No. 15 Hokies Softball Travels To Syracuse For Final ACC Series Of The Year

Riding an eleven-game winning streak, the No. 15 Hokies travel to Syracuse this weekend for their final ACC series of the season.

It’s a critical series for both teams. Virginia Tech (37-9-1, 17-4 ACC) still has hopes of being selected as one of the 16 host schools for the NCAA Tournament. On the other side, the Orange (23-20, 5-13) is battling Louisville (6-12), Pitt (6-15), Boston College (5-13) and NC State (5-13) for the final two spots in the ACC Tournament (only the top-10 schools are invited).

All three games will be available on ACC Network Extra. Here is the schedule:

The Hokies have been on fire the last three weeks. During their winning streak, they have outscored their opponents 110-25 while batting .384 and have slammed 28 home runs and 16 doubles.

Syracuse was picked tenth in the preseason ACC poll. It’s recorded just five conference wins this season:  Georgia Tech (twice), Pitt, Boston College and Virginia. Its best non-conference wins were a pair of victories over Maryland in February.

The Hokies hold a slim 16-14 lead in the all-time series, but they have not lost to Syracuse since Pete D’Amour came to Blacksburg in 2018. In that span, they’re 8-0 and have outscored the Orange 59-6.

Syracuse is led by senior outfielder Angel Jasso, who is hitting .403. She has started 178 games for the Orange and has a career batting average of .329. Junior utility player Taylor Posner leads the team in home runs with 11, double the number of any other Syracuse player.

In the circle, senior left-hander Lindsey Hendrix (9-3, 2.74 ERA) and sophomore right-hander Madison Knight (4-5, 2.58) lead team in starts this season with 15 and 12, respectively. Knight earned a spot on the All-ACC Freshman Team last year when she led the Orange in ERA (2.99).

Syracuse is coached by Shannon Doepking, who is in her sixth season with the Orange and has a 125-133 record.

The Orange has three NCAA Tournament appearances in its history — from 2010-12 — when it was members of the Big East. Since joining the ACC, it has a conference record of 85-141-1.

Here is the tale of the tape: