In a season filled with exciting wins and broken records, the No. 18 Virginia Tech softball team has closed out regular season play undefeated at home, holding a 17-0 streak at Tech Softball Park.
When asked about this achievement, star pitcher Emma Lemley and key outfielder Addy Greene both emphasized the team's focus on taking each game pitch by pitch and not looking too far ahead, a strategy that's proved instrumental in their success.
Under the guidance of head coach Pete D'Amour, the season is broken down into three sections – preseason tournaments, conference play and the postseason.
"It's a long season, like 50 to 60 games," Greene explained. "But by breaking it up, you can kind of compartmentalize and mentally take it game by game."
"With a lot of games, we don't have much practice time," Lemley added, "but we've taken the practices that we do have really seriously, and we'll think through one thing we can improve upon for the next game."
In the Hokies' opening weekend, they played Illinois and Auburn, earning two major wins that set the tone for the rest of the season. In particular, Tech's defeat of the then-No. 20 Tigers was a massive boost of confidence, given that the Hokies were up against one of the nation's top pitchers.
Coach D'Amour also credits their first home game, a midweek matchup against Elon, as essential preparation to their successes as home.
"Typically, our first home game is a conference game," D'Amour said. "So, this game against Elon really settled us down as far as being able to play at home before we headed into conference play."
Many other moments stand out from the Hokies' many home victories, including an exciting end to their sweep against Boston College. Tech was trailing 4-1 before rallying to score an impressive 12 times in the bottom half of the fifth to claim victory via run-rule, walking it off.
"I was so wowed by [Cori McMillan's] home run at the end," Lemley said. "Softball is a weird sport where just one thing can turn the tide of the game, and in this case, we were all just feeding off each other's energy."
For Greene, there are too many special moments accumulated from the season to name just one.
"It's hard for me to pinpoint certain moments," Greene said, "because I feel like every single game something happens and I'm smiling so big."
Keeping the energy up at home games is crucial for the players, and the crowd is a huge part of this. So, throughout this season, Hokie fans have been doing what Hokie fans do best – showing up for their team and cheering loudly.
Having a supportive fan base is a big deal, especially given the massive turnout at schools such as Georgia, Clemson or Florida State.
"If our crowd isn't to that level, our players are going to wonder what's going on," D'Amour said. "Our crowds were very supportive this year, and our players deserved it."
But what is perhaps most central to the Hokies' success is the exceptional camaraderie and cohesion within the team. Despite the influx of 12 new players at the beginning of the season, the team quickly bonded, forging a tight-knit unit that supported each other both on and off the field.
It all started with September's memorable team bonding trip deep in the woods. The girls stayed in a cabin without phones, allowing them to forge deeper connections, and squeezed into tiny rooms to sleep.
"That was the moment where you were like, I'm glad it's this group and not another, because we were able to survive and have a little bit of fun," Greene laughed. "Overall, it was such a great experience because we got so close. It's very rare that 24 girls can get along and there be no drama and no problems, but that's our team."
The team's special bond certainly makes itself known during games. When a player is subbed out, instead of feeling upset about leaving the field, she'll only shift her focus towards encouraging and cheering the teammate replacing her. What's best for the team comes first and foremost.
As the Hokies (39-11-1) now head into the postseason, phase three, the players are focused on continuing to take each game pitch by pitch and not look too far ahead.
"I also think it's important to not make any game too big," Lemley said. "NCAA softball has shown that anyone can beat anyone on any given day. The postseason is a brand-new season, and this team is capable of anything."
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