Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG - The Virginia Tech softball squad will head south for the first leg of its Spring Break, participating in the 16-team USF Under Armour Invitational in Clearwater, Fla. Tech will open on Friday at 11 a.m., against Lehigh and then will play the host Bulls at 4 p.m. On Saturday, the Hokies will play Fordham at 1 o’clock.
The 16 teams will then be broken into four, four-team brackets based on records and tiebreakers in pool play. Each team will play one more game on Saturday at either 4 or 6 p.m., and then one on Sunday, at either 10 a.m., or noon.
Following the Under Armour Invite, Tech will head to Nashville, Tenn., for a doubleheader against Lipscomb on Wednesday, March 11. It will be a homecoming for sophomore pitcher Kenzie Roark, who grew up in nearby Mt. Juliet. Tech will return to Blacksburg after that doubleheader and will open ACC play next weekend, hosting NC State on Saturday (DH) and Sunday.
Fordham is 5-6 heading into this weekend’s action in Florida. The Rams are hitting .239 as a team and have a staff ERA of 2.33. Lindsay Kay Brighton leads the way at the plate with a .382 average while Jen Mineau (3-3, 2.14 ERA) and Beckah Wiggins (2-3, 2.24 ERA) split most of the time in the circle. Jocelyn Dearborn has three home runs and the Rams are 15-of-19 on stolen base attempts.
Tech is 12-0 all-time against the Rams, including a 10-0 as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The last two meetings between these two teams came at this tournament, a 5-4 Hokie win in 2006 and a 5-0 win in 2007.
Lehigh has made the NCAA Tournament the four of the past five seasons and enters this weekend with a 7-3 record. The Mountain Hawks are hitting .280 as a team and ace Lisa Sweeney is 5-0 with an ERA of 1.75 and 43 strikeouts. Tech is 2-0 all-time against the Mountain Hawks, winning 7-1 in 2003 in Blacksburg and 4-0 in 2007 at the Leadoff Classic.
South Florida is an NCAA Tournament regular and enters this weekend at 13-9 after splitting with Maine on Tuesday at home. Gina Kalafas is hitting .429 while Britta Giddens is hitting .420. The Bulls are hitting .286 with 31 stolen bases while the pitching staff of five has an ERA of 2.51. Tech is 1-1 all-time against the Bulls, beating them 5-2 in 2002 in Plant City, Fla., and losing 6-1 last year in Tucson, Ariz.
The game will be broadcast in the Florida area by the Bright House Sports Network. Jim Louk (play-by-play) and Lyndsey Klein (color) will have the call of the game.
Lipscomb is 9-3 heading into its action this weekend in the Low Country Invitational in Charleston, S.C. Kellie Sirus leads the way at the plate for a team that plays in the Atlantic Sun Conference. This will be the first meeting between the Hokies and Lady Bisons on the diamond. The doubleheader will be played at Draper Diamond on LU’s campus.