LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The No. 20/15 Virginia Tech Hokies took a 1-0 lead in the first inning and never trailed from there on the way to a 4-3 win against the Louisville Cardinals on Sunday.
Freshman Emma Mazzarone (5-1) got the win out of the bullpen for Virginia Tech (18-3-1, ). The left-hander went two shutout innings, giving up one hit, one walk and striking out three. Sophomore Lyndsey Grein started the ballgame and went three shutout innings while allowing two hits, walking none and striking out four.
Senior Addy Greene led the way offensively for the Hokies, going 1-for-2 in the ballgame with a home run, two walks and an RBI. Senior Emma Ritter put together a standout performance at the dish as well, going 1-for-3 with a double, a walk and two RBI. Senior Maija Louko also contributed, going 3-for-3 for Virginia Tech.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Hokies got the scoring started early, putting one run on the board in the top of the first inning. Greene put Virginia Tech on the board with a one-out solo home run off freshman Brooke Gray.
The Cardinals failed to push any runs across before the Hokies built on their lead in the fifth inning. Virginia Tech plated two runs off of Louisville pitching, punctuated by a run-scoring double off the bat of Ritter, which brought the score to 3-0 in favor of the Hokies.
Virginia Tech held Louisville scoreless before building their lead to 4-0 the following inning. Louisville put three runs on the scoreboard before the game was over, but Virginia Tech still held on for the 4-3 win.
GAME NOTES
» Louko picked up three hits in the game for Virginia Tech.
» Virginia Tech's highest scoring inning was the fifth, when it pushed two runs across.
» Virginia Tech took a 1-0 lead in the top half of the first and didn't surrender that lead for the remainder of the game.
» The Hokies out-hit the Cardinals at an 8-7 clip.
» Virginia Tech went 3-for-8 (.375) with runners in scoring position.
» Virginia Tech pitchers limited Louisville to just 2-for-12 (.167) with runners in scoring position.
» Virginia Tech pitchers faced 30 Louisville hitters in the game, allowing six ground balls and seven fly balls while striking out eight.
» The Hokies drew four walks from Louisville pitching.
» Greene led the Hokies at the plate, going 1-for-2 with a home run and an RBI.
» Louisville was led offensively by senior Daisy Hess, who went 2-for-4 with a double, a triple and two RBI.
» Senior Gabby Holloway led the Cardinals pitching staff, throwing 2.2 innings of one-run ball.
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