Virginia Tech Softball 2024 Season Preview

With a mixture of productive returners and talented newcomers, No. 23 Virginia Tech has high hopes for the 2024 season.

“I’m excited,” Tech head coach Pete D’Amour exclaimed at media day. “We’re athletic, we can hit, we can defend, our pitching will be improved. There’s a lot to be excited about.”

Tech added 12 new players in the offseason — nine freshmen and three transfers. They join 12 returners from last year’s squad that compiled a record of 39-20 (14-10 ACC) and earned an NCAA Tournament bid. D’Amour said the group’s meshed well.

The key returners include four of top five hitters from last year: Emma Ritter (.368), Cameron Fagan (.335), Bre Peck (.325) and Addy Green (.305), along with all three pitchers: Emma Lemley, Lyndsey Grein and Molly Jacobson.

They’re joined by nine freshmen in a recruiting class that was ranked 12th in the country by Extra Innings Softball, five of which were in the top 65. D’Amour has declined to call out any freshmen in order to avoid putting pressure on them but admits that he is excited about their potential.

“I don’t want to heap any expectations on the freshmen,” D’Amour said. “They all came in with great expectations, but they haven’t played a game yet. But they are all doing what they need to do in practice. When the lights come on, we’ll see.”

The Hokies also welcome two transfers that are expected to play impactful roles on this year’s team. Cory McMillan, who transferred from Radford, has a career batting average of .345 and was a two-time All-Big South honoree. D’Amour has regularly called her a “five-tool player who can do everything on a softball field.”

Sophomore Cassie Grizzard, a left-handed pitcher who transferred from Louisville, made 15 appearances for the Cardinals in 2023, which included throwing a shutout in her first collegiate start. D’Amour said she throws “65 left-handed with a good changeup” and expects her to have a key role on this year’s team.

Having an abundance of talent, however, can also be a challenge.

“Our depth excites me,” McMillan said. “I have no clue how our coaches are going to choose a lineup because of how many options we have. We are so blessed to have that problem. We have a bunch of different people who can thrive in different scenarios. ”

“I think the freshmen class is so strong,” Peck added. “Our pitching is really strong. We have a lot of power and a lot of options.”

The Hokies open their season on Friday, Feb. 9 vs. Illinois (11 a.m. ET) in a tournament in Auburn, Ala. Here’s a roster outlook:

Outfield

Peck, Ritter and Greene are ranked in the top nine of career slugging percentage for Virginia Tech and their bats will be in the starting lineup in some fashion.

However, freshman Lyla Blackwell, the No. 23 overall recruit in the class of 2023, has been very impressive and could easily move into the starting lineup with Peck moving to third. Blackwell not only wears the same number as the graduated Kelsey Brown, but she has very similar speed and could potentially serve as the Hokies lead-off hitter.

Infield

Fagan has a career batting average of .359 and has started all 147 games of her Hokies career — primarily at second base. There’s no reason to think that won’t continue.

At shortstop, Teagan Thrunk (40 starts, .253 average) and Rachel Castine (30 starts, .246 average) return and are competing with freshman Annika Rohs, an outstanding fielder, who was the No. 63 recruit in the country. D’Amour mentioned to the media that Castine was one of the players who “had taken a step ahead” this spring. All three have also spent time at second base and are available to play there if needed.

Freshman Michelle Chatfield had an outstanding spring and will likely start at first or third base. McMillan primarily played third base a Radford but has the versatility to play anywhere. Freshmen Emily LeGette has swung the bat well and provides depth at first base.

Catcher

Sophomore Kylie Aldridge started 49 games last season, batting .270 once she made a change in her stance. She is an excellent defensive catcher and was fourth on the team in on-base percentage (.440). Freshman Zoe Yaeger, the No. 38 recruit in the country in the 2023 class, should back her up there.

Designated Player

The Hokies having all the previously mentioned players means D’Amour has multiple options for the designated player spot. One possible lineup would be Blackwell in center, Peck at third, Chatfield at first and McMillan at DP.

Pitching

All three pitchers from last season return, but the big news in Blacksburg is the addition of three new arms, as well as a new pitching coach in Josh Johnson, who joined the program after four years at Mississippi State. Two of the new hurlers are left-handers — a look the Hokies haven’t had since 2018.

Lemley and Grein threw 324 innings last season, 85 percent of the Hokies’ total. Both were primarily rise-ball pitchers, which gave opponents an advantage in preparation. The variety of looks that are now available to D’Amour and Johnson should give Tech a leg up.

“Last year, we had two predominantly rise-ball pitchers,” D’Amour said on Tech Talk Live on Feb. 1. “So [if] you take one rise-ball pitcher out, … you’re replacing that pitcher with somebody that throws similar to the pitcher you took out. … But you just can’t have the same look all the time. It’s hard if our pitchers go four times through our hitters.”

“You set up practices based on what you’re going to face,” D’Amour added in his Friday press conference. “Last year, other teams knew what they were going to face. This year will be another dimension for our program.”

Lemley is still expected to be the program’s ace, but she’s in a better spot this year. Part of that is because her velocity is back.

“She got a lot of innings heaped on her last year,” D’Amour said of Lemley. “In regionals, she was throwing 62 and she’s usually at 68 or 70. Her velocity is back. Her spin has already been tight. She’s developed a couple of new pitches that people don’t know about yet.”

Grein appeared in 26 games in 2023 and was mentioned by D’Amour as being one of the most improved players from last season. She’s throwing well right now, which has caught the eye of some of her teammates. Grizzard said the sophomore “will outwork anybody on this team.”

“Lyndsey has gotten very strong,” Lemley said. “She’s been working very hard in the weight room. She wants it. She is one of the hardest working people I know.”

As a lefty, Grizzard will provide the Hokies with a totally different look from the other side of the pitching circle.

“Cassie locates her pitches well,” D’Amour said on the In The Circle Podcast in mid-January. “She throws 63-66 and has one of the best change-ups that I’ve ever coached. She has the ability to get left-hander hitters out. When you’re pitching against our left-handers in practice and you can get them out, that’s saying something.”

Freshman Emma Mazzarone, another top-60 recruit, gives the Hokies a second lefty as well as a powerful left-handed hitter. She can hit 70 miles per hour.

Jacobson, a redshirt junior who appeared in 21 games last season (7-2, 3.55 ERA), also returns. Freshman Haley McManus provides the Hokies with a fourth arm from the right side.

Helping develop the pitching staff is Johnson, who has really had an impact on his protegees. He joined the staff in June after spending four seasons at Mississippi State.

“I think Coach Josh is doing a great job at making our dominant pitchers’ pitches great and then also kind of working with the little things so when we go out there, we can be successful,” Grizzard said. “And then we also have back up for when they start hitting my change-up or hitting my drop ball. Then Emma Lem is going to come in with a 70 mph rise ball. It’s so hard to adjust to that.”

“It all comes down to pitching,” D’Amour said. “Everybody wants to see offense, but it you don’t have pitching, you’re not going to win. Last year, our pitching was not as good as they thought they could be. It’s better this year.”

Schedule

D’Amour scheduled aggressively once again with 20 games on tap against teams that played in the postseason last year. In the non-conference, that includes two games against Auburn and one each vs. Cal and Grand Canyon.

What’s more, the Hokies will face Georgia twice in Athens — the Bulldogs made the NCAA Super Regionals in 2023 — and will travel to Alabama on March 22 and 23 for a two-game series against the Crimson Tide, fresh off a Women’s College World Series appearance.

“Our goal is to host regionals and super regionals,” D’Amour said. “There’s no downside to scheduling tough teams.”

The Hokies open the season on Friday, Feb. 9 in the Tiger Invitational at Auburn where they’ll clash twice with the Tigers and Illinois with a game vs. Belmont sandwiched in between.