BLACKSBURG – After a 9-0 win Friday, Virginia Tech softball saw Pitt in a doubleheader Saturday which the teams split, with Pitt taking Game 1 5-3 before Tech won 5-0 in Game 2.
The No. 18/16 Hokies (14-4, 9-4 ACC) won the second of the two games behind a career performance from pitcher Keely Rochard (10-1), who recorded a career-best 19 strikeouts in her fourth complete-game shutout of the season. The junior allowed just one hit and took a no-hitter into the sixth inning.
Tech's offense in Saturday's second game was led by two runs batted in from Kelsey Brown, who went 2 for 3 and also scored a run in the contest. Morgan Overaitis also went 2 for 3, clubbing two doubles and scoring one run.
Freshman pitchers Ivy Rosenberry (3-3) and Mackenzie Osborne appeared in the first game, with Rosenberry getting her sixth start of the season and Osborne entering in relief in the fifth inning.
GAME 1
The Hokies started the game the right way, scoring a run in the first inning off a Cameron Fagan single that scored Brown from third base. Tech would tack on another in the second after Darby Trull singled up the middle, allowing pinch runner Rebecca Ludowig to come home.
Rosenberry cruised into the fourth inning, retiring 9 of the 11 batters she faced, before the Panthers got four runs off five hits in the top half. Osborne entered the game in the fifth inning and retired the side before allowing a run in the sixth inning.
The Hokies scored their third run in the bottom half of the sixth off a Jayme Bailey sacrifice fly but ultimately fell 5-3.
GAME 2
It was the Rochard show in the second half and she started it off with a bang, striking out four batters in the first inning and following it up with three more strikeouts in the second.
In the bottom half of the second, the Hokies got a run on another Trull single to the outfield, this time scoring Overaitis. Brown then beat out an infield single on a diving effort which allowed Emma Ritter and Alexa Milius to come home to take a 3-0 lead after two.
The Hokies struck again in the fifth inning when Grace Chavez hit a sacrifice fly that scored Brown. Next batter, Bailey ripped a double down the left field line to score Fagan from second.
Rochard continued to deal in the circle, taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning before allowing a single. The Williamsburg, Virginia native closed out the win with a three-up, three-down seventh and two more strikeouts.
NOTES
- Rochard set a new career high with 19 strikeouts vs. Pitt in the second half of Saurday's doubleheader. Her previous mark was 16 which she set on Feb. 7, 2020 vs. Iowa.
- Rochard struck out the side in four of the seven innings in Game 2 Saturday. She had at least two strikeouts in every inning.
- Tech stole five bases in Saturday's second game led by Fagan and Ritter's two steals and one from Brown. The Hokies have stolen 11 bases vs. Pitt this weekend.
- After hitting her first double of the season Friday, Overaitis doubled up in Saturday's Game 2 with two more. The Michigan transfer is batting .333 this season with five of her nine hits going for extra bases.
- Brown had her second multi-RBI game of the season in the second half Saturday knocking in two runs on an infield single. She is hitting .400 on the season with five RBIs.
UP NEXT
The Hokies will go for their sixth straight ACC series win in the finale Sunday at 12 p.m. at Tech Softball Park. The game can be streamed on ACC Network Extra.Gallery: (3-20-2021) 2021 SOFTBALL vs PITT SATURDAY GAME 1
Gallery: (3-20-2021) 2021 SOFTBALL vs. PITT SATURDAY GAME 2