TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Records were broken on Saturday as the No. 4/5 Virginia Tech Hokies took down No. 2/3 Florida State. The Hokies 23 runs scored set a new school record, topping the record of 22 set against Morgan State in 2014. Tech also set a new school record for team RBIs with 23.
Junior Meredith Slaw and junior Kelsey Bennett each racked up two extra base hits to help power the Hokies, as Slaw hit her third home run of the series. Through two games against the Seminoles, Slaw is 6-for-7 with three home runs, one double and seven RBI.
Senior Keely Rochard (16-2) got the win out of the bullpen for Virginia Tech (29-4, 13-0). The right-hander went four innings, giving up two runs on two hits, allowing one walk and striking out five.
Sophomore Cameron Fagan's two extra base hits were the highlight of a 3-for-5 day, and included a double, a home run, a walk and four RBI. Bennett made her contribution with a triple, a home run and four RBI, part of a 3-for-6 performance at the plate. Slaw also helped out for the Hokies, putting together three hits in three trips to the plate while adding a double, a home run, a walk and four RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Hokies got the scoring started early, putting one run on the board in the top of the first inning. Virginia Tech's offense started clicking and put up four runs, including a three-run double off the bat of Slaw.
The Seminoles failed to push any runs across before the Hokies offense got back to their scoring ways the next inning. Virginia Tech scored three runs, all of them coming on a three-run homer off the bat of Bennett, scoring Fagan and freshman Bre Peck, which brought the score to 7-0 in favor of the Hokies.
Virginia Tech kept Florida State scoreless before building their lead to 11-0 the following inning. The Hokies hit two home runs in the inning on the way to scoring four runs.
The Seminoles gained ground, closing the gap to 11-9 until Virginia Tech added some insurance in the sixth. Junior Jayme Bailey and sophomore Maddy Federico came in to score the two Hokie runs in the frame, bringing the Virginia Tech advantage to 13-9.
The Hokies held Florida State scoreless before expanding their lead to 23-9 the following inning. The Virginia Tech offense piled up 10 runs, highlighted by a two-run single off the bat of junior Grace Chavez and a two-run single from Fagan. The score remained 23-9 for the rest of the game, as the Hokies took the win to clinch the series.
GAME NOTES
» Virginia Tech got three-hit games from four different hitters.
» Rochard struck out five Seminoles hitters.
» The Hokies had three players put together games with multiple extra-base hits.
» Three different Virginia Tech hitters drove in four runs.
» Every Virginia Tech starter reached base safely in the win.
» Virginia Tech's highest scoring inning was the seventh, when it pushed 10 runs across.
» Virginia Tech took a 4-0 lead in the top half of the first and didn't surrender that lead for the remainder of the game.
» Six Hokies had multiple hits in the ballgame.
» Virginia Tech hitters hit three home runs in the ballgame.
» The Hokies had a total of 21 hits.
» The Hokies out-hit the Seminoles at a 21-6 clip.
» Virginia Tech went 10-for-26 (.385) with runners in scoring position.
» The Hokies got three hits in four at-bats with the bases loaded.
» The Hokies drew six walks from Florida State pitching.
» Bennett led the Hokies at the plate, going 3-for-6 with a triple, a home run and four RBI.
» Florida State was led offensively by sophomore Kalei Harding, who went 1-for-4 with a home run and four RBI.