Virginia Tech Softball Run-Rules Its Way Through Boston, Takes 3-Game Series from the Eagles

The 12th ranked Virginia Tech softball team traveled to Boston this past weekend to take on the Boston College Eagles in a three-game series. The Eagles were playing their first series at home after being on the road for the first part of the season.  The Hokies left no doubt about the outcome of the series, defeating Boston College by run-rule victories in all three games. Virginia Tech is now 31-4 on the season, including 7-2 in ACC play.

Due to temperatures, the schedule for the Virginia Tech-Boston College series was changed so that the teams would play a double-header Friday and, ultimately, the third game on Sunday. 

GAME ONE - VIRGINIA TECH  11,  BOSTON COLLEGE  0  (5 INNINGS)

The Hokies essentially did all of their damage in two innings of the first game on Friday.

In the top of the second inning with one out, right fielder Gaby Mizelle launched a solo shot to left field that hit the scoreboard for her fifth home run of the season. With one on the scoreboard for the Hokies, second baseman Rachel Castine singled on a full-court pitch to shortstop Kate DePerio who stretched to knock the ball down but had no play.

A wild pitch in the dirt to center fielder Addison Foster with two outs allowed Castine to move to second. Foster followed that with a liner up the middle to center field that brought Castine in for a 2-0 score.  Third baseman Jordan Lynch then hammered a two-run home run to right field, for her ninth of the season, to build a 4-0 Hokie lead.

The Hokies struck for multiple runs again in the fifth inning.  With one out, first baseman Michelle Chatfield hit a grounder past short stop to get on first. Designated player Kylie Aldridge drew a walk and was replaced at first by freshman pinchrunner Lily Pallante.

After a wild pitch in the dirt allowed Chatfield to steal third, Mizelle took up full-count pitch down the third base line that the Boston College third baseman Adrian Martinez snagged before it moved into the outfielder. She had no play, and Chatfield scored to give Mizelle her second RBI of the day and extend Tech's lead to 5-0.

Castine sent a 3-0 pitch into the gap between third and shortstop. Martinez knocked the ball off her glove into the outfield, allowing Pallante to score from second. 

Pitcher Emma Mazzarone came in to pinchhit for Annika Rohs.  She smoked a hard drive through the right side of the infielder that took a hop in front of the right fielder. Mizelle scored from second to make it 7-0.

With runners at the corners and a new pitcher for the Eagles, Foster poked a fly ball to left field that was dropped by left fielder Sammy Horn. Castine scored to extend Virginia Tech’s lead to 8-0. Lynch then delivered her second home run of the game, knocking a three-run dinger to center field to cap the Hokies’ scoring at 11-0 and put Boston College in run-rule territory.

Meanwhile, left ace Emma Mazzarone started for the Hokies and pitched a complete game shutout. While Mazzarone gave up five walks, she was still in complete control, only allowing two hits and matching her career high ten strikeouts.

Notables:

• The Hokies hit 3 home runs in the game.
• Jordan Lynch hit her 9th and 10th home runs of the season.
• Lynch also drove in 5 RBI, tying her career high established against NC State earlier in the year.
• Gaby Mizzelle hit her 5th home run of the season.
• Emma Mazzarone pitched a complete game for an 8-0 record and tied her career high in strikeouts with 10.

GAME TWO -  VIRGINIA TECH  14,  BOSTON COLLEGE  4  (6 INNINGS)

After run-ruling Boston College in the first game of the double-header, Virginia Tech did it again in the nightcap, this time in six innings.

Center fielder Addison Foster led off the game with a single up the middle followed a single by Jordan Lynch to the second baseman Holly Paharik, who ranged to her right to come up with the ball but had no play at any base.

Left fielder Nora Abromavage then took the second pitch she saw over the center fielder’s head to the wall to bring home Foster.

With Lynch at third and Abromavage at third, catcher Zoey Yaeger grounded out to second pushing Lynch home to put Tech up 2-0.

Three batters later, right fielder Gaby Mizelle sliced a single into shallow center field that scored Abromavage and pushed the Hokie lead to 3-0.

Freshman Avery Layton got the start for Virginia Tech. She gave up a four-pitch walk  to the leadoff batter Kae DePerio in the bottom of the first inning. The second batter, leftfielder Sammy Horn, hit a low infield chopper that Lynch charged but could not make a play. With runners on first and second base, first baseman Emma Knight blooped a hit that fell in as Foster and Mizelle got mixed up in their coverage.  With the bases loaded and one out, shortstop Adriana Martinez short-armed a hit to left that Abromavage could not get under, driving in Boston College’s first run. After striking out the next batter, Layton uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Horn to cross home and close the gap to 3-2.

Unfazed by Boston College’s scores, Virginia Tech added more runs in the second inning. Shortstop Annika Rohs led off the inning with a double to left field. After Foster sacrificed Rohs over to third, Lynch walked and stole second to put two runners on for Abromavage.

The left fielder pummeled her tenth home run of the year, punishing the scoreboard past the left field fence to extend the Virginia Tech lead to 6-2.

Two batters later, first baseman Michelle Chatfield sent the first pitch she saw over the center field fence into the distance playground to make the score 7-2.

The Hokies added another run in the third when Boston College walked both second baseman Rachel Castine and Rohs and threw a wild pitch to move both up a base.  Foster then hit a grounder to first base who threw home to get Rohs out after a review.  After Lynch got on board with a hit in front of the catcher, a wild pitch scored Rohs from third.

Boston College came back in the bottom of the third inning with a two-run home run against Layton to make it 8-4.

Virginia Tech kept coming in offensive waves.  In the top of the fifth, Castine flared a first pitch single to center field and then Rohs doubled to put runners at second and third with no outs. 

Foster delivered both runners home with a double to the right-center gap that extended the Hokie lead to 10-4.

In the top of the sixth, the Hokies added four more runs. Chatfield walked on four straight pitches.  Designated player Kylie Aldridge then joined the home run derby with a two-run home run over the center field fence. to make it 12-4. 

Mizelle reached on a hot shot to third that the third baseman could not handle. Castine followed that with an RBI double that scored Mizelle from first.  Rohs then sent a hot shot off the leg of the Boston College pitcher for an out but allowed Castine to move to third. Foster followed that with a sacrifice to the warning track in left that brought Castine home and finalized the overall scoring at 14-4.

Meanwhile, Virginia Tech pitcher Bree Carrico had entered the game for Layton in the third inning. She pitched the final four innings, only facing sixteen batters and only allowing two hits and two walks, while striking out a career high ten batters. Carrico earned the win to go 9-0 on the season. 

Notables:

• Bree Carrico won her team-leading 9th game of the year and achieved her career high of 10 strikeouts.
• The Hokies hit 3 home runs in the game.
• Kylie Aldridge hit her 3rd home run of the season.
• Nora Abromavage hit her 10th home run of the year.
• Virginia Tech batters only struck out once while generating 14 hits and 6 walks.

GAME THREE  -  VIRGINIA TECH  17,  BOSTON COLLEGE  3  (5 INNINGS)

To get the preliminaries out of the way, Boston College found a way to score three runs in the final game of the series. Emma Mazzarone got the start and pitched two scoreless innings in which she gave up zero hits and zero walks. She faced the minimum six batters and struck out three of them. In fact, 20 of her 33 pitchers were strikes as she earned her 100th strikeout of the year.

Sophie Kleiman followed Mazzarone and pitched the third inning, giving up the only runs that Boston College managed to cross the plate. Kleiman allowed two walks, two wild pitches, and three hits, including a 2-RBI double, that brought home three runs for the Eagles.

Addyson Fisher and Avery Layton both pitched one inning each, with the only baserunner coming from a dropped strikeout that allowed the batter to reach first. Addyson Fisher got the win for the Hokies to go 3-0 on the season.

While the pitchers dominated the Eagles, the real story of the game continued to be the Hokies’ offense. Boston College could keep Tech hitters off the bases or keep balls in the park.

Center fielder Addison Fisher led off the game with a hard infield single to a diving shortstop Kate DePerio. DePerio had no throw, so Foster reached. Two outs later, left fielder Nora Abromavage came to the plate. She worked the count to where she thought she had drawn a walk, but the umpire’s called strike brought her back for another pitch.  Boston College might have preferred the walk because Abromavage sent the next pitch over the left field fence, denting the scoreboard and giving Virginia Tech the 2-0 lead.

RECORD 12-RUN SECOND INNING 

The Hokies followed the first with a record-setting twelve run second inning that quickly put the game away.  Here is a breakdown of each scoring action:

• Designated player Kylie Aldridge sent a spinning deep ball to left fielder Sammy Horn, who dropped the ball, allowing Aldridge to cruise into second.
• Right fielder Gaby Mizelle singled through the left side of the infield, putting runners at the corners. Mizelle proceeded to steal second with no outs.
• Second baseman Rachel Castine drove a liner into the center-right field gap to the wall, scoring Aldridge and Mizelle to make it 4-0.
• Shortstop Annika Rohs walked.
• With one out, third baseman Jordan Lynch continued her hot weekend with a three-run shot over the center field wall for her 11th home run of the season to give the Hokies a 7-0 lead.
• Catcher Zoey Yaeger followed Lynch with a solo home run, her eighth of the year, to left field to make it 8-0.
• Abromavage drew a full-count walk.
• First baseman Michelle Chatfield reached on an infield single down the third base line.
• With runners on first and second, Boston College threw a wild pitch to Aldridge that moved each of the runners up a base.
• Aldridge hit a hard grounder to second, but Abromavage scored. Chatfield went to second. The lead was 9-0.
• Yaeger knocked a hit that deflected off the pitcher’s glove. Shortstop DePerio could not get the ball to first in time. Chatfield scored to make it 10-0.
• Castine was hit by a pitch, and then Emma Mazzarone, hitting for Rohs, walked to load the bases.
• Boston College brought in a new pitcher, but a wild pitch to Foster scored Yaeger. The lead was 11-0.
• Foster then hit  a line drive past first base to score Castine and Rohs and make it 13-0.
• FInally, Lynch launched a hit to the wall, but Horn crashed into the wall and dropped the ball, bringing in Foster with the double to make the score 14-0.

The Hokies were not done after that historic inning. 

Coach D’Amour started getting other players into the game. Sara McNelly led off the third inning by getting hit by a pitch. With one out, pinch hitter Mia Gagliardi struck out, but the catcher dropped the ball and had to throw to first to get Gagliadu. McNelly advanced to second on the play. Haley Luginbill, also pinchhitting, sent an RBI single past short stop to bring home McNelly and make it 15-0.

The Hokies scored two more runs in the fourth inning. After Rohs hit a single up the middle, pinch hitter Lyla Blackwell sacrificed Rohs to second base.  Jordan Lynch knocked in her fifth RBI of the day off a double to left center that plated Rohs, and then McNelly drove in Lynch on a fielder’s choice play to second.

The final 17-3 score capped an astonishing weekend in which the Hokies outscored Boston College 42-7 across the three run-rule victories.

Notables:

• The Hokies hit 3 home runs in the game, repeating the three they hit in the first two games of the series.
• Nora Abromavage and Jordan Lynch hit their co-team leading 11th home runs
• Zoey Yaeger hit her 8th home run of the season.
• The team hit 4 doubles off Boston College pitching.
• Jordan Lynch hit two doubles to give her a team-leading 13th double.
• Hokie batters were 7-for-19 with runners in scoring position.

PLAYER PERFORMANCES AND STATISTICS

Jordan Lynch earned ACC Player of the Week and D1 Softball's 5th Best Third Baseman in April. She continued her stellar sophomore campaign. She hit .583 (7-for-12) with three home runs to put her in a tie for first place on the team with Nora Abromavage. Lynch also hit two doubles to raise her team lead count to thirteen.  Even more impressive, Lynch had two 5-RBI games to raise her total to 37, third on the team. She also scored six runs.

Annika Rohs hit .714 for the weekend series, going 5-for-7 with three doubles and two walks. She scored 7 runs. Rohs raised her batting average from .256 coming out of the NC State series to .292.

Addison Foster hit .545 against Boston College, going 6-for-11 with two doubles, and drove in seven RBI. She also scored 5 runs.

Nora Abromavage hit 4-for-7 for a .571 average. She also walked three times. Abromavage continued her power surge, hitting a double and  two home runs to lead the Hokies with 11 roundtrippers (tied with Lynch) on the season. Abromavage also drove in 6 RBI and scored 4 times herself.

Gaby Mizelle hit .500 for the weekend, going 5.-for-10, to raise her season average from .319 to .337. She also hit her fifth home run of the season and drove in four RBI. Mizelle also scored 5 runs.

Michelle Chatfield is quietly putting together another quality season. She hit 4-for-10 for a .400 average and drew two walks. Chatfield also hit her sixth home run of the season and drove in two RBI.

Rachel Castine is building a consistently MVP-caliber senior season after coming back from her hand injury two seasons ago. She hit .833 against Boston College, going 5-for-6. She continued to get on base, including drawing two walks.  Castine hit two doubles and drove in four RBI, scoring six runs herself.

Kylie Aldridge is having a very good season as the team’s primary designated player. She hit her sixth home run of the season and drove in three RBI.

Zoey Yaeger, Softball America's 8th best catcher, hit her eighth home run of the season and drove in two RBI over the weekend.

Emma Mazzarone earned ACC Pitcher of the Week.  She pitched 7 total scoreless innings against the Eagles, only giving up two hits and walking five. Mazzarone struck out thirteen batters, including matching her career high of ten in the first game of the series. She recorded her 100th strikeout of the season. 

Ever since the first game of the Duke series, Mazzarone has looked like a different pitcher, consistently dominating the strike zone and getting batters to swing and miss. Against Boston, Mazzarone won her eighth game of the season and lowered her Batting Average Against from .189 to .179 and lowered her ERA from 2.43 to 2.19

Bree Carrico has been a vital contributor to the Hokies in her relief role this year, often coming in to put out fires and relied upon to carry the Hokies across multiple innings. In Boston, Carrico pitched four innings in relief in the second game of the series, only giving up two hits and two walks, while striking out a career high ten to early her team-leading ninth win of the year. She lowered her team-leading ERA from 1.42 to 1.33

Addyson Fisher is a freshman pitcher who has gotten spot appearances this year to acclimate her to college-level softball. She pitched an inning in the third game of the series and did not allow a hit nor a walk in winning her third game of the season.  Fisher has gradually lowered her ERA to 3.57 to go along with her 3-0 record.

TEAM NOTES:

• The Hokies, now 31-4 and 7-2 in the ACC, extended their winning streak to 9 games.
• Virginia Tech’s 12-run second inning in the second game of the series tied a program record.
• Virginia Tech has earned fourteen run-rule victories this season.

RANKINGS

• NFCA /GOROUT - 11th
• D1 Softball - 11th
• Softball America - 13th
• ESPN.com/USA - 12th

For comparison's sake, D1 Softball has Florida State ranked 9th, UVA at 17th, Duke at 18th , and Stanford at 25th.

Louisville and Clemson also received votes.

Note that Softball America has UVA ranked ahead of Virginia Tech at 12th.

RPI

Despite sweeping Boston College in convincing fashion, Virginia Tech dropped to 17th in the RPI.  Tech's Strength of Schedule is deemed 88th.

KPI and DSR

KPI stands for Key Performance Indicator and factors in opponent winning percentage, opponent strength of schedule, point differential, and match location.

DSR stands for Diamond Sports Ranking and calculates rankings based on win probability, win expectancy, margin of victory, game location, and day of the week.

KPI and DSR are important ranking systems used by the NCAA Division I Softball Committee in its post-season tournament selection process. Both are deemed by many analysts to be more reliable indicators than RPI.

Whereas Virginia Tech's strength of schedule is not ideal, and its RPI puts the Hokies on the edge of hosting in the tournament, Tech is ranked #10 in both KPI and DSR, which means it has a top-10 resume in such key metrics as high-quality wins and strong margins-of-victory, and favorable game locations

ON DECK:  CLEMSON TIGERS

#11 Virginia Tech , fourth place in the ACC standings, welcomes the Clemson Tigers to Tech Softball Park this coming Thursday, April 2, for a 3-game tilt.

Thursday, April 2 - 6:00 pm EST - streaming on ACCNx

Friday, April 3 - 6:00 pm EST - streaming on ACCNx

Saturday, April 4 - 6:00 pm EST - streaming on ACCN

Clemson is 7th in the ACC standings with a 6-6 conference record and a 23-13 overall record. 

The Tigers are coming off of being swept in a 3-game series by Florida State at home in Colombia.

Clemson went 2-1 in other ACC series against Georgia Tech, Louisville, and Notre Dame.

Offense:

• Clemson has the 11th best (out of 15) batting average at .291, compared to Virginia Tech's .378.
• Clemson has 4 batters hitting above .300, led by Mac Pavese's .371 average.
• Clemson has hit 51 doubles compared to Virginia Tech's ACC-leading 77.
• Clemson has only hit 28 home runs for the season compared to Tech's 64.  No player has more than 6.
• The Tigers are first in the ACC in drawing 156 walks compared to Virginia Tech's 144.

Pitching: 

• Virginia Tech is second in the ACC with a 2.60 ERA whereas Clemson is third with a 2.73 ERA.
• The Hokies are first in the ACC in giving up the fewest home runs at 14. Clemson is third in diving up only 19.
• Clemson is fourth in the ACC with a batting average against of .243 whereas Virginia Tech is first with .200.
• Virginia Tech has given up the most wild pitches in the ACC.
• Clemson relies on two main pitchers for 26 of the team's 36 starts:
  • Sierra Maness leads the team with 16 starts and is 14-5 on the season. She has a 2.15 ERA, 1.29 WHIP,  and a .250 batting average against. She has pitched 120 IPs compared to the pitcher with the second most innings pitched, Abby Dunning who has 56.
  • Abby Dunning has a 2.88 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, and a batting average against of .218. She has started 10 games and is 6-6 on the season.

The Hokies will play three of its next four series against teams in the top eight of the ACC standings, so it is important that Virginia Tech continue to stack wins in order to achieve its goal of hosting a tournament regional.