Hokie ClubMOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. – No. 17/18 Virginia Tech continued to dominate the Charleston Invitational with shutout victories against NDSU (9-0) and the College of Charleston (11-0) on Saturday at the Patriots Point Complex.
Sophie Kleiman pitched a gem against NDSU in her first Hokie start as she tallied four strikeouts. Emma Mazzarone closed out the game with three strikeouts in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Against the College of Charleston, Cassie Grizzard pitched three scoreless innings and finished with two strikeouts to get her first win of the season.
How It Happened: Virginia Tech 9, NDSU 0
The Hokies wasted no time and punched in five runs in the top of the first. Cori McMillan’s double to left field brought in the first Hokie run and RBIs from Bre Peck, Zoe Yaeger and Jordan Lynch made it a 5-0 contest.
Tech added three more runs in the top of the second as Emily LeGette’s single to center drove in McMillan. After a Yaeger walk loaded the bases, freshman Jordan Lynch singled through the right side to bring in two more runs.
The Bison threatened in the bottom of the fourth with the bases loaded, but Kleiman’s fourth strikeout of the day got the Hokies out of the jam.
Tech added one more run in the top of the fifth before Emma Mazzarone came in and recorded three strikeouts in the bottom of the fifth to seal the win.
Seven different Hokies recorded hits against the Bison, highlighted by Michelle Chatfield and McMillan each going 3-for-4.
How It Happened: Virginia Tech 11, College of Charleston 0
Cori McMillan hit her second home run in as many days with her two-run blast in the top of the first inning to give the Hokies an early lead.
Despite going scoreless in the second, the Hokies responded with a two-run home run from Emma Mazzarone in the top of the third – her first home run of the season – to take a 4-0 lead.
In her first start of the season, Cassie Grizzard shined in the circle as she pitched three scoreless innings before Mazzarone took over and recorded two strikeouts in the fourth.
A pair of RBIs in the fourth extended the Hokie lead before Tech exploded for five runs in the top of the fifth.
• Tech has started the season with four straight shutout victories for the first time in program history
• Tech improves to 30-1-1 in opening weekend matchups under Pete D’Amour
• Tech improves to 2-1 against NDSU and 6-4 against the College of Charleston in all-time matchups
• Tech went a perfect 5-of-5 on stolen bases on Day Two of the Charleston Invitational
• As a team, the Hokies hit .473 over both games
• Jordan Lynch went a perfect 5-for-5 from the plate with three doubles, two RBIs and two walks over both contests
• Michelle Chatfield led the Hokies over both games with six hits as she went 6-for-8 with two RBIs
• Cori McMillan hit her second home run in as many days. She finished Saturday going 4-for-7 with four RBIs
• Emma Mazzarone hit her first home run of the season as she went 2-for-3 against College of Charleston
• Sophie Kleiman got her first start in a Hokie uniform and recorded four strikeouts over 4.0 innings pitched
• Cassie Grizzard earned her first win of the season as she held the College of Charleston to one hit with two strikeouts over 3.0 scoreless innings
• Tech’s pitchers held NDSU and the College of Charleston to a .118 batting average over both contests
Up Next
No. 17/18 Virginia Tech (4-0) wraps up the Charleston Invitational with a matchup against the College of Charleston on Sunday, Feb. 9 at 1 p.m. in Mount Pleasant, S.C.