The day was filled with rowdy cheers from the stands, but they were seldom directed at Virginia Tech players.
It was a feeling the Hokies (6-3) got all too familiar with on Saturday, the second day of the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational. While the previous day featured Tech’s batters unleashing an assault on opposition pitching, day two left Virginia Tech on the receiving end of bombarding hitters, losing a pair of four-run, top-1o games to No. 2 UCLA 8-4 and No. 10 Arizona 6-2.
VT head coach Pete D’Amour made another bold move, opting to start Bre Peck (1-1) in the circle against the No. 2 team in the country.
It was a move that was questioned, but offered some intriguing possibilities. Given how little the outside world had seen Peck, perhaps the sophomore could catch the Bruins off guard. Instead, UCLA (11-0) was ready to pounce on her.
Seven of Peck’s first eight batters recorded a single against her, catapulting UCLA to a 4-0 lead. Although Peck was able to induce a groundout and strikeout, after a bases-loaded double that scored two and kept two on base, followed by a walk to reload the bases, D’Amour realized it was time to pull the plug on Peck for the day.
Lyndsey Grein entered with Tech trailing 6-0 in the bottom of the first and delivered on what was asked of her: Limit the damage. And that’s exactly what she did, striking out Megan Grant to strand the three runners.
For Tech, the arduous journey of climbing out of a six-run hole had begun.
Peck atoned for her pitching mishaps with a lead-off double that culminated in her reaching home plate, but the Bruins were able to snatch that run right back with a trio of hits to kick off the second inning.
Trailing 7-1, the Hokies put themselves in prime position to cut into that lead, loading the bases in the top of the third with one out. Unfortunately, neither Jayme Bailey nor Peck could plate any of the runners, leaving Tech a huge missed opportunity.
Tech got another back in the fourth following some swift base running from Trinity Martin and a sac fly, courtesy of Grace Chavez. Fans became interested once more following a two-run homer from Bailey in the fifth to get the Hokies within three.
Though Grein had a strong outing, she let up another run off a Maya Brady solo shot to pad UCLA’s lead to four.
With the Hokies seeing Brooke Yanez’s (3-0) pitches much better, Bruins head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez turned to a pitcher who’s shut Virginia Tech down before — Megan Faraimo.
Faraimo squared off against Virginia Tech before in the 2021 LA Super Regional. She pitched two innings in relief during a loss in Game 1, allowing just one hit and striking out four. She pitched the following night as well, blanking the Hokies in a one-hit, complete game performance that saw her strike out another 11.
Faraimo still seemed to be the Hokies’ kryptonite on Saturday in Florida as she struck out five-of-six to close the game and preserve the UCLA win.
Following the game, D’Amour explained his rationale for his pitching decisions.
“Bre has to be a pitching option for us this year,” D’Amour told Tech Sideline. “I didn’t want to start Lyndsey right away against UCLA after her outing yesterday. We were going to see how Bre did and bring Lyndsey in after regardless. Lyndsey’s bounce back from yesterday was the most positive aspect to the weekend so far. I needed to see that. Obviously, if I knew she was going to throw like she did today, it would have made my decision a little easier.”
“Our hitters,” he continued, “scored against UCLA. We left some runners on, but we had chances to score more.”
“It was nerve-wracking, but I survived,” Grein said of facing the No. 2 team in the country. “I just have to get better.”
With the first game behind them, the Hokies turned to a new challenge in No. 10 Arizona (6-3).
Although UCLA entered the contest with Tech having just beaten the Hokies’ fellow top-10 ACC competitor in Florida State, Arizona went up against the Hokies as losers of three straight at Clearwater. However, the program was dominant in its opening weekend.
As Tech’s Emma Lemley (3-1) and Arizona’s Devyn Netz (4-2) began to heat up in the circle, it was clear from the outset that fans were in for a pitcher’s duel.
Back and forth the two went, trading blows every way they could. Lemley struck out nine straight batters and was perfect through 3.1 innings while Netz no-hit Tech through 3.0.
The pitcher’s reign was shut down by Arizona in the fourth as a pair of doubles from Dakota Kennedy and Allie Skaggs broke up the perfect game and put the Wildcats up 1-0. Arizona doubled its lead with two more base hits the following inning.
Morgan Overaitis delivered as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the fifth with another Hokie homer — the team’s 10th of the weekend — to bring the deficit back down to one.
Entering the final frame, the score sat at 2-1 with neither side willing to give an inch. But then, an eruption.
A solo shot from Arizona designated player Olivia DiNardo and a three-run dinger from third baseman Blaise Biringer pushed the lead to five, 6-1, and essentially sealed the Hokies’ fate. It also spoiled a career day for Lemley on which she recorded 17 strikeouts.
While Tech was able to get a second run on the board via a RBI double from Peck that scored Bailey, Netz’s dominance all night ensured the Hokies had no chance at a comeback.
“Arizona’s pitcher threw a heck of a game,” D’Amour said. “We were a little passive against her early and put better swings on her towards the end of the game.”
It was certainly not the day the Hokies envisioned beforehand, but they face South Florida (2-5) with a chance to end the weekend on a high note following a disappointing string of results.
Box Score: No. 2 UCLA 8, No. 8 Virginia Tech 4
Box Score: No. 10 Arizona 6, No. 8 Virginia Tech 2
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Losing to the #2 & #10 &is not showing you are overrated. If they were losing to unranked teams maybe but these are quality teams we are facing
Couldn’t agree with you more RRHOKIE.
Possibly, we’re overrated just a little bit?
Well, no and yes, early season is always a dartboard.