Hokie ClubBATON ROUGE, La. – No. 11/14 Virginia Tech (47-10, 18-6 ACC) took down South Alabama (32-26, 13-11 Sun Belt), 6-0, in the opening game of the Baton Rouge Regional on Friday afternoon at Tiger Park.
A grand slam from Kylie Aldridge in the bottom of the third ignited the Hokies, while Bree Carrico and Avery Layton combined for Tech’s second shutout in the past three games.
How It Happened
South Alabama threatened in the top of the second inning with a runner on second, but a great double play by Michelle Chatfield got Tech out of the inning. Chatfield caught a foul ball down the right field line close to the dugout and immediately turned and threw the runner out attempting to advance to third to keep it a scoreless contest.
The Hokies had the bases loaded in the bottom of the third due to a walk from Gaby Mizelle, a single from Annika Rohs and Jordan Lynch reaching on a South Alabama fielding error. With two outs and two strikes, Kylie Aldridge blasted a grand slam that broke part of the LSU scoreboard to give the Hokies a 4-0 lead.
Zoe Yaeger extended the Hokie lead in the bottom of the fourth with a solo shot – her 10th of the season – to make it a 5-0 game.
After Aldridge led off the bottom of the sixth with a leadoff single, Yaeger capitalized with the runner on base and ripped an RBI single down the left field line to give the Hokies a 6-0 advantage.
Bree Carrico and Avery Layton were dominant in the circle as the duo combined for the Hokies’ 10th shutout of the season.
Game Notes
• Tech improved to 17-13 in the NCAA Tournament under head coach Pete D’Amour
• Tech’s 47 wins are the most in a single season since Tech’s 47 wins in 2019
• Tech posted its 10th shutout of the season and the second in the past three games
• Tech has allowed just seven runs in its past seven games
• Tech has outhit its opponent in 51 of 57 games this season
• Kylie Aldridge hit her 11th home run of the season
• It marks the first grand slam of Aldridge’s career
• Zoe Yaeger hit her 10th home run of the season
• Yaeger is now the sixth Hokie to hit double-digit home runs this season
• Aldridge and Yaeger led the Hokies with two hits apiece
• Bree Carrico improved to 15-1 in the circle
• Avery Layton earned her second save of the season
• The duo combined for seven strikeouts and allowed just four hits
Up Next
No. 11/14 Virginia Tech (47-10, 18-6 ACC) faces off against No. 18/18 LSU (38-17, 13-11 SEC) in the winner’s bracket game on Saturday, May 16 at 1 p.m. in Baton Rouge, La.