CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Kelsey Bennett set the freshman home run record in a season and the No. 21/20 Virginia Tech softball team outscored Charlotte 17-1 in two wins of a doubleheader on Wednesday at Sue M. Daughtridge Stadium.
The Hokies (39-6, 16-2 ACC) won the first game 9-1 and the second contest 8-0 in five innings over the 49ers (12-30, 3-12 C-USA). Bennett, who coming into the midweek tilts was tied with Courtney Liddle and her 11 home runs hit in 2010, dropped a bomb in the first game to break it and then followed it up with one more in Game 2 to now own the record with 13.
Bennett led the way at the plate, hitting a team-high four hits in the two games combined, while first baseman Jayme Bailey and outfielder Darby Trull finished with three hits apiece. Designated player Grace Chavez and shortstop Caitlyn Nolan each had a home run, and so did Trull, too.
In the circle, pitchers Keely Rochard (17-3) and Carrie Eberle (22-3) picked up wins, making Tech the only team in to country to boast two pitchers with 17 or more wins. Rochard's shutout streak came to an end at 24 innings, while Eberle pitched her eighth shutout of the season. Both right-handers finished with five strikeouts apiece.
QUOTING THIRD BASEMAN KELSEY BENNETT
On why she thought she had so much success at the plate:
"Honestly, my first two at-bats, I was just trying to get on time," Bennett said. "After my second at-bat, I was way out in front. So, after my third at-bat, I was just like, 'I'm just going to be on time for this pitch.' And that's when I hit my home run. I was just trying to let the ball get deep and actually see it for once (laughing)."
On if she was a power hitter in high school and how that has transitioned to college:
"Well, actually my senior year I hit 14 home runs," Bennett explained. "So, I just had to carry that swing to college and it's helped me a lot so far. My hitting coach, Lincoln Martin, helped me a lot with staying focused and hitting pitches I know that I could hit well. But our staff at Tech has evolved my swing to this level, which has paid off so far."
On if it's cool now owning the record or if she will not think about it too much in the future:
"Oh, it's really cool, but I don't want to think too much of it, because I feel like when I think too much about hitting a home run, I won't hit it," Bennett said. "I'll have to stay relaxed going forward and keep my mind clear from every at-bat from now on."
On the sweep and if it gives the team some momentum heading into a crucial ACC weekend:
"Yeah, it does," Bennett said. "I just think we need to play pitch-by-pitch, inning-by-inning and good things will happen."
GAME 1 – VT 9, CHA 1
Bailey kicked things off with a single to the shortstop, utilizing her speed to beat the throw. Outfielder Al Velazquez followed by reaching base off an error at second base and Bailey advanced to third. With two on, Nolan singled through the left side, scoring Bailey for the first run of the game.
Nolan swiped second and then Bennett hit a hard ground ball to second, reaching on an error but knocking in Velazquez. Another grounder to second, this time by Chavez, plated Nolan for a three-run first inning.
On a 1-0 count in the top of the third inning, Nolan hit a no-doubter to right center for a solo home run. With two outs, Chavez singled through the right side and was pinch ran for by redshirt freshman Jada Crittendon. Catcher Lauren Duff recached on a fielder's choice, moving Crittendon to second. Then Trull hit a three-run homer to let center to cap off a four-run inning.
The 49ers got their lone run of the day in the bottom of the sixth, thanks to an RBI double to end Rochard's shutout streak. The last time the sophomore gave up a run before that was on March 31.
Tech answered, though, in the top of the seventh, as Bennett hit a 1-0 pitch to right center for a solo blast to break the record. Then Duff would single to left before she was pinch ran for by senior Kinsey Johnson, who would steal second during the next at-bat with a face-first slide.
Trull would then walk on five pitches and second baseman Maddi Banks singled up the middle, scoring Johnson for Tech's final run of the game.
GAME 2 – VT 8, CHA 0
Another multi-run first inning got the Hokies a lead they would not relent, scoring five off two swings of the bat and a passed ball. Again, Bailey got a single to lead things off. And Velazquez walk to get two on for Strouth. The senior delivered with a two-run double to right center, scoring Bailey and Velazquez on the first pitch.
Then Bennett, just like Strouth, hit a first-pitch double to right center, but this one bounced off the top of the wall, just barely staying inside the ball park. A passed ball scored Strouth and then Chavez hit a two-run shot to left center, making Charlotte go with a pitching change after getting in a 5-0 hole.
Following a quiet second, third and fourth frames from the Hokies, they got the gats going again for a three-run inning in the fifth, which would put the run-rule in play in the bottom half. But first, Velazquez singled through the left side and would advance to second off a throwing error. Strouth singled to right in a 2-2 count after she fouled off three pitches, setting up two on for Bennett.
After hitting a home run in the first game and almost hitting another one in the second game, when her double hit off the top of the wall, Bennett lifted the second pitch she saw to center for the three-run homer, extending her milestone even more.
Eberle, with an 8-0 lead, surrendered a full-count walk to begin the bottom half, but got a strikeout and two groundouts to seal the shutout win.
NOTES
- Nolan's leadoff home run was the Hokies' 11th leadoff homer of the season. Her blast was her 15th this year, the most on the team and ranks second in the ACC.
- Tech has put in its work early in games, in terms of putting crooked numbers on the scoreboard, and Wednesday was no different, getting eight runs in the first inning in both games combined. Tech improved to 24-2 when scoring in the opening frame and has outscored its opponent 71-8 in the first.
- The Hokies' five home runs on the day moves them to 79 on the year, the second-most in the country.
- With the shutout in the second game, that gives Tech 20 on the year, the top mark in the nation.
TWEET OF THE GAME
T7 | She did it!
— Virginia Tech Softball (@HokiesSoftball) April 17, 2019
Bennett breaks the freshman home run record at Tech, hitting her 12th bomb of the season 💣
She passes Courtney Liddle, who hit 11 in 2010
(🦃8, 🔰1) pic.twitter.com/YlxvrtP5qO
UP NEXT
- The Hokies will head back to Blacksburg for a critical showdown with North Carolina (27-14, 13-5), playing host to the Tar Heels in a three-game series starting on Friday at Tech Softball Park. The two teams are first (VT) and second (UNC) in the Coastal Division of the ACC.Gallery: (4/17/2019) 2019 SOFTBALL at CHARLOTTE