ATLANTA – Virginia Tech softball split the series-opening doubleheader with Florida State Saturday afternoon, dropping the first game 7-1 but rallying back to win Game 2 9-1 in five innings.
The No. 14/15 Hokies (6-2, 3-2 ACC) beat the No. 13/14 Seminoles (7-2, 4-1 ACC) for the first time in 13 games dating back to March 11, 2014. Saturday's split sets up a rubber match finale Sunday morning at 11 a.m. on ACC Network Extra.
Keely Rochard (4-1) got the win in Game 2 as the Williamsburg, Virginia native struck out seven batters in five innings, allowing just three hits and one earned run. Home runs from Grace Chavez and Kelsey Bennett helped the Hokies to an 8-run third inning that propelled the team to the win.
Freshman Ivy Rosenberry (2-1) got the loss in Game 1 after throwing 3.0 innings. Fellow freshman Mackenzie Osborne came in for relief in the fourth inning and allowed just one hit to the Seminole offense for the rest of the game, retiring the final seven batters.
GAME 1
Florida State struck first with an RBI single to open up a 1-0 lead after the top half of the first inning. Chavez answered right back in the bottom with a solo home run that went off the scoreboard in left field, tying the game at 1 after the first inning.
That was all the Hokies would get offensively, however, and a six-run third inning for Florida State gave the Seminoles a 7-1 lead. The teams played a scoreless final four innings as Osborne allowed just two baserunners to FSU.
GAME 2
Scoreless after two innings, Tech broke through in the third, scoring eight runs off seven hits including the home runs from Chavez and Bennett. Mackenzie Lawter got an RBI after drawing a bases-loaded walk and Meredith Slaw delivered a pinch-hit, two-run single to give the Hokies an 8-0 lead after three. Tech would tack on another in the fourth inning from an Addy Greene RBI single that scored Jayme Bailey.
Rochard was on her game once again as she retired the first 10 batters she faced, ending the game with seven strikeouts to three hits. Her bid for a third shutout of the season came up just short after the Seminoles got a run in the fifth inning.
NOTES
- Chavez homered in both games Saturday, giving her a home run streak of three games after she took one deep in the series finale at Clemson Friday.
- Darby Trull was the only Hokie to have multiple hits in Game 1 with two singles and followed it up with a third single in Game 2. Trull is batting .313 through seven games.
- Bennett's home run was her first of the season, giving her two more RBIs on the season. She has three this season after leading the team in RBIs last year with 25.
- Cameron Fagan's six-game hitting streak came to an end in Game 1, but she bounced back in Game 2 with a double. The freshman has a hit in seven of eight games this season and leads the team with 10.
- Kelsey Brown stole another base Saturday, giving her four on the year and the team lead. She led the Hokies in stolen bases last season with 18.
UP NEXT
The Hokies and Seminoles will play their series finale Sunday at 11 a.m. ET on ACC Network Extra. Tech has not lost an ACC series since April 2019.