No. 16 Virginia Tech Softball Explodes In 12-2 Win Over Boston College

No. 16 Virginia Tech softball exploded for six runs in the fifth inning en route to its 12-2 run-rule win over Boston College on Friday.

Entering the fifth, the Hokies (29-9-1, 12-4 ACC) held a one-run lead. Quickly, center fielder Emma Ritter smashed a home run to start the frame. Two batters later, first baseman Michelle Chatfield launched a two-run shot. Three batters later, second baseman Cameron Fagan followed with a homer of her own.

Tech entered the fifth inning with five hits. It finished with 12.

“I think we made progress throughout the game,” Virginia Tech starting pitcher Emma Lemley said. “We got better as the game went on, which was cool to see.”

Chatfield hit her second homer of the game in the sixth inning, a three-run moonshot to secure the run-rule win. Her two on Friday brought her season total up to 17, soaring past the program freshman home run record and approaching Caitlyn Nolan’s program record of 19 homers in 2019.

B6 | FOR THE WIN🏆🏆@michellechatfi1 with the two-run walk off homer💥 pic.twitter.com/nytUID5Uw2

— Virginia Tech Softball (@HokiesSoftball) April 13, 2024

“She never gets too high, never too low,” Hokies head coach Pete D’Amour said. “She’s having a good year. When she struggles a little bit, it doesn’t bother her. She’s ready for the next at bat, and that’s what we preach.”

Chatfield had a game-high five RBI. Fagan and Kylie Aldridge followed her with two.

“I was just swinging hard,” Chatfield said. “Coach Pete told me before the last at-bat to be on time for a hard pitch. I was just ready for the hard ones and she threw it right where I thought she was going to throw it.”

Aldridge knocked a two-run shot in the second to put Tech ahead. The sophomore catcher has hit four homers in her last five games.

Lost in the shuffle of all of the offense was Lemley, who pitched the duration and threw a ho-hum nine strikeouts. She allowed just two hits and two runs — although neither were earned.

The Hokies went up against an Eagles (24-14, 5-8 ACC) starting pitcher — Abby Dunning — who entered Friday with a 1.67 earned run average. Dunning mixed speeds effectively early on to stump Tech’s bats, but it eventually caught up to her. She allowed eight hits and six runs across four-plus innings of work.

“I think we were having good at bats at the beginning, but we were just missing balls,” Chatfield said. “The little adjustments helped us at the end there.”

Boston College relied heavily on two arms — Dunning and Halie Pappion — to get through most of its earlier games this season. Pappion did not appear on Friday, and Tech tattooed Addison Jackson and Gabriella Aughton, the Eagles’ other two options. That duo combined to face nine batters across an inning; six of them scored runs. 

“It was just Coach Pete telling us to make the little adjustments, you’re right on it, you’re having good at bats,” Chatfield said. “It was just everyone feeding off each other.”

Virginia Tech and Boston College will rematch in the second game of their series on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.

Injury note:

D’Amour said shortstop Rachel Castine is day-to-day. He did not provide a timeline for her return.

Castine started the first nine games of the year, knocking five home runs with 10 hits and 11 runs, culminating in a .526 batting average. She has not played since Feb. 17, when she sustained a broken wrist after being hit by a pitch.

Box Score: No. 16 Virginia Tech 12, Boston College 2 (6 innings)