BLACKSBURG – After wrapping up ACC action this past weekend, the No. 24/T22 Virginia Tech softball team stayed hot, getting a doubleheader sweep over Longwood on Tuesday night at Tech Softball Park by winning Game 1, 6-0, and Game 2, 8-5.
Shortstop Caitlyn Nolan stole the show, hitting a home run in each contest to set the school record with 18 homers in a season. The senior passed Kelsey Mericka's mark of 17 blasts set in 2015.
Pitcher Carrie Eberle (25-5) also had her A-game, shutting out the Lancers (34-18, 20-4 Big South) in Game 1 with a three-hitter. It was her ninth shutout of the season, tied for the 10th-most in the nation. Pitcher Keely Rochard (20-3) turned in another quality start, getting seven strikeouts while surrendering five hits and three earned runs in the second game.
With the win, the Hokies (45-8, 20-4 ACC) picked up their 45th win of the season, the fourth-most victory in school history. They also improved the all-time series with Longwood to 14-12, after it was knotted coming into the midweek tilt.
The night was Military Appreciation Day, with the team wearing graphic camo uniforms, which can be seen below with a photo gallery of the two games.
QUOTING SHORTSTOP CAITLYN NOLAN
On achieving the record and how that makes her feel:
"Well, I figured out probably two weeks ago what the record was," Nolan said. "You hear 17 home runs and it seems like a faraway number. But I actually played with Kelsey Mericka and knew what kind of hitter she was. So, to be able to break that is insane. It's awesome and truly surreal."
On where in the zone the two pitches were on her homers and what the approach was:
"The first home run I was leading off the inning and it was the first pitch," Nolan explained. "I was looking rise ball, which it was probably a little bit higher than I should've been looking for (laughing). But I got it and it felt good.
"The second one, I had two strikes on me, so I was looking away and was just going to react then and push it. I got a good piece of it and thought that it might go, so I was sprinting pretty hard out of the box. But once it went over, I was just smiling and couldn't believe it."
On coming up with two wins against a team in the top 75 of the RPI:
"You can't give that team any breaks," Nolan said. "We had the second inning in Game 2 when they got two unearned runs. But other than that, I thought Keely [Rochard] pitched well and we hit well. We were prepared to play and we came out and executed what we were prepared to do."
GAME 1 – VT 6, LWU 0
Eberle got it going early, throwing three perfect innings to go through the Lancers' lineup the first time unfazed. An infield single in the top of the fourth broke up the perfect game, but the junior would only allow two hits after that, keeping Longwood at bay.
After her 1-2-3 first inning, the bottom half saw three runs come across the scoreboard for Tech thanks to a three-run blast by outfielder Emma Strouth. In a 2-2 count with outfielder Darby Trull and Nolan on the pond, Strouth roped one down the left-field line just past the foul pole, giving the Hokies a lead it would not relent.
Tech tacked on two more runs in the next inning, with second baseman Maddi Banks drawing a walk and then scooting all the way from first to home after a double to center by first baseman Jayme Bailey. Four pitches later in the next at-bat, outfielder Darby Trull hit a triple to right, scoring Bailey to make it 5-0.
The fourth, after allowing a single to second, was the tensest for Tech defensively, as the Lancers drew two walks to load the bases up with two outs. But Eberle got a clutch out, getting a Lancer to pop up to third to keep the goose egg intact.
Nolan, who was coming off hitting a home run in her last game on Sunday at Boston College, ripped her first one of the night to left center to lead off the fifth – Tech's final run of the ball game.
GAME 2 – VT 8, LWU 5
The start to second game was probably the craziest thing you'll ever see in college softball, as a 25-pitch at-bat took place with leadoff hitter Alexis Wayland fouling off numerous pitches from Rochard. But the righty from Williamsburg, Virginia kept her cool, getting a lineout to third for the 12-minute at-bat to kick things off.
Oddly enough, the MLB record for most pitches in an at-bat is 21 between the San Francisco Giants' Brandon Belt and Los Angeles Angels' Jaime Barria set in 2018. So, take that for what it's worth, with Rochard and Wayland topping that by four more pitches.
Rochard would get the next two batters on five pitches, a foul out to left and a strikeout. In the bottom half, the Hokies would once again put a crooked number in the first, getting a two-run single to left by Strouth to score Trull and Nolan.
Facing a two-run deficit, the Lancers answered with scoring two runs of their own to tie it at 2-all, following a wild pitch and throwing error. But Tech would punch back, responding with three runs in the bottom of third, with Nolan beginning the frame with another leadoff hit, this time a single to left.
She would score off a double down the left-field line by third baseman Kelsey Bennett. Two pitches later, designated player Grace Chavez hit a hard ground ball to second base, hitting off the second baseman's mitt and rolling into the outfield, allowing Strouth and pinch runner Kinsey Johnson to score.
Once again, Longwood fought back with a solo home run off the left-field foul pole, trimming Tech's lead back to two in the top of the fourth. In the bottom half, Trull earned a walk and Nolan sent one to center field for the school-record homer. Another home run would take place, as Chavez hit a no-doubter to left center that almost hit a car driving by on Beamer Way in the bottom of the fifth.
And the long ball would happen one more time, but it would be by Longwood in the top of the seventh, a two-run shot to left for the day's sixth home run combined by both teams.
NOTES
- With homer No. 18 next to Nolan's name, she now is now tied for the 11th-most in the country and is tied for the most in the ACC (Notre Dame's Cait Brooks).
- Eberle's shutout in the first contest moved Tech's shutout total on the year to 22, passing No. 1/1 Oklahoma (45-2, 15-0 Big 12) for the top mark in the land.
- Trull and Bailey extended their streaks in Game 1, but the impressive feats were snapped in Game 2, as Trull's nine-game hitting streak came to an end and Bailey will have to start a new reached-base streak after going 10 games in a row.
- In Game 1, Bailey, Trull, Strouth and Bennett all finished with two hits, while in Game 2, Nolan went 3 for 4 with two RBIs and three runs scored. Chavez hit her first home run since April 17, giving her six on the year.
TWEET OF THE GAME
📹 Play of the Game 📹
— Virginia Tech Softball (@HokiesSoftball) May 1, 2019
Now the best in school history, @caittliz broke the program record for home runs in a season (18) with this two-run shot 🤟#ThisIsHome | #Hokies 🦃 pic.twitter.com/PYmMPe7xSD
UP NEXT
- Tech will wrap up its regular-season slate on Saturday at Tech Softball Park, playing host to Western Carolina (20-30, 5-12 SoCon) in a doubleheader starting at noon ET. The two games will be broadcast on WatchESPN, with Evan Hughes on the call. Prior to the start of first pitch, Tech's five seniors and senior manager will be honored on Senior Day.
Gallery: (4/30/2019) 2019 SOFTBALL vs. LONGWOOD