No. 5 Seminoles Best No. 22 Hokies in Series Opener
No. 22 Virginia Tech fell to No. 5 Florida State 4-1 on Thursday, the first of a three-game series in Blacksburg.
Errors were a huge part of Thursday’s game, with two of FSU’s four runs coming off botched relays to home plate from the outfield. The Hokies couldn’t get the ball in cleanly, ultimately leaving the game out of reach.
“They have good pitching. That’s what you try to do, to get into those positions, it just didn’t fall,” D’Amour said.
Early in the game Virginia Tech showed some signs of life at the plate, but couldn’t find any gaps in the field. The Seminoles’ defense was rock-solid, especially Kaley Mudge in the outfield, who robbed Rachel Castine of a home run by leaping up in left field and snagging the deep shot from over the wall.
“We had nine runners left on base and a couple of hits here or there, it’s a different game. We looked them in the eye and we weren’t scared,” Head Coach Pete D’Amour said.
Tech did manage to plate a run after a trio of singles and a sac fly in the sixth inning, but failed to convert with a multitude of runners left on base. A total of eight Hokies’ were left stranded, including two in the sixth and three in the seventh, the mark of a failed comeback.
Grace Chavez nearly made in on base in the seventh amidst a staggering 13 pitch at-bat but ended up flying out to the right fielder. Chavez’s 10 foul balls gave Tech a glimmer of hope late in the game, but the two-hit inning wasn’t enough to tip the scales for the home team.
“We had runners in scoring position a couple of times tonight. Just keep plugging away, having good at-bats, and key hits, it’s a different story,” D’Amour said.
Virginia Tech will continue the series with Florida State on Friday at 6pm and Saturday at 4pm. Expect two more hard-fought games in this top-25 matchup as the 1st and 5th teams in the ACC scrap it out at Tech Softball Park.
