Virginia Tech Scraps To Win Game 2, Notre Dame Ultimately Takes Series

Rachel Castine and the Hokies took Game 2 at Notre Dame, but they were run-ruled in Game 3. (Virginia Tech athletics)

Whether you consider it pure skill or the luck of the Irish, Notre Dame has gotten the best of Virginia Tech since the series began in 2000.

Despite No. 14 Tech pulling out a scrappy 8-7 win in the second game of the weekend, unranked Notre Dame finished the series with a statement run-rule upset, 11-3, in South Bend.

The Hokies (32-12, 12-6 ACC) continued to play around with their rotation. Teagan Thrunk returned to the lineup Saturday while Rachel Castine moved pitches behind the plate, which was the strongest offensive alignment Tech could’ve had.

It made sense that Pete D’Amour wanted more pop offensively after his squad scored just one run Friday evening. And in Game 2, the Hokies certainly gave him the offensive explosion he was searching for.

Facing Shannon Becker in the first inning, Cameron Fagan and Addy Greene welcomed her to the circle harshly by sending two solo shots over the right field fence to catapult the Hokies to a 2-0 lead.

After Emma Ritter followed it up with an infield single, Bre Peck doubled up with a third bomb in the inning over the left field wall.

Though Tech jumped out to a 4-0 lead, the Irish (27-12-1, 9-8-1 ACC) slowly chipped away at it. Throughout the afternoon, they swung early in counts against Lyndsey Grein, including a solo homer from Karina Gaskins in the first to cut into the lead.

Having got one back, Notre Dame made the switch to Micaela Kastor (6-3) in the second, and though she got off to a rocky start with two runners in scoring position and just one out, her infielders produced some sharp work to keep Trinity Martin from scoring and stranded Thrunk and Fagan off a groundout from Greene.

Like Tech, the Irish also got two runners in scoring position with one out on the board in the second. However, Grein was less fruitful.

She conceded RBI singles to four of the next five batters, walking the other. Though a second out was recorded in the frenzy, thanks to a brilliant throw by Greene from right field to make a play at the plate, Grein conceded five runs to give the Irish a 6-4 lead.

Molly Jacobson (5-2) was called upon to relieve Grein, which she did superbly. She got her next five outs in 10 pitches, working with stunning efficiency throughout the game.

Peck answered the explosive second inning for the Irish with a solo jack in the top of the third, putting the Hokies back within one. Unfortunately, that act was erased by a left-center gap double by Carlli Kloss and an RBI single from Gaskins to put Notre Dame back up by two, 7-5.

Even with these two scoring plays, both pitchers worked through the lineups with breakneck pace.

Still trailing in the top of the sixth, Tech burst ahead with the crucial runs needed. Jayme Bailey reached base after the ball leapt up in front of shortstop Anna Holloway, striking her in the face. Peck followed it up with an opposite-field double.

Kelsey Bennett, the new record-holder for most RBIs in program history, added two more to her tally by doubling to bring them both in. Later in the inning, Thrunk pitched in with the go-ahead sac fly into right field to bring Bennett’s pinch runner, Maija Louko, in to put the Hokies up 8-7.

Although Jacobson got two quick outs, the single she surrendered to Joley Mitchell prompted D’Amour to bring in his ace, Emma Lemley (19-6), to finish out the job.

Lemley did just that, ending the game without much stress and marking a strong comeback win for the Hokies. Lemley also threw just 19 pitches, allowing her to still be quite fresh for the second game an hour later.

Game 3

Like previous outings, Lemley’s start began roughly, giving up a double to Mitchell and an RBI single to Leea Hanks. Virginia Tech trailed 1-0 early.

After failing to make headway against Payton Tidd (14-6) in the first inning, Tech led off the second with another single and double from Bailey and Peck. Castine battled hard and finally singled her 10th pitch into center field to bring both runners home and give the Hokies a 2-1 lead.

But that was quickly erased in the bottom of the second by Kloss, who hit a game-tying RBI double to bring Mickey Winchell across the plate. A solo shot from Lexi Orozco in the third put the Irish back in front, 3-2, and another by Miranda Johnson to lead off the fourth extended it to 4-2.

Winchell singled again to get on base before moving ahead to second on a wild pitch, and she scored thanks to Mitchell. Trailing 5-2, the Hokies looked to mount a reply, and they seemingly got it in the top of fifth.

Kelsey Brown got things going with a single up the middle. Fagan capitalized on a throwing error by Johnson to get aboard, which allowed Brown to reach third. She reached home due to another error by Hanks, who tried to field a single from Greene. Greene and Fagan sat in scoring position, unshackled by outs.

However, Tech squandered a golden opportunity, failing to advance either of them home, settling for just one run to cut the deficit to 5-3.

With Lemley’s shaky start, D’Amour called Jacobson’s number in the fifth inning. Unfortunately, it seemed like the Irish had her figured out.

Orozco led off the inning with a walk, Emily Tran, her pinch runner, stole second and advanced to third off a sacrifice bunt. A pair of singles scored Tran and put two runners on. Another sacrifice chopper moved the runners forward 60 feet and into scoring position, but with two outs on the board.

Despite this being a fairly manageable position, Tech began to falter.

Jacobson walked Winchell to load the bases up before losing control of a pitch and hitting Kloss, walking in the seventh run. Mitchell blew the game wide open with a bases-clearing double that pushed Notre Dame up to a 10-3 lead.

A pitch that got by Castine allowed Mitchell to go to third, leading to a walk-off single up the middle by Orozco to conclude a six-run inning for the Irish, who run-ruled the Hokies.

The pitching woes continue to be the story for Tech, giving up 37 hits across the three-game series in what marked the Hokies second series defeat this season.

It’s certainly not what Virginia Tech hoped for from this road trip, especially when it has to look ahead to a Tuesday matchup against Radford at 6 p.m. ET with top-five Florida State on deck for next weekend.

Box Score: No. 14 Virginia Tech 8, Notre Dame 7
Box Score: Notre Dame 11, No. 14 Virginia Tech 3 (5) 

2 Responses You are logged in as Test

  1. Jacobson’s demise was correlated with the home plate umpire’s refusal to call balls and strikes…and the “hit” ND batter with combat gear hanging over the plate. I kept looking for his ND tatoo, must have been somewhere?

    1. Doesn’t even have to be over the plate. Just in the strike zone which includes the width of the ball inside the plate which is another 3.5 plus inches. She was plainly in that area

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