Virginia Tech Softball Dominates Syracuse to Sweep Series and Earn #3 Seed in the ACC Tournament

After sweeping North Carolina the previous weekend, Virginia Tech traveled north to take on Syracuse to wrap up its regular season. Seeding in the ACC tournament was on the line.  Depending on how the weekend went and how teams like Louisville fared, Virginia Tech could end up anywhere from the 3-seed or 4-seed, with the first round bye, to the 5-seed.

GAME ONE:   VIRGINIA TECH  12,  SYRACUSE  1

As she did to start the North Carolina series last weekend, Bree Carrico earned the start Friday afternoon against Syracuse.

After escaping a bases-loaded jam in the first inning, Carrico settled into a groove. She struck out the side in the second inning and cruised through the third. Her only blemish was giving up a home run to Syracuse’s Madison Knight to lead off the third inning. 

Meanwhile, Virginia Tech’s offense dominated Syracuse from beginning to end. Center fielder Addison Foster led off the game by reaching first on a grounder that slipped under the first baseman’s glove for an error.  Third baseman Jordan Lynch got on board on a 9-pitch walk to bring up left fielder Nora Abromavage. Abromavage scorched a double deep down the left fielder line that brought Foster home and put Lynch at third.

First baseman Michelle Chafield followed with a liner to center that allowed Lynch to tag up for the score to make it 2-0 in Tech’s favor.

The Hokies padded their lead in the top of the second. Second baseman Gaby Mizelle beat out an infield single that the pitcher Juliana Verni had to field but could not get Mizelle in time. After Mizelle was thrown out stealing second, shortstop Annika Rohs walked and Foster singled to right field to get runners to second and third.

Lynch then drilled her 16th home run of the season over the left field fence to score three runs,  make it 5-0,and force a pitching change by Syracuse.

The home run that Syracuse hit in the top of the third did not faze the Hokie offense. Designated player Kylie Adridge led off the bottom of the third with a walk.Two batters later, Mizelle singled in between short and third to put runners at first and second. Rohs followed with a fielder’s choice that took out Mizelle at second without an attempt at a double play.

Foster made the Orange pay by driving a double just past the diving center fielder to bring home Aldridge and Rohs to give the Hokies a 7-1 lead.

Abromavage walked to lead off the fourth inning, making it the fourth inning in a row that the batter leading off an inning reached base. The Hokies’ lead off batter in the fourth reach. Chatfield singled to left to move Abromavage to second. 

After a double play wiped out Chatfield at second, Aldridge earned her second consecutive walk to put runners at the corners with two away. Castine followed with an astronomical towering 3-RBI shot over the left field fence to extend the Virginia Tech lead to 10-1.

The Hokies closed out the scoring in the fifth inning. Rohs led off with an infield single to third base. Two batters later, Lynch singled into right field that pushed Rohs to third; however, Lynch was tagged out trying to reach second.

After Abromavage walked and stole second, Chatfield singled to score Rohs and Abromavage to give Virginia Tech the 12-1 lead.

Layton closed out the bottom of the fifth inning for the run-rule victory.  Carrico got the win to go 13-1 on the season. Carrico had given up the three hits and one walk in her three innings pitched. The only damage was that solo home run in the second.   Layton went the final two innings and only gave up three walks to her two strikeouts.

Notables:

• Jordan Lynch hit her 16th home run of the year.
• Rachel Castine hit her 12th home run of the season.
• 4  Hokies have double digit home runs for the season so far: Nora Abromavage (16), Jordan Lynch (16), Michelle Chatfield (13), and Rachel Castine (12). Three other batters have 9
• Kylie Aldridge walked three times in the Syracuse game.
• Bree Carrico improved to 13-1 on the year. She allowed 3 hits and struck out .
• Virginia Tech was 5-for-11 with runners in scoring position (RISP).
• Virginia Tech’s lead off hitter reached base in all five innings.
• The Hokies generated 7 walks and 11 hits.

GAME TWO:   VIRGINIA TECH  11,  SYRACUSE  2

Emma Mazzarone started Saturday’s game and began the game erratically. She walked the first two batters she faced and then gave up a single to load the bases with no outs. After Mazzaron settled in and struck out the next two batters, a fielding error at second and a late throw home allowed runners to score from second and third to give Syracuse an early 2-0 lead.

Despite threatening in the first inning, the Hokie bats were pretty quiet through the first two innings. However, they woke up in the third. Shortstop Annike Rohs laced a double into the left-center gap that went to the wall. The next batter, center fielder Addison Foster, was hit by a pitch to put a second runner on.  Third baseman Jordan Lynch then worked a full-court walk to load the bases with no outs.

Left fielder Nora Ambromavage muscled a a fly ball that landed in front of the center fielder to score Rohs and make the score 2-1, while keeping the bases loaded.

Designated player Kylie Aldridge singled to left center to bring home Foster and Lynch and give Tech the 3-2 lead.

First baseman Michelle Chatfield beat out an infield single to shortstop that loaded the bases once again. Two batters later, second baseman Rachel Castine hit a sacrifice fly to center that scored Abromavage and right fielder Gaby Mizelle reached on an  error that brought home Aldrige from second for another run.  Just like that, the Hokies had pushed across 5 runs in the inning and taken a 5-2 lead after three.

The Hokies continued the attack in the top of the fourth inning. Jordan Lynck launched her 17th home run of the season over the center-right field wall to make it 6-2.

Ambromavage followed the home run by Lynch with a single to left field, and then Aldridge reached via an error that moved Ambromavage to third. Chatfield line out to short stop by an error on the throw allowed Ambromavage to score to extend Virginia Tech’s lead to 7-2.

Yaeger drove a pitch that the center fielder misjudged and saw it go over her head to the wall, scoring Lily Palante pinchrunning for Aldridge.

With Sarah McNelly pinchrunning for Yaeger at first, Castine sent a deep ball over the center field wall to score two and give the Hokies a 10-2 lead.

After Mizelle walked, Emma Mazzarone capped the scoring in the fifth when she blooped an RBI single into left field that scored pinchrunner Blackwell for the 11-2 lead.  The score could have been worse as Tech had loaded the bases before Syracuse managed to get out of it.

The top of the fifth inning was largely about players coming off the bench to walk. Lily Pallante,  Charlotte Moore, ad MJ Abernathy all walked to load the baes. After a wild pitch scored Pallante, Lyla Blackwell grounded out to first baseman but brought home Moore for the final 13-2.

Emma Mazzarone took the win to go 14-4 on the season. She pitched four innings and gave up no earned runs, while walking two and struck out four. Sophie Kleiman finished the gam with 1.0 inning pitched. She gave up a walk and a hit but allowed nothing more to seal the win.

Notables:

• Jordan Lynch (17th) and Rachel Castine (13th) hit their second home runs in as many of games in the series.
• Emma Mazarone - Mazzarone won to go 14-4
• Virginia Tech was 5-for-15 with runners in scoring position
• The Hokies generated 8 walks and 10 hits
• Virginia Tech broke the single-season hits record of 519 hits. Tech now has 520.
• The Hokies broke the single-season RBI record of 400. Tech now has 404.

GAME THREE :  VIRGINIA TECH  12,  SYRACUSE  1

The Hokies bats were relatively quiet over the two innings of game three on Sunday: Virginia Tech got runners on but could not bring them around.

Emma Mazzarone started for Virginia Tech after only pitching 4 innings and throwing 58 pitches in  Saturday’s game. She had everything working, only allowing a walk in the first two innings while getting the six other batters out on a variety of strike outs, ground outs, and flyouts.  She ran into a little bit of trouble in the bottom of the third when she gave up an infield single and another walk. A single down the left field line brought home the runner from second. She settled in though behind great pitching and stellar defense to hold Syracuse in check.

As it did in the other two games of the series, Virginia Tech exploded in the 3rd and 4th innings. In the top of the third, center fielder Addison Foster beat out an infield single toward second. With two outs, left fielder Nora Ambromavage cranked her 17th home run deep over the right field wall to give Tech the 2-0 lead.

After Syracuse closed the gap to 2-1 with the third inning run, the deluge of runs for the Hokies came in the top of the fourth. Second baseman Rachel Castine led off the inning with her 14th deep shot of the season straight away to center.  Castine homered in all three games of the series this weekend.

Catcher Zoey Yaeger followed Castine with her own dinger, this time over the scoreboard past the left field fence. It was her career high-tieing 9th home run of the season and gave her a career-high 50 RBI for the year.

With the Hokies now up 4-1, Emma Mazzarone hit for shortstop Annika Rohs with the opportunity to support her own cause.  She singled to the right-cente field gap and then gave away to Rohs returning to the lineup to pinchrun. 

Foster rocked a pitch to the center-right wall, ricocheting away from the outfielder for a double. Rohs was off on contact and scored from first base to make it 5-1.  Foster’s hit caused the Syracuse coach to replace senior Julianna Verni with fellow senior Madison Knight.

Virginia Tech kept coming. Third baseman Jordan Lynch knocked a single to shallow left field that the Syracuse short stop could not range to make the play. Foster moved to third, with Lynch advancing to second on the throw to third.

With two outs, first baseman Michelle Chatfield stung a line drive down past third base down the left field line for a double. Foster and Lynch crossed home plate to extend the Hokies lead to 7-1.

Designated player Kylie Aldridge then homered over the center field wall to bring home Chatfield and make it 9-1 and put Syracuse at risk of being run-ruled.

Freshman Avery Layton took over for Mazzarone to start the bottom of the fourth inning. After striking out the first batter she faced looking on a full-count pitch, Layton ran intro trouble. She gave up a single to left field and a walk, and then hit the next batter to load the bases with the one out. Coach D’Amour elected to leave her in, and the decision paid off:  Layton struck out the next two batters swinging on identical 2-2 counts to defuse the crisis!

As one of the two batters in the lineup yet to record a hit going into the fifth inning, right fielder Gaby Mizelle rectified that situation with a single to center field.  Annika Rohs, the other batter without a base hit, lined a drive into right field to add a second runner on the base paths.  With Abromavage’s earlier homer run tying Lynch for the team lead, Lynch opted to change that situation.  The left hander hit a long ball over the right field wall; her team-leading 18th home run was her third in as many games in the series, and her three RBI made it 12-1.

Senior pitcher Sophie Kleiman closed out the game with an inning of work in the bottom of the fifth. She gave up a walk and a single while inducing a double play and groundout to Annika Rohs to end the game.  Emma Mazzarone got the win to extend her record to 15-4. She gave up two hits, one run, and two walks in three innings of work, while striking out two. Avery Layon worked one inning, giving up a hit and a walk, while striking out three.

Notables:

• 5 Hokie hitters sent home runs over the fences on Sunday.
• Rachel Castine reached career-highs in home runs (14) and RBI (46) to close the regular season.
• Zoey Yaeger had a career high 9 home runs and 50 RBI for the regular season.
• Nora Ambromavage hit her 17th home run of the year.
• Jordan Lynch slammed her 18th home run of the season.
• Kylie Aldridge hit her 9th home run of the year.
• Rachel Castine and Jordan Lynch homered in all three games of the series.
• Addison Foster tied the single-season doubles record at 18.
• Emma Mazzarone earned the win to go 15-4 on the season.
• Virginia Tech was 4-8 with runners in scoring position.
• Virginia Tech outscored Syracuse 37-4.

PLAYER PERFORMANCES

After Virginia Tech created new team records for hits and RBI on Saturday, the Hokies eclipsed the 100 home run mark with 101 for the season and set a new record with 105 doubles on Sunday.

Players up and down the regular lineup who have played more than one college season have achieved a number of career highs this season. Here is a sampling:

• Addison Foster - Career high in batting average, doubles, HRs.
• Jordan Lynch - Career high in batting average, hits, triples, HRs, RBI, walks, on base percentage.
• Michelle Chatfield - Career high in hits and doubles. Career low in strikeouts.
• Kylie Aldridge - Career high in batting average, hits, doubles, HRs, RBI, walks. Career low in strikeouts.
• Zoey Yaeger - Career high walks, hits, doubles, HRs (tied), and RBI.
• Rachel Castine - Career high in batting average, hits, HRs, RBI, and walks.
• Annika Rohs - Career high in batting average, hits, doubles, walks, RBI. Career low in strikeouts.
• Emma Mazzarone – Career high in certain pitching categories such as wins, innings pitched, and strikeouts.

ACC Team Statistical Rankings:

• Batting Average (1st): .362  – 6th nationally
• Runs (1st): 436  - 7th nationally
• Hits (1st): 534  - 6th nationally
• Doubles (3rd): 105  - 5th nationally in doubles per game
• Home Runs (1st): 101  - 8th nationally
• RBI (1st): 416 -  5th nationally
• Walks (2nd): 229
• On Base Percentage (1st): .448 - 11th nationally
• Slugging Percentage (1st): 656 - 6th nationally
• Fielding Percentage (2nd): .974
• Team ERA (1st): 2.81  - 26th nationally
• Fewest Hits Allowed (1st): 252  - 8th nationally hits per seven innings
• Fewest Runs Allowed (2nd): 158
• Fewest HRs Allowed (1st): 27
• Batting Average Against (1st): .203
• Strikeouts by Pitchers (1st):  362

Individual Leaders:

• Jordan Lynch: 9th in the ACC in batting average, 6th in slugging percentage, 5th in Runs Scored, 5th in hits, 10th in doubles, 9th in triples, 5th in home runs.
• Addison Foster: 8th in the ACC in hits, 4th in doubles.
• Nora Abromavage: 6th in the ACC in home runs, 8th in RBI with 59, 9th in walks.
• Kylie Aldridge: 5th in the ACC in doubles.
• Zoey Yaeger: 10th in the ACC in walks.
• Bree Carrico: 1st in the ACC in ERA, 6th in opponent batting average, 5th in strikeots, 2nd in batters striking out looking, 3rd n saves, 9th in sacrifice bunts allowed, 6th in runs allowed, 4th in earned runs allowed.
• Emma Mazzarone: 10th in the ACC in ERA, 3rd in opposing batting average, 8th in innings pitched, 2nd in strikeouts, 5th in wins, 8th in sacrifice bunts allowed, 6th in doubles allowed.
• Avery Layton: 10th in ACC in oopposing batting average, 4th in hits allowed, 5th in runs allowed, 6th in earned runs allowed, 4th in doubles allowed, 3rd in home runs allowed.

RANKINGS

With its sweep of Syracuse, the Hokes finished the regular season with a 44-9 record and 18-6 record in the ACC. The rankings have Virginia Tech all over the place, ranging from 13th to 20th.

• D1 Softball - 15th - up to from its previous ranking of 17th
• Softball America - 18th - down 1 from its previous ranking of 17th
• ESPN.com/USA -  16th -  up 1 from its previous ranking 17th
• NFCA /GOROUT -  13th - no change from its previous ranking of 13th

Metrics:

• RPI:  20th
• KPI:  17th
• DSR: 12th

The RPI, KPI, and DSR are components used to decide regional hosts and seedings in the NCAA tournament. The Hokies would likely have to reach, and possibly win, the finals of the ACC Softball Championship to be in the conversation to host.

UP NEXT - ACC TOURNAMENT

Next up is the ACC Softball Championship, which will be held from May 6-9 at Palmer Park in Charlottesville, VA.  See the Tournament Bracket here.

Virginia Tech clinched the no. 3 seed in the ACC Ssoftball tournament, which gives the Hokies a first round bye. Virginia Tech will play the winner of the UVA/Pitt game on Thursday, May 7 at 7:30. 

The Hokies have not faced Pitt this season whereas it won the series against then no. 21Virginia with a 2-1 performance in Charlottesville.

All games prior to the actual championship game will be televised on the ACC Network. The championship game, which is set for Saturday, May 9 at 2:30, and will be televised on ESPN.