BLACKSBURG – The long ball was the story on Sunday between [RV] Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech, as the two softball teams combined for 12 home runs at a windy Tech Softball Park, with the Yellow Jackets winning the first game of the doubleheader, 10-7, and the Hokies claiming the final game, 5-4, to win the series in the rubber match.
Virginia Tech (18-4, 2-1 ACC) was once again led by Carrie Eberle (10-1) in the circle, while the junior did it at the plate, too, earning a hit in the bottom of the seventh in the final game, which would be the game-winning run as pinch runner Stacy Kalt came in, swiping second and going all the way to home as the ball bounced into the outfield for the walk-off steal.
Freshman Jayme Bailey hit her first career home run in the first game, then followed with another to be the lone Hokie with two homers on the day.
For the first time since 2007, Virginia Tech won its opening ACC series at home, as well as only the third time in program history since the team joined the league in the 2005 season.
QUOTING HEAD COACH PETE D'AMOUR
On what was going through his head on the final play of Game 3:
"Just keep going," Virginia Tech coach Pete D'Amour said. "You don't want to make the third out at home. I saw it trickle away and Stacy [Kalt] is probably our fastest kid, so I was like, 'What the heck, let's keep her going.'"
On his takeaways from the series after winning the rubber match:
"It's a process in terms of learning how to win," D'Amour said. "When they went up 4-2, we went down a little bit, but Emma [Strouth] picked us up with a home run. But overall, just knowing that you're in these games, especially with conference games being a grind – you can't take any pitches off. It was good to see how the players battled today."
(3/10/2019) 2019 SOFTBALL vs. GEORGIA TECH SUNDAY
GAME 1 - VT 7, GT 10
The Yellow Jackets (15-10, 1-2) got on the board first, hitting back-to-back doubles down the left-field line in the top of the first inning. It marked pitcher Keely Rochard's (8-3) first time allowing a run in the first inning, lasting 10 first innings on the season, respectively.
Leading 1-0 in the top of the third, Georgia Tech tacked on three more runs to give itself a 4-0 lead before the Hokies started climbing back. In the bottom half of the third, after fouling off four pitches, a nine-pitch walk by catcher Lauren Duff began the frame. A batter later, outfielder Al Velazquez went deep to left field, hitting her first home run as a Hokie to trim the Jackets' lead to two.
Georgia Tech answered, however, scoring two more runs in the top of the fourth. Another long-pitch at-bat started the inning for Virginia Tech, with Bailey earning the base on balls on eight pitches. Duff would single to left and Velazquez would come through in the clutch once again, earning another two RBIs with a single to right, scoring pinch runner Kinsey Johnson and Bailey.
Both teams would respond with three-run innings in the fifth, thanks to a solo homer from shortstop Caitlyn Nolan on a first-pitch fastball and a two-run home run by Bailey to center, knocking in outfielder Emma Strouth.
The Jackets got an insurance run in the top of the seventh off of Eberle, who came in relief in the sixth, and the Hokies would go down in order in the bottom half for their first home loss of the season. The two teams combined for eight home runs in the slugfest, with gusts of 31 miles per hour winds at TSP.
GAME 2 - VT 5, GT 4
Once again, Georgia Tech got out head in the first inning, getting two runs on the board. The Hokies would answer in the bottom half on a sacrifice fly by Nolan to right, scoring Velazquez who got on with single.
Eberle would keep it quiet the next three innings, getting two strikeouts and five groundouts with no runs allowed, while Virginia Tech tacked on another run, tying the game at 2-all after a solo homer by Bailey in the second frame.
The Jackets would extend their lead again, though, plating two in the fifth on their seventh homer of the day. But Virginia Tech would get a clutch home run by Strouth on a full count, homering to left center to score herself and third baseman Kelsey Bennet to knot it up at 4-4.
Eberle would come to the circle in the top of the seventh, getting three groundouts to give Virginia Tech a chance to win it with one run in the bottom of the seventh. The North Carolina native, after throwing 163 pitches in the two games combined, would dig deep and led off the inning with a single to left center before Kalt pinch ran and scored the game-winner.
NOTES
- With Eberle picking up her 10th win in the circle, she now is one of only two players (Florida State's Meghan King, 12) in the ACC to have double-digit wins.
- Virginia Tech, which entered the weekend with 27 home runs, now sits at 33 through 22 games. In the first game today, the Hokies' three home runs marked the fourth time they have hit three homers in a game.
- The following players hit it over the fence in the two games: Velazquez, Nolan, Bailey (2) and Strouth.
- Velazquez extended her hitting streak to nine games, as well as her reached base streak to nine, with both streaks being the longest on the team. The Colorado native, who finished with three hits and four RBIs, is one hit away from tying her career high of 10 straight games with a base knock, which she set from Feb. 8-Feb. 17.
- D'Amour improved to 10-6 in games tied after six innings in his career. Before today's game, the Hokies were 0-3 when trailing after four innings, marking today's win as being their first comeback in the later half.
UP NEXT
- The Hokies will head to Raleigh, North Carolina for their first ACC road trip of the season, taking on NC State (15-8) in a three-game series starting this Friday.