RALEIGH, N.C. – In its first ACC road game of the season, the No. 25 Virginia Tech softball team came away with a 4-2 victory over NC State at Dail Stadium on Friday afternoon behind a complete game from pitcher Carrie Eberle.
Eberle (11-1) pitched her fourth seven-inning game of allowing two runs or less on her way to striking seven Wolfpack (16-9, 0-1 ACC) batters. Offensively, the Hokies (19-4, 3-1) had a balanced attack at the plate, with three players owning one RBI, including Darby Trull, Caitlyn Nolan and Emma Strouth.
A three-run third inning and an insurance run by speedster Maddi Banks in the top of the seventh would be enough for Tech, which picked up its first win over the Pack since March 5, 2016.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The third inning began with designated player Sierra Walton kicking things off with a single to left field. Pinch runner Kinsey Johnson came in for Walton and would move to second after Banks bunted and reached first.
After moving over a base following a grounder, Johnson would score on a sacrifice fly to left field by Trull. On a 1-0 count, Nolan ripped her sixth double of the season to left, scoring Banks. Then Strouth would follow suit with a single to center to score Nolan.
The Pack would answer in the bottom of the fourth, though, hitting a home run to left field off of Eberle to cut the deficit to two, 3-1.
In the top of the seventh, Banks dropped a first-pitch bunt roughly five feet to the left and State's pitcher tried to get her out at first in a bang-bang play, but the throw was off target, tipped off the fielder's glove and went all the way back to the right-field wall. Seeing her scooting around third with the ball mid-air heading to the cutoff man, head coach Pete D'Amour waved Banks home and the Iowa native slid in safely for the insurance run.
With a three-run lead in the bottom half, Eberle gave up a double to right and a single that went right back at her and tipped off her glove to begin the frame. With runners on the corners and no outs, she got a foul out and a fielder's choice, which plated the runner to make it a two-run game.
Another single put the pressure on, with the game-winning run stepping to the plate. But Eberle got it done, getting a dropped third strike with catcher Mackenzie Lawter throwing it the batter out at first to seal it.
Gallery: (3/15/2019) 2019 SOFTBALL at NC STATE FRIDAY
TWEET OF THE GAME
M3 | Nolan rips one down the left-field line for a double, driving in Banks after a sac fly by Trull!
— Virginia Tech Softball (@HokiesSoftball) March 15, 2019
Then Strouth hits a single, knocking in Nolan to give us a three-run lead 💪
(🦃3, 🐺0) pic.twitter.com/IbbIUYNZHU
NOTES
- With the win in the circle, Eberle is now one of only 19 players in the nation to boast 11 or more wins. Her seven Ks tied her second-most of the year, which she set in the season opener versus [RV] Wichita State on Feb. 8.
- Strouth finished at the plate going 2 for 2 with an RBI and a walk. She now has nine multi-hit games this season, the most on the team.
- Velazquez's nine-game hitting streak came to an end, the second longest of her career, but she did reach base twice on two walks, extending her reached-base streak to a team-best 10 games.
- Tech for the 11th time this year did not commit an error in a game, improving its record to a perfect 11-0 in those contests.
- As it has been the case all season, the Hokies jumped out ahead with scoring first – this time plating three in the third. They now are 18-2 when they score before the opponent.
UP NEXT
- The Hokies will play in their second contest of the three-game series against State on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.