TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – No. 22/20 Virginia Tech softball's second baseman Maddi Banks and catcher Mackenzie Lawter homered on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the ACC Championship, but it would not be enough as the top-seeded Hokies fell 3-2 to eighth-seeded NC State at JoAnne Graf Field.
The upset by the Wolfpack (31-26, 9-15 ACC) was the first time a one seed in the league tournament lost in its opening game since 2011, when Virginia beat Georgia Tech, 6-0. Tech (45-9, 20-4) falls to 4-1 all-time as the No. 1 seed in the ACC tourney and 19-14 overall.
Banks, who hit a home run earlier this year at NC State, did it again, knocking one out of the park in left field in the bottom of the third to tie up the game at 1-1. But the Pack responded in the top of the fourth off of pitcher Carrie Eberle (25-6), plating two runs to retake the lead.
Tech would cut the deficit back to one in the bottom of the fifth, getting a solo home run to straight-away center by Lawter, forcing State to make a pitching change with Devin Wallace (13-15) getting pulled. Kama Woodall (3-3) would come in to pitch the rest of the fifth and then close out the sixth and seventh.
The Hokies would put the pressure on in the sixth, getting a double to right center by outfielder Emma Strouth. She would move over to third after a sacrifice bunt by third baseman Kelsey Bennett. With a runner on third and one out, Tech couldn't muster a timely hit to tie it up.
And that would be the closest they would get, as a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the seventh would do it.
In the circle, Eberle pitched four innings, striking out six and allowing five hits and three runs. Keely Rochard (20-3) would come in relief in the fifth, pitching three innings of no-hit ball and striking out six as well.
NOTES
- Tech, which allowed State to score first, getting a run in the top of the first, falls to 3-3 when its opponent scores first. When the Hokies score first, they are 43-3.
- Head coach Pete D'Amour falls to 50-4 when his teams hit two or more home runs.
- State, which dropped all three games earlier this year in Raleigh, improves its all-time record versus Tech to 21-18.
- It was just the eighth time this spring that Tech was held to two runs or less out of 54 games, and the first time it dropped a one-run game, moving to 5-1.
UP NEXT
- The Hokies will now wait for Selection Sunday, with their future being announced on the NCAA Tournament's selection show at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2.Gallery: (5/9/2019) 2019 ACC SOFTBALL QUARTERFINAL
