BLACKSBURG – Taking its four-game winning streak to the Queen City, No. 21/20 Virginia Tech softball will play at Charlotte in a doubleheader on Wednesday at Sue M. Daughtridge Stadium.
The first game will take place at 4 p.m. ET and the next contest will follow roughly 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first tilt. Both games will be broadcast on CUSA.tv and you can access the stream online, but it will cost money. The price is $6.95 for a 24-hour subscription.
The all-time series between the two schools stands at 11-2 in favor of the Hokies (37-6, 16-2 ACC). Tech has won the last nine in a row and hasn't lost to the 49ers (12-28, 3-12 C-USA) since 1998.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Wed. | 4 p.m. vs. Charlotte | Stats | Watch
Wed. | 6 p.m. vs. Charlotte | Stats | Watch
The last time out, Tech split its doubleheader with No. 20/17 JMU (28-7, 8-1 CAA) on Wednesday, marking its first win over a ranked opponent at home since 2016. The Hokies led for six innings in the first game, but let it slip away in the top of the seventh, falling 3-1 in Game 1. But bounced back and then some in Game 2 with a 12-0 run-rule victory in five innings behind Keely Rochard's (16-3) perfect game.
Over the weekend, Tech did not allow in-state rival Virginia (16-25, 5-13) to score, let alone touch third base. Outscoring the Cavaliers 16-0 led by Rochard and Carrie Eberle (21-3) in the circle and Emma Strouth at the plate (7 RBIs) to gain a point in the Commonwealth Clash presented by Virginia529.
Earlier today, the ACC honored Strouth (Co-Player of the Week) and Rochard (Pitcher of the Week) with weekly honors, marking Strouth's first award and Rochard's third from the league office this season. Rochard also earned three national player/pitcher of the week honors, including the NFCA, USA Softball and Fastpitch News.
In the polls this week, Tech moved up one spot to No. 21 in the USA Today/NFCA poll, its highest ranking in the poll this season, and remains at No. 20 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll for the third straight week. The RPI has the Hokies slotted at No. 27 for the second consecutive week.
Rochard (10 shutouts) and Eberle (7) are in the top 10 nationally for shutouts and have the most and second most in the conference. Tech has four players in the top 10 in the ACC for batting average, while owning a team clip of .346, which is the fifth best nationally.
SCOUTING CHARLOTTE
Record: 12-28 (3-12 C-USA)
Head coach: Aimee Devos (627-694-2, 35th season)
All-time series: Tech leads 11-2
The 49ers are coming off a doubleheader split to Campbell (19-25, 9-9 Big South) last Thursday, winning the first game 8-0 in six innings and falling 5-4 in the second contest in Charlotte. The day before, they took on Duke (23-23, 10-8) and loss 3-1, which Tech swept on April 6-7.