CLEARWATER, Fla. – Virginia Tech pulled off their second win over a top-20 opponent at the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational Saturday with a 2-1 win against No. 14/13 Minnesota.
The win gives the Hokies (6-3) a 2-2 record in Clearwater, all four of Tech's opponents have been ranked. Kaylee Hewitt (3-0) got her first career win against a ranked opponent after throwing six innings and allowing just one run. Earlier Saturday, Tech lost a close 6-5 game to No. 19/18 Missouri (9-1).
"We saw a lot of growth today in the program," Virginia Tech head coach Pete D'Amour said. "All of us were disappointed with how the first game went and I was anxious to see how we would respond. Kaylee pitched with a chip on her shoulder and when she does that, she's as tough as anybody in the country.
"We struck out a few too many times but we were facing an All-American. We had competitive at bats all night," D'Amour said.
Despite the loss, Grace Chavez hit her second home run of the season against Missouri, launching one over the left-field wall. Darby Trull got two more RBIs after picking up her first two of the season in the win over No. 18/17 South Carolina Friday.
Keely Rochard (3-3) added six more strikeouts to her season total against the Tigers. The junior went six innings for her fifth complete game of the year.
In the win over Minnesota (4-4), the Hokies got home runs from Olivia Lattin and Maddi Banks. Freshman Ashley Whitley got her first extra base hit of her career with a double in the fourth inning. Rochard, pitching the seventh inning in relief of Hewitt, recorded her first save of the season.
"I'm proud of our players but the weekend isn't over," D'Amour said. "We face another tough team in Northwestern tomorrow. We'll regroup and prepare for them tonight.
GAME 1
Scoreless through three innings, Jayme Bailey gave the Hokies the lead with an RBI single to right field, scoring Trull from second. Tech added to their lead in the fifth inning when Trull singled up the middle, scoring Kelsey Brown and Lattin. Chavez then hit a two-run homer, her second home run in as many games.
Missouri got on the board in the bottom of the fifth, scoring five runs on four hits. The Tigers then hit an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth to take the game 6-5.
GAME 2
The Hokies once again broke a scoreless tie to get on the board first against the Gophers. In the bottom of the third inning, Lattin and Banks hit back-to-back home runs to give Tech a 2-0 lead. Hewitt allowed just one hit over the next two innings to hold the two-run lead into the sixth inning.
Minnesota broke through in the sixth, putting together a double and a single to come within one. Rochard entered in the seventh inning and ended any thought of a Gopher comeback, going 1-2-3 to get the save and clinch the win for the Hokies.
NOTES
- Chavez hit a home run in consecutive games against Missouri after homering in the win over South Carolina Friday. The homer is the ninth of Chavez's career.
- In her three starts in Clearwater, Rochard has averaged 138 pitches per outing and set her career high with 150 against South Carolina. Her career high before Clearwater was 129 pitches.
- Bailey got her seventh RBI of the year with a single against Missouri. The sophomore finished with 16 last season.
- Hewitt started the third game of her career vs. Minnesota and earned her first career win over a ranked opponent. The freshman struck out five batters in six innings.
- Lattin and Banks each hit their second home runs of the season after going back-to-back against Minnesota. They are the first Hokies to hit back-to-back home runs since Mackenzie Lawter and Al Velazquez did so on March 31, 2019.
- Ashley Whitley got her first career extra base hit in her second career start vs. Minnesota with a double. The freshman is 3 for 7 after appearing in eight games this year.
UP NEXT
Tech wraps up the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational with its fifth ranked opponent in four days when it sees No. 21/23 Northwestern Sunday at noon. The game can be streamed on ESPN3.