournament, hits and runs have been hard to come by. Only two-three players have registered the run-scoring plays. Even the five runs against Duke were on four hits. D’Amour commented that South Alabama’s Harrison is a good pitcher and that it is “unrealistic to think that you can get that many hits off a pitcher like that. So if we can maximize on the swings, it really helps. So there is no freaking out anything or like that. Just kind of pass the bat and let the next one go to work.”

On the flip side, Virginia Tech has been lights out. The three main pitchers - Carrico, Emma Mazzarone, and Avery Layton - have only given up seven runs in the last seven games. The key has been to limit walks and hit by pitches, and just continue to make pitches and get outs.

Notables:

• Virginia Tech has allowed just seven runs in its past seven games.
• Kylie Aldridge hit her 11th home run of the year and the first grand slam of her career.
• Zoe Yaeger hit her 10th home run of the season to make it six Hokies who have hit double-digit home runs this season.
• Bree Carrico won to improve her record to 15-1.
• Avery Layton earned her second save of the season.

REGIONAL WINNERS GAME:   VIRGINIA TECH  0,  LSU  8

Regional host No. 18 LSU (38-17, 13-11 SEC) defeated Akron Friday night by an 8-0 score in 5 innings to earn a date with Virginia Tech (47-10, 18-6 ACC). The winner of this game would advance to the regional final on Sunday. The loser would have to play later Saturday night and then win two more games on Sunday to advance out of the regional.

Emma Mazzarone got the start and looked iffy from the beginning. LSU’s lead off hitter Jalie Lassiter reached via a single into right field and the third batter walked on four straight pitches to put two on with one out.. Fortunately, the next batter lined out straight to shortstop Annika Rohs who got the final out at second before the runner could scramble back.

Mazzarone struggled even more in the second inning. She walked the lead-off batter on a full count, throwing three straight balls after getting ahead 1-2. She grooved the next pitch to Tiger catcher Maci Bergerson, who drilled a long ball over the center field fence to give LSU the quick 2-0 lead.  Mazzarone walked the next three batters, two of them on 3-1 and 3-0 counts. That was it for Mazzarone.

The Hokies brought in freshman Avery Layton to stop the bleeding.  Facing bases loaded and no outs, Layton gave up a sacrifice fly to right field that brought in the runner and gave LSU a 3-0 lead. After that, Layton settled in, getting the last two outs with outfield flyouts.

Meanwhile, the Hokie bats fell into a deep slumber through the first several innings.  Lead off hitter center fielder Addison Foster gave a pitch a long ride to near the wall for an out, but things went quiet.  Besides first baseman Michelle Chatfield reaching by way of an error in the second, LSU’s pitcher Cece Cellura retired 9 of the first 10 batters she faced, with few of the hits representing actual danger for LSU.

Third baseman Jordan Lynch broke up Cellura’s no-hitter in the top of the fourth by beating out a throw to first from LSU’s shortstop ranging to her left. Unfortunately, nothing came of the base runner as the next two batters flew out to center and hit into a double play. 

The rest of the game followed suit. After a lead-off single by Chatfield in the top of the fifth, the rest of the side went down quietly. Rohs led off the sixth with a walk, but then LSU stifled Virginia Tech’s top of the lineup again.

LSU slowly added its lead over the rest of the game. Layton got the first two outs in the bottom of the fourth, but then gave up a full-count walk and a smoked double down the left field line that scored another run to make it 4-0.

Layton issued two walks between a ground out to start the bottom of the sixth inning to put two runners on. A wild pitch moved the runners to second and third before a single up the middle scored the runner on third; the throw allowed the two runners to move into scoring position. 

The Hokies brought on Sophie Kleiman, who had made 16 appearances all year. Unfortunately, a fielding error and a sacrifice fly in the next two at bats allowed two more runs to score to give LSU a 7-0 lead. With a runner at third, Kleiman issued another walk and then gave up a single through the left side to score another run and give LSU the 8-0 run-rule victory.

The score actually could have been worse if not for sensational catches at the walls by Nora Abromavage and Addison Foster to keep LSU from adding more runs.

PITCHING ISSUES:

Emma Mazzarone lasted one full inning and faced 9 batters, giving up 2 hits, 2 earned runs, and 5 walks while striking just one.  She took the loss to go 16-6 on the season. 

When asked about Mazzarone’s struggle to hit the strike zone, Coach D’Amour emphasized that Mazzarone has pitched well all year and has to shake it off “Might have been a mental thing. I don't know. Maybe the game got too fast for her. Maybe the crowd,” he said. “But it really doesn't matter. She's thrown well all year in environments similar to this. So you've just got to shake it off and get ready to throw tomorrow or tonight, whenever we play.”

Avery Layton was valiant in relief, pitching 4.1 innings. She started well before giving up the 5 hits, 4 runs, 3 earned runs, and 3 walks as the game went along.  Sophie Kleiman got one out and gave up 1 hit, 1 walk, and the  un-earned run that ended the game.

Virginia Tech’s pitchers, in general, were not sharp. They issued 9 walks, including the 5 by Mazzarone, and LSU made the Hokies pay for nearly every free pass. Coach D’Amour commented that the pitchers need to pound the strike zone more and let the defense make plays. “Didn't play clean today. I think we had nine walks,” he said. “So I think we've just got to pound the strike zone and make our defense, let them work and get quick innings. And if people hit the ball, I'm fine with that. But yeah, just fill it up a little bit more.”

Regarding Mazzarone and Layton’s performances, Zoe Yaeger said, “I'm sure they'll tell you that they didn't do a great job. I know Maz wants that one back. She'll get her opportunity tomorrow and she'll be ready. Avery did a great job. I wish we could have put up some runs for her. But I didn't think it was a bad job at all by her.”

OFFENSIVE  DOLDRUMS:

The bats were silenced. This was the first time Virginia Tech has been shutout since the 12-0 loss to Florida in the 2022 Regional. Coach D’Amour commented during the broadcast that he felt the batters were behind in their swings; it never felt like they were on time. 

Jordan Lynch indicated that Cellura threw alot of strikes pounding the zone. The issue, according the Lynch, was that the Hokies hit balls hard, “just right at people.” She emphasized that Virginia Tech “got three lead-off runners on base, then we hit balls hard after that, and they happened to make the play.”

Coach D’Amour echoed this in saying, “And I thought what the kids said was right, the first at-bat of the game, Addy crushed one. Then you have Rachel hit one hard and Kylie hit one hard and Michelle. It's not just like we laid down. We lit some balls hard. We've just gotta get through.”

When asked if there is anything the pitching coach can do to help when there are control issues, or is it just about execution, D’Amour said, “Yeah, I would say there is if our season wasn't great. Our kids have thrown well. They've thrown well the last two weeks. So it's more of a reset and let's go out and see what happens. You can ask that about me, too, what's the hitting coach have to do, because you got two hits today? Well, not much. I mean, our record's pretty good offensively. It's more of a mental thing. Just reset. We know we can pitch. We can hit. We can defend. Just take a shower and try to do it tomorrow or tonight.”

NEED TO REGROUP:

Virginia Tech now enters the elimination bracket and has to play Akron Saturday evening after the Zips defeated South Alabama to keep their season alive.  In order to win the Regional, the Hokies would have to win three games in a row, including taking two from LSU on Sunday if they defeat Akron.

To do that, the Hokies need to regroup. They won’t dwell on it, per Lynch, but will “look at what’s ahead of us and go give the next team our best. Zoe Yaeger talked about the Virginia 2022 team as inspiration as that team “lost on Saturday, won three games in a row to make it to Super Regionals. So, I don’t see why we can’t do that either.”

Noteables:

• This was the first time Virginia Tech has been shutout since the 12-0 loss to Florida in the 2022 Regional.
• Emma Mazzarone took the loss to go 16-6 on the season.

ELIMINATION GAME: VIRGINIA TECH 7,  AKRON  6

SIXTH-SEVENTH INNINGS KEY TO SAVING VIRGINIA TECH’S SEASON

Needing a win to keep their season alive, the Hokies faced Akron in the second elimination game of the day. 

Emma Mazzarrone started off the game. After struggling with command and exiting the LSU game early, this was a good bounce back opportunity for the Virginia Tech ace.  She cruised through the first three innings. The lead off batters singled to get on base in both the first and second innings, but, in each case, she erased the threats with a double play, foul outs, and routine ground outs.  She only went to a full-count twice in the first two innings and did not walk her first batter until the third inning. In fact, she didn’t allow more than one base runner until a walk and a single put two on in the third before striking out the final batter of the inning. Again, Mazzarone was comfortably in control going into the fourth inning.

Akron’s Madie Jamrog, who had pitched earlier in the day, took the mound against Virginia Tech. After two quiet innings, Virginia Tech struck for a run first in the top of the third inning.  With one out, right fielder Gaby Mizelle and shortstop Annika Rohs both singled, with Mizelle moving to third on Rohs’ knock to right field. Leadoff center fielder Addison Foster grounded out to second base for a fielder’s choice that brought home Mizelle for the 1-0 Hokie lead.

The game unraveled for Mazzarone and Virginia Tech in the fourth inning. She walked two of the first three batters. It should be noted that Mazzarone was not pitching poorly. Three of the four ball calls for the first walk were close. Her balls in the second walk were more off. It is easy to say she had control issues, but she was pitching well.

With one out, Akron designated player Kylie Bailey hit a grounder to third baseman Jordan Lynch that had double play written all over it. Unfortunately, it took a bad hop off her shoulder for an error that loaded the bases. The next batter, left fielder Hailey Glass, knocked a single into right field to tie the game up a 1-1.  With the bases still loaded, right fielder Andrea Day sent her first pitch past Lynch at third into left field to bring home another run and give the Zips the 2-1 lead.

That was it for Mazzarone. Virginia Tech brought in Bree Carrico to put out the fire.  With the bases still loaded and one out, Carrico got the first batter to fly out to right field, too shallow to allow the baserunner at third to tag up. 

The game then threatened to get away from the Hokies. Carrico induced a sharp grounder to Lynch. She pinned the ball and threw to first to get the final out. However, the throw was rushed into the dirt, bouncing past first baseman Michelle Chatfield into the netting. She skied her throw to third, and two runners scored to make it 4-1. The umpires and a review deemed that only two runs scored, not a fifth, which proved to help Virginia Tech in the long run.

Akron padded its lead in the bottom of the fifth when Carrico allowed a single up the middle and a walk. With two outs, Akron hit a long ball to left field that Lyla Blackwell dove to catch. She had it in her glove, but the impact with the ground dislodged the ball. Two more runs scored to give Akron a 6-1 lead and put Virginia Tech dangerously close to being eliminated.

That was also because the Hokies were doing nothing on offense against Jamrog ever since their first score.  Besides a lone single by second baseman Rachel Castine in the top of the fifth, the Hokies went down in order for three straight innings. Through the end of the sixth inning, Virginia Tech had managed three hits, with so many outs being harmless popouts and ground outs to the infield.

Everything changed in the bottom of the sixth inning.

THE COMEBACK:

Freshman Avery Layton, who has had good showings toward the end of the season, came on to pitch the bottom of the sixth inning. She immediately ran into problems.  Akron led off the inning with a single through the left side, and then Layton loaded the bases with two consecutive walks. With no outs, Akron was poised to put the game away.  Three  more runs would have ended the game right then due a potential run-rule.

Unfazed, Layton struck out the next three batters, all swinging to keep the deficit at five runs.

Down to its final three outs, Virginia Tech had to respond in the top of seventh or see the best season in school history end.

Designated player Kylie Aldridge, leading off the inning, responded with a strong drive that went over the Akron center fielder’s head to the wall for a double that gave air to the Hokie offense.

Michelle Chatfield then pounded the first pitch from Jamrog over the center field wall for a 2-RBI home run that brought Virginia Tech within 6-3. The momentum started to shift, though Akron still had the 3-score lead.

Rachel Castine sent a 2-2 pitch past a diving shortstop to get on first with no outs. This brought a mound visit from the Akron pitching coach, but the Zips opted to leave Jamrog in as their best option to close out the game.

Catcher Zoe Yaeger followed Castine with a liner to the left-center gap. Akron’s center fielder raced over and dove but could not control the catch. It bounced away. Castine, who was likely held up at first in case of the possible catch, slid into second as the throw came in. The initial ruling was safe. Akron head coach Craig Nicholson challenged the call because video appeared to show the second baseman’s foot alongside the bag, which would have been good for a force out; however, review confirmed the safe call with her foot coming off enough to not complete the play.

With two runners on and no outs, freshman center fielder Gaby Mizelle fell behind 0-2 but then knocked a high bouncing ball over the pitcher and past the second base bag to bring home Castine and close the gap to 6-4.  Jordan Bishop, pinchrunning for Yaeger, went to third.

Annika Rohs worked a 2-1 count before bouncing a hit over third base to plate Bishop and cut the Akron lead to 6-5. 

With runners on first and second with no outs, lead off center fielder Addison Foster capped the dramatic comeback. The transfer from Stetson, who wanted to compete at the Power 4 level,  hit a huge bomb for her new program record 19th double to the left-center gap. Mizelle and Rohs both scored to give Virginia Tech a 7-6 lead. 

The Hokies loaded the bases again with two outs with the potential to add insurance runs, but Jamrog was able to get out of the inning. Nevertheless, the damage was done. Newton’s First Law of Inertia held true. Once an object starts in motion, it will stay in motion until an outside force stops it.  The Hokie train gathered momentum to score 5 runs in the top of the sixth to save its season.

There was still more work to do, though, to complete the comeback. Akron still had the bottom of the seventh inning to respond.  Avery Layton shut the door on the Akron.  She struck out the first two batters swinging to make it five batters in row that she sat down via the strike out. The third batter gave Akron hope as she reached when Rohs made an amazing play in the hole at short but could not get the ball to first in time.  Nevertheless, Layton got the final batter to fly weakly out to Mizelle in shallow right field to seal the game.  Comeback complete.

Notables (Information provided by Virginia Tech Athletics)

• Michelle Chatfield hit her 15th home run of the season.
• Addison Foster hit her 19th double of the year, breaking the program single season record. She also led Virginia Tech with three RBIs.
• Avery Layton earned the win to go 9-2 on the season.
• With the win, Virginia Tech advanced to its sixth Regional Final under head coach Pete D’Amour.
• Virginia Tech’s six-inning comeback is the largest comeback win of the season,
• The win marks Tech’s first comeback win of five or more runs since March 5, 2016 at NC State.
• In the last 25 NCAA Tournaments, teams are 4-858 when trailing by four or more runs entering the seventh inning. Tech made it 5-858.
• Coach D’Amour earned his 400th career win.

ANATOMY OF A COMEBACK:

The Hokies struggled both at the plate and on the mound against LSU and for six innings against Akron. Indeed, Virginia Tech had only managed three hits through six innings against the Zips. 

What changed?

Going into the seventh, Coach D’Amour indicated that he asked the team how many runs Texas Tech scored in the seventh earlier in the day when it came back from down eight to ultimately win its game. He said “They all knew, and I said that's easy. Go ahead and let it fly and score some runs.”

Did the players feel the pressure down to their final three outs going into the seventh? Annika Rohs said, “I mean, there's going to be pressure when it could be your last game. That's just how it is. We just knew if we pressed, we weren't going to have success. So, we just played loose and let the ball come to us and had that mindset, and it really worked for us in the seventh.”

Rohs added, “We can come back against any team, and it just happened that it took us till the seventh, which is okay, because we all came together and really fought for each other in that last inning. It wasn't just one person. We needed the whole team, and everyone stepped up.”

“Everyone was coming together. The bench was like, you guys, we've all got this. We just need runners," she said. "Just taking it one pitch at a time, and I think that was kind of the conversation. Like, you can't hit - how many runs were we down? Six, five? You can't hit a five-run home run with no one on base. We needed runners and we kept moving people over, and that was what we were talking about.”

Michelle Chatfield echoed that thought. “I think we know as long as there's an out left, we can score. And we showed that today. We had three outs left, and we didn't let that stop us,” she said. “I think we thought we're not done yet. This isn't our last game, we don't want it to be our last game, so we'll see what we can do.”

Of course, the bats came alive with Aldridge’s double and Chatfield’s two-run home run. When asked about her home run, Chatfield said she was “Just looking middle and trying to hit it hard. Good things happen. We hit the ball so many times today it just didn't fall. It's got to fall eventually. Just keep doing what we're doing and go at 'em.”

The comeback would have been more difficult had it not been for freshman Avery Layton’s performance in the final two frames to prevent Akron from adding to its lead.

Rohs described Layton’s performance as “Amazing. We all had her back. Just do you, trust your stuff, we've got your back if you need it. When you strike out five in a row, we're cheering for her, and we've got her back. And it's amazing to see how she's grown through her collegiate career so far.”

D’Amour praised Layton. “She just came in and made pitches. That's all we asked of her. That's all you ask of anybody, go in there and do your best,” he said. “Seemed to get better the longer the game went. I thought she was throwing really well in the last inning. So, just maturity and just go out and make pitches.”  One small note: when Layton loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth inning, D’Amour did not think of taking her out.

NEXT UP:  LSU on Sunday. For Virginia Tech to advance out of the Regional, Virginia Tech will have to win two games. The mindset though, according to D’Amour, is “We got to Sunday. So when you get to Sunday, you wake up and see how you feel and try to continue what we did that seventh inning in the first inning tomorrow. Our kids are in a good spot. They know it's an opening-day mindset. We've got to win first. But you don't think about winning the first, you think about playing well at the start of the game. So we'll get rest tonight and get ready to play tomorrow.”

REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP:  VIRGINIA TECH  2,  LSU  7

Virginia Tech looked to carry its momentum from the comeback over Akron into Sunday’s first game against LSU. Indeed, the Hokie hitters were aggressive from the start. Center fielder Addison Foster led off the game with a long double that dropped down the left field line. Third baseman Jordan Lynch singled down the right field line to bring Foster home and give Virginia Tech a 1-0 lead.

Kylie Aldridge, starting at catcher for the game, hammered a long fly ball to right field that would have cleared the fence had not the wind kept the ball in the park. That would be a theme for the Hokies in the game.

In the second inning, shortstop Annika Rohs singled up the middle with two outs. Foster then hit a hard grounder toward second and beat the throw to reach first safely; Rohs came flying around home safely ahead of the first baseman’s toss to the catcher. Just like that, the Hokies had built a 2-0 lead after two innings.

Bree Carrico earned the start for Virginia Tech and pitched well to begin the game. Even when LSU got two runners on in the first inning, she got the final batter on a nice play by Rohs. After giving up a single in the second inning, a line out to shortstop and flyout to center field got her out of trouble.

The game turned in the third inning. LSU’s Jaila Lassiter led off the frame with a solo home run to left field to cut the lead to 2-1. Carrico then allowed a one-out single to third base. She started to show fatigue, and LSU seemed to sit on her change up as she walked the next batter on a 3-0 count. LSU struck with two outs. A single through the left side brought home two runs to give LSU a 3-2 lead. Another single put a second runner on before a double scored another run for the Tigers. Emma Mazzarone came in for Carrico and pitched the Hokies out of the inning. 

Trailing 4-2 going into the bottom of the third was nothing to panic about. Unfortunately, just as Newton’s Law of Inertia helped Virginia Tech its comeback against Akron, it turned in the opposite direction for the Hokies. LSU pitcher Paytn Monticelli set down 15 straight batters from the third to the end of the game (16 straight including the final out of the second) as the Hokies lost momentum completely. 

There were moments such as Addison Foster riding a long ball to the wall that the LSU right fielder caught while running into the wall, but no batter reached base again.

Meanwhile, LSU added to its lead in the fifth and sixth innings. In the fifth, Mazzarone walked two batters on full-count and then allowed a one-out single to shortstop in which Rohs knocked down but could not make a play that scored a run. The next batter reached on a fielder’s choice that brought home another run to make it 6-2.

Virginia Tech brought in Avery Layton who got out of the fifth. However, LSU doubled and singled to put two more runners on with no outs to start the sixth inning. After getting the next two batters out, it looked like the Hokies would get out of the inning. However, a liner to third bounced off the glove allowing a score to make the final margin 7-2.

Notables:

• Addison Foster hit her 20th double of the season, extending her own program record. Per the Virginia Tech Athletics Information Director, Foster finished the season with 191 career hits, 9 away from 200.
• Bree Carrico suffered her second loss of the season to end the season with a 15-2 record and a 1.88 ERA.
• Virginia Tech finished the season with a 48-12 record, the most wins in a season under Coach D’Amour.

POST-GAME THOUGHTS:

In the post-game media session, Kylie Aldridge and Michelle Chatfield felt like they were ready and had momentum coming into the game. “I felt like we took our hitting in and kind of roll with punches and hit the ball as hard as we could,” she said. “I thought we did a good job of taking whatever we had from last night into this morning.”

Chatfield agreed, “I think we started off hot like we wanted to. We went at them from the beginning. We did what we could and that paid off at the start.”

They felt like they put on good swings even if the hits didn’t fall. “I think we definitely put on the swings we wanted to,” Chatfield said. “To start, I mean, we hit a lot of hard balls right at people. They don’t fall. Everyone knows the wind here is tough. Those balls won’t fall. Kylie [Adridge] had one in the first inning that should have gone out maybe on a different field, but that is how the ball rolls. We had good swings to start.”

When asked what made LSU the better team this weekend, Chatfield challenged that notion, “I don’t know if I would call one team better than the other. I think they played well this weekend, and we did what we could and we came up short.”

Coach D’Amour agreed.”They just played cleaner. Doesn't necessarily mean, you know, they ran us out of the building. They played cleaner,” he said. “Had some breaks, played well. So just like what Michelle said, you never think that somebody's just better. The score indicates that. But, yeah, I thought we hung in there with them.”

They just faced a pitcher who, according to D’Amour, was “Mixing speeds. Didn't throw too much over the plate. I think we got a little bit too aggressive at the end trying to get a five-run homer. But I'd rather have our kids be more aggressive than passive. SoI can't knock our kids for that.But she's a good pitcher. Two and a half ERA in this conference is saying something.”

KYLIE ALDRIDGE:

Now that her career has come to a close, Kylie Aldridge reflected emotionally on time at Virginia Tech, “I'll definitely just thank the coaches for everything they've given me and for the opportunity. They stuck with me my freshman year, which is kind of something I didn't know if I'd necessarily expect. I thank the coaches and the players here because there's nothing likeVirginia Tech.”

She said, “I’m proud of the way I was able to grow from my freshman year to now. I didn't really have great offensive stats my freshman or really my sophomore year, just being able to really develop as a player on and off the field, I think, really helped me.”

Coach D’Amour emphasized Kylie’s importance to the program, “I think she's a little bit too modest. Halfway through her freshman year she was struggling offensively, and then she just kind of took off. I don't know what her average or whatever her sophomore year, but it's better than her freshman year. And got better and better, just a great kid. Great ambassador for our program.Talking about a kid that slapped, and she's leaving here probably 30, 40 homers. I mean, just a good player. Sad to see her go.”

LOOKING AHEAD

Chatfield expressed optimism for next year, “Absolutely. I mean, on to the next. I think we're all really excited to get back at it already. Have the summer and we'll go back at it, and we're all still here. Still having fun. I think it will be good.”

Coach D’Amour was asked about Addison Foster. “Good hitter. She's been a good hitter all year. I think she might have broke the all-time doubles record in a season today,” he explained.  “So just a fighter like the rest of our kids. Wants the next at-bat. I'm glad we have her.”

In regards to the learning experience young pitchers Bree Carrico and Avery Layton gained this season, D’Amour said, “Bree didn't throw at all last year, and First Team All-Conference I believe in a really good league. You've got Avery that got better and better and better as the year went on.I think the experience that they threw or they had this weekend throwing will just help them get better. You know what's expected of you now. And now it's, do you try to keep getting better, or is it I'm already good? I don't see that in them. The bad taste in our mouth right now is going to help them in the summer.”

After winning the most games ever (48) under Coach D’Amour and making it to the seventh straight NCAA Regional and its sixth Regional Final, what is next. According to Coach D’Amour, the baseline for the program is Regionals. What will it take to move past Regional?  D’Amour emphasized two key needs:

“Number one, you've got to play better. You play well and there's a better outcome. But I think it goes to how do we get to be home instead of on the road? It's a big deal. And it's really challenging in our league. Just your geographic location to get yourself in a position, regardless of how many games that you win, to be playing at home for the last two weekends of the year.So we'll crunch the numbers. I think as far as ability goes,we're one of the most talented teams in the country. And what can we do to put ourselves in a position, if anything,that we can be at home the last two weekends of the year.”

He does not see this year’s team as a transition year and is optimistic looking ahead:

“No, I don't see it as a transition. I mean, I think you look at eight years that I've been here, eight or seven Regionals -- because '20 doesn't count -- that's what we do. We try to make our players better.And I think Coach Johnson said it at the end. Everybody's going to feel bad except for one team. We're always fighting to win the last game. There's one team that's going to be excited at the end of the year. So for us, I mean, the baseline is Regionals. That's what it is. So, whether the whole team left or one or two, I mean, we expect to be back in this situation and learn how to win these games from now on.”

He continued, “I’m optimistic about every year we have. Just kind of rolls off the last question, two questions ago, about you losing, do you see yourself regrouping. And I said, no, it's a reload. Because I've been asked that question probably every time I've been sitting at this table, what are you going to do when Keely Richard graduates or Emma Ritter or Lemley. It's the same every year. It's just try to reload and make your kids better and win as many games as you can.”

PLAYER/TEAM STATS AT THE END OF THE SEASON:

Note that eight Hokies made the NFCA All-Region Teams:

First Team: Jordan Lynch, Addison Foster, Kylie Aldridge, Rachel Castine, Michelle Chatfield, Bree Carrico

Second Team: Nora Abromavage

Third Team: Emma Mazzarone