BLACKSBURG – For the second time in four seasons, No. 2 Virginia Tech softball claimed the ACC regular-season crown after winning the first two games in a three-game series with Boston College on the Eagles' turf last weekend.
Blistering through the challenging conference slate with a program best 21-2 ACC record, the Hokies (40-6) are focused on continuing to rack up new achievements during the rest of the 2022 campaign.
"The regular season championship is a big deal for us," said head coach Pete D'Amour, who won an ACC regular-season title in his first year at Tech in 2019. "Going 21-2 in a league that has six teams ranked in the top 25 speaks to the talent this team has but also how good our chemistry has been."
The Hokies locked up the title after run-ruling the Eagles (20-27, 6-18 ACC) 9-0 through six innings in the second game of the weekend series. Freshman hurler Emma Lemley tossed a three-hitter and fanned seven batters to earn her 15th win of the season. The underclassmen also shined at the plate for Tech, with sophomores Emma Ritter and Cameron Fagan both going deep for a total of four RBIs.
"It was definitely memorable, especially as a freshman, to pitch that game and clinch the regular-season title," Lemley said. "I knew what that game meant, but I approached it like any other game. It was pretty special for our team to earn that title, but we still have a long way to go this season."
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The final ACC contests capped off a historic season of hard-fought conference series victories for Tech. The Hokies started off conference play with a loud statement sweep of then-No. 9 Clemson (37-14, 14-10) in South Carolina. Senior pitcher Keely Rochard, a top-10 finalist for USA Softball's Collegiate Player of the Year, sophomore Ivy Rosenberry and Lemley held the Tigers to a collective three runs and struck out 31 on the road.
"Winning the regular season is really hard to do, especially in our conference with how competitive it has become," Rochard said. "It says a lot about our team and our ability to show up every day and compete."
Nothing quite captured national attention for the Hokies like their series triumph in Tallahassee. The greatly anticipated matchup was the highest-ranked ACC softball series in history, featuring then-No. 5 Hokies against the reigning national runner-up and third-ranked Seminoles (46-5, 16-5). After a marathon first eight innings, Darby Trull's two-run blast in the top of the ninth put Tech up for good, eventually capping off the series opener with a 6-3 victory on April 8.
"I was just glad that I got the chance to step up for my team, but I had called and said anyone of my teammates could've done that," Trull humbly stated. "I am just thankful to be given the opportunity and did my best to take advantage of it."
The Hokies followed the opening win with an eye-opening 23-9 romp of the 'Noles April 9 to clinch the series. In one of the most bizarre games of the season, the Hokies solidified the victory with a 10-run seventh inning. The 23 runs amounted to the largest run total in school history.
The resolve of this squad shined through the adversity of the series versus Virginia (27-23, 13-11) in the Commonwealth Clash, presented by Smithfield. Down one going into the top of the eighth inning in the series finale, junior Meredith Slaw smacked her second home run of the day to knot the game up at 4-4. The homer set the stage for senior Mackenzie Lawter to drive in the winning run later in the inning on a single to walk-off another ACC series triumph.
"We've moved our focus to the rest of the year," D'Amour said. "But we'll be able to look back when the season is over and realize the regular season record was pretty special."
After closing the ACC slate with sweeps over Louisville (27-11, 10-11) and Boston College, the Hokies will be the top seed during the ACC Tournament in Pittsburgh. The team will get a first-round bye and its first contest will be against the winner of the No. 8-9 game on Thursday, May 12.
Keep the Hokies' momentum going by making a gift directly to the softball program.