Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG, Va. -- The No. 3 Virginia Tech Hokies clinched their seventh ACC series on Sunday afternoon, defeating Louisville 7-4. This is also Tech's fifth conference series sweep.
Senior Keely Rochard (20-2) started in the circle and picked up the win for Virginia Tech (36-6, 18-2). The right-hander went six innings, giving up four runs, one earned, on three hits, allowing four walks and striking out seven. Freshman Emma Lemley also made an impact in the circle for the Hokies, throwing one shutout inning while allowing no hits, with no walks and two strikeouts. Lemley earned her second save of the season.
Senior Mackenzie Lawter led the way offensively for the Hokies, going 2-for-2 in the ballgame with a home run and an RBI. Senior Ally Repko had another clutch pinch-hit at bat, going 1-for-1 with a double and two RBI. Sophomore Cameron Fagan also contributed, going 2-for-4 for Virginia Tech with an RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Hokies got on the board immediately, starting their scoring with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Virginia Tech plated two runs off of Louisville pitching, one of which was driven in on a run-scoring double off the bat of junior Morgan Overaitis.
The Cardinals failed to push any runs across before the Hokies offense scored again the following inning. Virginia Tech scored once on an RBI single off the bat of Fagan, which brought the score to 3-0 in favor of the Hokies.
Louisville scored four runs in the fourth inning, three of which were unearned. The Hokies bounced back and picked up a run in the bottom half of the inning on Lawter's one-out solo home run off senior Taylor Roby to tie the game back up at 4-4.
The game remained tied until the next inning, when Virginia Tech got rolling again on offense. The Hokies pushed two runs across on a two-run double off the bat of Repko that scored freshman Bre Peck and senior Darby Trull, bringing the score to 6-4 in favor of Virginia Tech.
The Hokies kept Louisville scoreless before expanding their lead to 7-4 the following inning. Junior Kelsey Brown came across to score the lone run of the inning for Virginia Tech. The score remained 7-4 for the rest of the game, as the Hokies earned their 36th win of the season.
GAME NOTES
» Rochard struck out seven Cardinals hitters.
» The Hokies out-hit the Cardinals at a 12-3 clip.
» Virginia Tech went 3-for-10 (.300) with runners in scoring position.
» Rochard limited Louisville to just 1-for-8 (.125) with runners in scoring position.
» Lawter led the Hokies at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a home run and an RBI.
» Louisville was led offensively by senior Carmyn Greenwood, who went 1-for-4 with a home run and an RBI.
Gallery: (4-24-2022) SB: 2022 Senior Day and Louisville Game 3