CLEARWATER, Fla. – After a loss on Day 1, Virginia Tech softball bounced back on Friday beating No. 18/17 South Carolina 8-6 at the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational.
"We played a little looser today than yesterday," Virginia Tech head coach Pete D'Amour said. "This is a big event with the potential for a lot of distractions and we improved our mentality. This team is starting to gain an identity of being a hardnosed bunch that will grind out all 21 outs."
The Hokies (5-2) pulled off a come-from-behind win against the Gamecocks (4-2) with a sixth inning burst, scoring four runs to take a 7-5 lead. Sophomore third baseman Kelsey Bennett came to play, going 2 for 2 with a home run and three RBIs.
Tech also had a solid outing from pitcher Keely Rochard (3-2), who threw a complete game with nine strikeouts. Rochard has struck out 20 batters in 12.1 innings in Clearwater.
"We'll enjoy this one a little bit and refocus on two really good opponents tomorrow," D'Amour said.
THE GAME
Friday, it was the Hokies who got off to a quick start in the top of the first inning. After Kelsey Brown hit a leadoff single, her team-leading 12th hit of the season, Kelsey Bennett crushed her second home run of the year to straightaway center to give the Hokies an immediate 2-0 lead.
The Gamecocks took the lead in the third inning with a grand slam to right, giving South Carolina a 5-3 lead. After two scoreless innings in the fourth and fifth, Tech broke through in the sixth.
Al Velazquez got the Hokies rolling with a one-out single, followed by a six-pitch walk for Mackenzie Lawter. Darby Trull then knocked in the two runs to tie with a laser of a double in the right-field gap. A walk for Maddi Banks and a few Gamecock mistakes got the Hokies up 7-5, a lead they wouldn't give up.
For good measure, Grace Chavez blasted a solo shot to left field in the top of the seventh, her first homer of the season, to give Tech an insurance run. Then Rochard stayed steady with the pressure on in the bottom of the seventh, getting a 1-2-3 frame to seal it.
NOTES
- Bennett had three RBIs, giving her the team-lead with eight on the season.
- Rochard had nine more strikeouts Friday, giving her 54 in five games. She reset her career-high in pitches Friday with 150, after setting it with 141 pitches on Thursday.
- Brown had two hits against South Carolina, upping her team-leading total to 13 on the season. She's hitting .520 through seven games.
- Chavez hit her first home run of the year, the eighth of her career.
- After homering Thursday, Lawter hit her first double of the year against South Carolina.
- Trull got her first two RBIs of the season with her game-tying double in the sixth inning.
UP NEXT
The Hokies have a doubleheader on Saturday, playing No. 19/18 Missouri (6-0) at 1 p.m. ET and No. 14/13 Minnesota (3-3) at 5 p.m. ET. Both games can be broadcast on ESPN3.Gallery: (2/14/2020) 2020 SOFTBALL vs. SOUTH CAROLINA
