No. 23 Virginia Tech heads to Athens, Ga. this week to begin postseason play in the NCAA tournament. The Hokies open the double-elimination bracket on Friday, May 19 at 2 p.m. ET against No. 25 Boston University (51-8), the Patriot League champions. The game will be televised on the ACC Network.
No. 12 Georgia (39-13), the host for the tournament, will play in the second game of the day against North Carolina Central (19-33) at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+. The Bulldogs were one of eleven at-large teams selected from the SEC (plus auto-qualifier/league champion Tennessee) while the Eagles qualified for the NCAA tournament by winning the MEAC championship with a 6-2 win over Coppin State.
Here’s an overview of the schedule of the Athens Regional:
The winner of the Athens Regional will advance to the NCAA Super Regionals and play the winner of the Tallahassee Regional, which includes No. 3 Florida State, South Carolina, UCF and Marist.
The field includes three nationally ranked teams, all of which have been to 11 or more NCAA postseasons. It also features two of the top-five home run hitting teams in the country in Virginia Tech (No. 1 — 97 homers) and Georgia (No. 5 — 81). With the dimensions of Jack Turner Stadium being 190 feet down the foul lines, fans could see some long-ball fireworks.
Here’s an overview of the four teams:
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Boston University
The Terriers won their fifth straight Patriot League regular season title and did so in convincing fashion, finishing 17-1 in league play. Their only conference loss was to Lehigh (7-5) in the final regular season game. That loss also snapped BU’s 28-game win streak.
The Terriers were 1-1 against the two strongest teams they faced. They shut out then-No. 12 Baylor (2-0) but were run-ruled by then-No. 4 Florida (11-2). They also recorded Power Five wins over Georgia Tech (2-0), Penn State (4-0, 7-5) and Boston College (11-0).
This will be Boston’s 12th NCAA appearance and the third time as a No. 3 seed in a regional. The program has an all-time NCAA tournament record of 7-22 and has won at least one game in five of its previous 11 appearances. However, the team has lost its last eight games in that setting dating back to 2018.
The Terriers are familiar with Jack Turner Softball Stadium, having played in the Red & Black Showcase last year. On the first day of the tournament, they defeated both Purdue (5-2) and No. 13 Georgia (6-1), marking the first time in program history that they knocked off two Power Five schools on the same day. It also marked their first win against a ranked team since a 4-3 stunner against then-No. 1 and two-time defending national champion Oklahoma in 2018 at a tournament hosted by New Mexico State.
Boston is a well-balanced team who can win with hitting and pitching. It ranks eighth in the nation in hitting (.328 team average) and fifth in ERA (1.55). It trails only Oklahoma in the number of shutouts this season (23) and is in the top-10 in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.17). It’s a team that’s comfortable in the field, too, with the country’s fifth-best fielding percentage (.981) and just 29 errors on the year. However, its strength of schedule is No. 171 out of 306 teams.
In the circle, the Terriers are led by senior Allison Boaz (24-4, 1.37 ERA), who just won her second consecutive Patriot League Pitcher of the Year award. The lefty started 29 games this season, including all three conference tournament outings. In the championship, she pitched a four-hit shutout against Army, which looked similar to a two-hit shutout she threw against Cal State Fullerton in March.
Right-handed freshman Kasey Ricard (20-2, 1.69 ERA) saw action in 37 games for the Patriots, starting 17 of them and recording four saves in the others. She struck out 191 batters in 144 ⅔ innings and threw a one-hit shutout against Georgia Tech earlier in the season. For her efforts, she was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Year this season.
Right-hander Lizzy Avery (7-2, 1.78 ERA) got the other 13 starts this season for Boston and struck out 46 batters in 55 innings.
Offensively, the Terriers have six regulars who are hitting over .300, led by Patriot League Player of the Year Kayla Roncin. The junior shortstop won the conference’s triple crown, leading the league in hits (85), RBIs (51) and home runs (9), as well as runs scored (53). Her 85 hits are good for third in the NCAA this season. It was the second consecutive year that Roncin was awarded player of the year honors.
Her teammate on the left side of the infield, senior third baseman Caitlin Coker, was named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year. Coker, who was the Patriot League Player of the Year in 2021, is hitting .384 for the season and has stolen 25 bases in 26 attempts.
Boston head coach Ashley Waters is in her eighth season and has an overall record of 270-128 (.678). She just won her third consecutive Patriot League Coach of the Year award after leading the program to a school- and conference-record 48 regular season wins.
Virginia Tech and Boston have met three times, most recently in 2010 in Clearwater, Fla. The Hokies won all three contests, but head coach Pete D’Amour isn’t overlooking the Eagles.
“My thoughts on BU are the same with every team in the NCAA tournament,” D’Amour told Tech Sideline. “All of them did something to earn a spot in postseason. Their numbers are good in every aspect of the game. We’ll prepare for them as we’ve prepared for every game we’ve played this year.”
North Carolina Central
North Carolina Central qualified for its first-ever appearance in the NCAA tournament by winning the MEAC championship last weekend. The third-seeded Eagles won four games in four days, defeating Maryland Eastern Shore (2-1), Norfolk State (7-4) and Coppin State twice (10-1 and 6-2) to win their first-ever MEAC crown.
During the regular season, the Eagles went 12-7 in the MEAC and 1-4 versus ACC opponents. They were run-ruled by North Carolina (11-1) and Duke (12-0 and 8-0) before splitting a doubleheader with NC State, losing 19-9 (six innings) before beating the Wolfpack 10-3 in the nightcap. It was the program’s first Power Five win in four years.
North Carolina Central led the MEAC in home runs (39) total bases (515) and slugging percentage (.389) this season despite batting just .262 as a team.
The Eagles are led in hitting by a pair of freshmen: Makiya Graves (.356) and Takia Nichols (.346). Graves, who was the MEAC Rookie of the Year, ranks fourth nationally for being the toughest to strikeout, averaging one strikeout in every 40 at bats.
A pair of sophomores lead the team’s pitching staff. Jaden Davis (10-14) has started 26 games and leads the Eagles in ERA (3.27). She was named the Most Outstanding Performer during the MEAC Championship. Ashanti Eubanks (8-15, 5.47 ERA) started 20 games this season and registered a pair of wins during the Eagles’ championship run.
Cat Tarvin, who is in her second year at North Carolina Central, was named MEAC Coach of the Year this season. She has an overall record of 31-69 at the Durham-based school.
Georgia
Georgia is no stranger to the NCAA championship. This will be the Bulldogs’ 21st consecutive appearance, a run that has seen them advance to 11 super regionals and five Women’s College World Series, most recently in 2021.
The Bulldogs, who were picked sixth in the SEC preseason poll, exceeded expectations and finished second in the challenging conference with a record of 16-7. However, they did lose their last two regular season games at LSU (2-1, 9-1) were eliminated from the SEC Tournament with a 2-1 loss in eight innings to tournament runner-up South Carolina.
Georgia played two games against ACC opponents in February, falling at Clemson 7-1 and run-ruling Georgia Tech 8-0.
The Bulldogs certainly have offensive firepower. In addition to being fifth nationally in home runs, they’re third in slugging percentage (.576) and fifth in batting average (.319). Defensively, they’re sixth in the SEC in fielding percentage (.972).
Georgia’s top three hitters were all named to the All-SEC First Team: senior second baseman Sydney Kuma (.381, 11 HRs), junior outfielder Jayda Kearney (.379, 18 HRs) and senior infielder Sara Mosley (.347, 16 HRs). It’s the second straight year Kearney earned all-conference honors.
Duke graduate transfer Shelby Walters leads the Bulldogs in the circle with a 17-5 record and a 1.36 ERA. Though she started 20 games for Georgia, she’s also used in a relief role and leads the SEC in saves with seven. Walters was also named to the First Team All-SEC squad.
Junior Madison Kerpics (17-6, 2.40 ERA) leads the team in starts with 27 and has struck out 130 hitters in 137 innings. She recorded an impressive two-hit shutout against Auburn earlier in the year. In 2022, she was Georgia’s ace, starting 26 games and pitching 185.2 innings with an ERA of 3.09 and a 20-10 record.
Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech earned a bid to the NCAA tournament for the fourth consecutive season and 12th time overall. The Hokies finished the year with an overall record of 36-17 with a 14-10 mark in the ACC. Their tournament résumé was boosted thanks to the No. 20 strength of schedule in D-I.
The Hokies finished the season by playing six games against NCAA tournament participants and went 4-2, despite having a number of players under the weather during the ACC tournament in South Bend, Ind.
“Everyone’s healthy now,” D’Amour shared on Tuesday. “There are a few kids that still have the bug from last weekend but it shouldn’t be an issue. We had two good days of practice. We’ve played some good softball the last two weeks and a couple of games where we didn’t play so well.
“It’s a ‘new’ season. We’re as prepared as we can be. Our seniors have played in four of these now and they know what to expect. They’ll bring our young ones along.”
Here’s an overview of the primary Virginia Tech players, followed by the regional’s tale of the tape:
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Chip, in your opinion, is the team peaking at the right time or do still have some pieces missing/unresolved?
Thanks Chip. Great coverage as always! Makes us all very excited for the girls.
GO HOKIES!!!
Chip, I have become a huge fan of the game over the past couple years and your enthusiasm for our Hokies and the game has played a part in this. Enjoy your write ups and quality coverage.
Thank you. Much appreciated!
Let’s Go Hokies!
I’m pumped Chip. That is a great writeup and we’ll need to chase BU’s starter. The short fence and our home run prowess could be a big factor.
It’s pretty remarkable, I can’t imagine many if any other school sites having this kind of write-up let alone the national sports outlets.
You guys are very kind and it means a LOT!
THANK YOU!!!
Great article.
Thanks, RJ
Amazing the number of home runs we have given up Vs the other three teams! On the reverse look how FEW HRs that Boston has it!
A lot of small ball which might be in our favor…
Great article. We better not overlook Boston U.
Thank you. You are exactly right about BU. The quality of competition is a question mark, BUT they have shown they can beat anyone on a given day. VT needs to bring their A-game.