Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG (hokiesports.com) - The Virginia Tech softball team, winners of eight of its last 10 games, will return home to host Longwood University Wednesday evening in a doubleheader starting at 5 p.m. Action takes place at Tech Softball Park and admission is free.
The Hokies are coming off an ACC sweep at Boston College, which improved their record to 27-10 overall, 6-5 in the ACC. Longwood is also on a hot streak, winning 12 of its last 13 games to run its record to 31-11.
The Hokies are ranked 27th in the latest NCAA RPI with a strength of schedule of 48th. The Hokies are 2-1 against top-25 RPI teams and 17-10 against teams ranked in the top 100. Longwood is ranked 108th in the RPI with a SOS of 256th. The Lancers have played just one top-25 team and are 1-1 against top-100 teams. The other 40 games have come against teams ranked 101 or below in the latest RPI.
Led by three players hitting over .400, the Lancers hit .339 as a team with 58 home runs, 299 RBIs, 72 doubles and 66 stolen bases. Kori Nishitomi leads the way with a .476 average and 16 stolen bases. Brooke Short is hitting .420 with 14 home runs while Megan Baltzell is hitting .413 with 19 home runs (second-most in the country). Emily Murphy also has 10 home runs and is hitting .359.
In the circle, the duo of Short (16-5, 2.41 ERA, 125.0 IP) and Libby Morris (13-5, 3.10 ERA, 99.1) have seen the most action for a staff that sports a 2.64 ERA.
Traditionally, this series has been a close one as Tech holds just a 7-5 lead. The two teams split a doubleheader every year from 2007-2011 before the Hokies took both games last year in Farmville, winning 4-0 and 5-3 in eight innings. Tech is 3-3 against the Lancers at Tech Softball Park.
This doubleheader will mark the first games of a five-game homestand as the Hokies will also host league-leading and 23rd-ranked Florida State this weekend. Saturday’s first game will be televised live nationally on ESPNU, marking the first televised Tech game from TSP. After a long season on the road, the Hokies have 15 scheduled games left in the regular season, all in the Commonwealth.