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Eberle, Rochard too much for Duke, pitch shutouts

Game 36 Box Score (PDF) Game 37 Box Score (PDF)


DURHAM, N.C. – Behind a shutout each from pitchers Carrie Eberle and Keely Rochard the No. 24/T20 Virginia Tech softball team defeated Duke 3-0 in Game 1 and 6-0 in Game 2 of a doubleheader at the Duke Softball Stadium on Saturday.

Eberle (18-2) and Rochard (14-3) combined to allow just nine hits in 14 innings of work, while striking out 17 Blue Devil (10-21, 8-6 ACC) batters. With the wins in the circle, the two make the Hokies (32-5, 12-2) the only team in the country to boast two pitchers with 14 or more wins.

At the plate, outfielders Emma Strouth (5 hits) and Darby Trull (4) combined for half of Tech's 18 hits and four of its nine RBIs. Strouth also made a SportsCenter Top 10-like play in left field, covering a lot of ground as she slid underneath the ball and made the catch in foul territory (video below).

First baseman Jayme Bailey and outfielder Al Velazquez finished with two hits apiece, making Tech have four players with multi-hits on the day.

The series win marks the Hokies' fifth ACC series win to their name and makes them a perfect 3-for-3 on the road, claiming all three league road series (NC State, Pitt and Duke). 

QUOTING OUTFIELDER EMMA STROUTH

On the key for her success at the plate getting a team-high five hits:
"Really for me it was just focusing on being aggressive early in the counts and getting on the pitches that I like to hit," Strouth explained. "Just come out swinging and being aggressive with keeping the ball low, I wasn't trying to do anything fancy with it. I just put it in play and good things tend to happen."

On her webgem catch in foul territory:
"Honestly, I wasn't thinking about it too much off the bat," Strouth said. "I was just going through my normal routine when I started going after it. I saw it in the air and just went for it. I wasn't concerned about anything else. I watched it on Twitter and thought it was pretty cool."

On the two shutouts and how pitchers Carrie Eberle and Keely Rochard did:
"Oh my gosh, our pitching has been awesome," Strouth enamored. "They both have just been killing it. It's nice because we have two aces. I'm really proud of both of them." 

GAME 1 – VT 3, DUKE 0

All of Tech's runs came in the first inning, with Velazquez kicking it off with a single up the middle on the first pitch of the ball game. Two pitches later, Trull roped an RBI double to right center, scoring Velazquez for the first run of the game.

A four-pitch walk by Bailey and a single up the middle by Strouth loaded the bases for shortstop Caitlyn Nolan. Nolan hit a high fly ball to left field, scoring Bailey on a sacrifice fly. 

Then In a 3-1 count during the next at-bat, designated player Grace Chavez hit a hard ground ball that bounced over the first baseman's head, knocking in Strouth to give Eberle a 3-0 lead she would not relinquish.

In the bottom of the first, Eberle set the tone with two strikeouts. She got two Ks again in the second, fourth and fifth frames. In the sixth with a runner on first, the North Carolina native got a rope hit back at her, but her quick reaction allowed her make the catch and she fired it to first to double Duke off.

Eberle surrendered a double to left to start the bottom of the seventh, but would get the next three batters out on a flyout, strikeout and groundout to seal the shutout and victory.

GAME 2 – VT 6, DUKE 0

For the second straight game, Tech got a crooked number on the board in the first inning. Velazquez once again started the contest off with a single, getting an infield hit to second base. Strouth hit a single to right field in a 2-2 count, advancing Velazquez to third. Then third baseman Kelsey Bennett roped a single to right, scoring Velazquez.

The second inning was a three-run inning for the Hokies, starting with a leadoff home run by Nolan to dead center. Catcher Mackenzie Lawter and second baseman Maddi Banks followed with singles to left, getting two on for Trull. Trull delivered with a two-run double to left center, getting Rochard a four-run lead.

Rochard was feeling it in the fourth and fifth, making Duke go three up, three down in consecutive innings. 

In the top of the seventh, Strouth hit a ball to right that tipped off the right fielder's glove, allowing Trull to score. Then Bennett got a sacrifice fly to center, plating Bailey for two insurance runs for Rochard.

With a 6-0 lead in the bottom half, Rochard got two strikeouts and a pop up to claim it.

NOTES

- Eberle tied a career-high 10 strikeouts and threw a five-hitter, while Rochard struck out seven and sprinkled four hits, as both pitched complete games. The two shutouts make Tech have 15 on the year, the top mark in the ACC and tied for first in the country.

- Nolan's sac fly was her fifth of the season, the most in the league and tied for second in the land. Her home run was her team-leading 12th of the season.

- Tech got its work done early in both games, scoring in the first in each. It has outscored its opponents 53-8 in the first and is 19-2 when it scores in the opening stanza.

- With no errors made by Tech today, that marks its ninth straight game of playing perfect defense.

TWEET OF THE GAME



UP NEXT

- The Hokies will come back to the Duke Softball Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, wrapping up their three-game series.