Hokies Take #2/#3 FSU to the Woodshed

In one of the most surprising outcomes in college softball this season, the #4/#5 Virginia Tech softball team blasted #2/#3 Florida State 23-9 in a Saturday ACC showdown.

The game made the record books of both schools:
• Most runs scored by Virginia Tech, breaking the old record of 22 versus Morgan State on 3/20/2014
• Most RBIs by Virginia Tech (22), breaking the old record of 19 in that same Morgan State game
• Most runs allowed by FSU in a game, breaking the old record of 17 versus Michigan in 2014
• Biggest losing margin in an FSU game (tied the record of 14 in the same Michigan game)

The Hokies wasted no time in jumping on the Seminoles, opening an 11-0 margin after just three innings.

Meredith Slaw continued her recent torrid hitting, blasting a bases loaded double in the first inning and Kelsey Bennett would follow that with a 3-run home run in the second.

Things kept rolling in the third inning as Slaw led off with her third HR in two games and Kelsey Brown scored Mackenzie Lawter with a triple. Cameron Fagan topped off the scoring with a 2-run blast to right field.

But things got a little squirrelly in the 4th inning for the Hokies as the Noles would score 9 runs of their own on just 4 hits. Four walks and a VT error created additional FSU base runners and a grand slam by Kalei Harding and a 3-run blast by Mack Leonard made things interesting.

After the game, Coach Pete D’Amour was asked by Techsideline if he was worried when FSU put up the 9-spot.

"Worried isn’t the word,” said D’Amour. “We needed to stop the bleeding somehow and come out of that inning with the lead. They scored 9 and we were still up by 2. I told the kids that we just got their best shot, but we still had the lead. We needed to continue to have good at bats, which we did."

Have good at bats would be an understatement. The Hokies added two more runs in the 6th inning and then exploded for 10 more in the 7th on 8 hits, 2 walks, and an error.

D’Amour regularly went to his bench and the bench delivered: Ally Repko smashed a 2-RBI double, and Grace Chavez scorched a 2-RBI single.

For the day, the Hokie hitting heroes were plentiful. Fagan, Bennett, and Slaw each had 3 hits and drove in 4 runs. Bre Peck also had 3 hits and drove in 3 runs. Emma Ritter added two hits and drove in 2 runs.

Saturday continued Slaw’s red-hot weekend. In the two games versus FSU, the Hokie senior was 6 for 7 with 7 RBIs that included 3 home runs, a double, and 2 singles. She was named the Player of the Game by the ESPN broadcast crew and repeated her previous comments that “I just have a plan each time (at bat) and I stick with it.”

In the circle, Emma Lemley started but ran into trouble and was relieved by Ivy Rosenberry who also hit some speed bumps. All-American Keely Rochard entered in the 4th inning and pitched the last 4 frames, striking out 5. She would pick up the win to move to 16-2 on the year.

The VT pitching staff limited FSU to only 6 hits Saturday after limiting them to 5 hits on Friday.

“I thought Emma was throwing well and got into a little lull in the 4th,” said D’Amour. “It was just a learning experience for her. When you’re up 11, there’s no need to be too fine.”

“Everything seemed to go our way for six innings today,” he continued. “The offense set the tone from the start and we continued to have good at bats the whole day.”

The series finale will be played Sunday at noon and will be shown on ACC Network. The Seminoles will no doubt be primed to try and put a blemish on the Hokies’ spotless ACC record. But D’Amour said the VT team would be ready.

“The margin of error between both teams is so small,” said D’Amour. “We played cleaner today than we did last night. I like the mindset of our team. We’re not going to coast into tomorrow’s game. We’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”

Below are some highlights from the Hokies Softball Twitter.