No. 17 Virginia Tech Drops the Hammer on Longwood
No. 17 Virginia Tech dominated its doubleheader with Longwood on Tuesday, winning 10-2 and 11-1.
Coming off a difficult series with No. 13 Duke last weekend, Tech’s bats bounced back in a huge way. Emma Ritter had a career game at the plate, tying the program’s single-game record with three doubles in the first game, one of which was a walk off under the run rule. She also had a single home run in the second game to propel the Hokies to another win.
Cameron Fagan and Kelsey Bennett, the birthday girl, also put up some impressive numbers with Ritter. Fagan had two homers and three stolen bases, while Bennett was an absolute ball magnet in the hot corner. Additionally, Jayme Bailey had a SportsCenter-level stretch at first base, literally hitting the splits for an out.
“As a team, we’re headed in the right direction right now. We had a little low point. We just need to continue going out and playing hard,” Ritter said.
Lyndsey Grein and Molly Jacobson each took a game in the circle, only allowing nine hits over the course of both games. The defense looked sharp behind them, allowing both players to get more comfortable as they’ve developed this season behind ace Emma Lemley.
The Hokies now have a nine-game win streak against the Lancers, their most recent loss coming in March of 2018. Tech has only given up three runs to the Lancers over their last four meetings, a staggering contrast to the 39 runs the Hokies scored over the same four games.
“You’ve gotta feel good, and it’s not just these two, it’s the last game against Duke too. I feel like we’re playing how we’re capable of playing. I think we’re in a good spot right now,” Coach Pete D’Amour said.
Virginia Tech will face state rival Virginia next for the Commonwealth Clash later this week. The first game is Thursday at 5 p.m., then Friday at 5 p.m., and finally Saturday at noon. The Cavaliers are 25-11 this season, hoping to earn some in-state bragging rights with a win against the Hokies. Historically, Tech has strongly commanded the Clash, winning 22 of the last 25 matchups with the Cavaliers.
