BLACKSBURG – A no-hitter by pitcher Keely Rochard and five home runs at the plate led No. 15/14 Virginia Tech softball to a 12-0 run-rule victory over Georgia Tech in five innings on Sunday at Tech Softball Park, wrapping up the four-game series that the Hokies took 3 of 4.
Rochard (20-4, 1.10 ERA) tossed her first no-no of the season and the sixth of her career, while five Virginia Tech (28-7, 19-7 ACC) players hit a homer to claim the series over the Yellow Jackets (13-23, 7-19) and extend its consecutive series win streak to seven, which leads the ACC.
Second baseman Addy Greene (.362 BA, 17 RBI) and third baseman Kelsey Bennett (.296 BA, 10 HR) both had a team-high three RBIs on the day and each of them hit a home run for the second day in a row. First baseman Jayme Bailey (.336 BA, 36 RBI) made another great play defensively, making a diving effort to get the batter out at first by tagging the bag with her glove, and also had two hits, including the first home run of the contest.
QUOTING PITCHER KEELY ROCHARD
On moving on from Friday's start and what adjustments led to the no-hitter:
"I went out there today and just thought about spinning the ball," Rochard said. "Just like little mechanics that I could work on and keeping that in mind. It all just worked out and I trusted my defense, because I was mixing my pitches a lot today."
On the team's performance at the plate:
"That helps so much," Rochard said. "Pitching with the lead is just so relaxing. Also, I'm just really proud of our team and how we adjusted so well. I've said this before, but it's really hard for the same pitcher to face our team twice and have success, because we are so good at adjusting."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Three up, three down for Rochard was how the game began, getting three groundouts, and a sac fly by third baseman Alexa Milius to left scored left fielder Kelsey Brown to make it 1-0 after the first.
The second frame saw Bailey's home run, a two-run shot to left center to score Bennett and make it 3-0. But the real fun was in the third inning, when the Hokies put together eight runs thanks to three home runs alone in the frame.
It started with a five-pitch walk by Greene and designated player Cana Davis hit a 0-2 pitch to dead center that was well over 300 feet (80 feet past the wall) for her fifth of the season and second of the weekend. After a single by Milius and a walk by catcher Mackenzie Lawter, Bennett hit her second three-run blast of the weekend with a rope to left.
Then Bailey would hit a hard ground ball that skirted off the third baseman's glove and trickled to the outfield, and used her speed to leg out a double. Right fielder Emma Ritter earned a seven-pitch walk and a couple at-bats later Greene pulled it and sent one to right center for a three-run home run to cap the inning at 11-0.
Virginia Tech's last at-bat came in the bottom of the fourth and Lawter, on a full count, hit a homer to left to make it 12-0.
The final inning was a quick one, as Rochard went to work and got two strikeouts swinging and a fly out to left caught by Brown to seal it.
NOTES
- The Hokies scored 10 or more runs for the sixth time this season and did it twice in the series, marking just the second time it's done so in a series this season (NC State).
- Virginia Tech's five home runs Sunday marked the second time this season it has hit five or more, joining the eight it had at NC State on March 14. In the coach Pete D'Amour era, the Hokies have had four games of hitting five or more and are a perfect 4-0 in those games.
- Rochard, who had been super close to a no-no all season long with six one-hitters, finally knocked down the door and got her first of the season. It marked her sixth overall and her first since March 8, 2020 at Virginia.
UP NEXT
- The Hokies will continue their 10-game home stand this upcoming weekend against Notre Dame (22-12, 13-10) at Tech Softball Park, playing a four-game series that starts on Friday. One of those games will be on ESPN2 (Saturday at noon), while the other three will be on ACC Network Extra.