BLACKSBURG- Virginia Tech softball Head Coach Pete D'Amour announced the elevation of Mike Lewis to associate head coach Tuesday afternoon. Lewis, who serves as the program's recruiting coordinator enters his fourth season in Blacksburg. With Lewis on the staff, Tech has appeared in three straight NCAA Regionals, two Super Regionals and was crowned the 2022 ACC regular season champions.
"Since arriving in Blacksburg, Mike has elevated our program in every aspect," D'Amour said about Lewis. "He's established himself as one of the best assistant coaches in the country with his work ethic and desire to be the best in everything he does. I'm thankful that Mike calls his home Blacksburg and that we're able to show him how valuable he is to Virginia Tech."
Lewis has had a significant impact on the program's success over the past three seasons. During his time in Blacksburg, the Hokies have an overall record of 122-45 and a 58-23 record in conference play.
Lewis has helped the Hokies become one of the most dominant offensive programs in the nation, including mentoring All-American outfielder Emma Ritter. Ritter is one of the toughest batters to strike out in Division 1, striking out only 18 times in her career. Throughout her time at Tech, she's recorded a .354 batting average, 161 hits, 101 RBI, and stolen 56 bases. She is a two-time All-ACC player and two-time NFCA Mid-Atlantic Region First Team member. In addition, she was named an NFCA All-American in 2022, alongside pitcher Keely Rochard, marking the first time in school history the Hokies have had two All-Americans in one season.
He was also part of the staff that witnessed Kelsey Bennett become the program's all-time leader in RBIs with 170. In 2023, Bennett signed with the Women's Professional Fastpitch team, Smash It Sports Vipers.
The Hokies begin the season Feb. 9, in Auburn, Alabama at the Tiger Invite against Illinois. Tech's challenging schedule consists of 10 NCAA Regional Teams, including World Series participant Alabama. ACC play begins March 1st at TSP against Notre Dame.
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