Virginia Tech made the trip to Charlottesville after taking 13 of its last 14 games. It was the second season in a row in which the Commonwealth Clash feature two ranked sides. Despite dropping the first game, the Hokies (36-6, 11-4 ACC) took care of business in the final two, taking the series to extend their conference series winning streak.
Game 1: Virginia 4, Virginia Tech 3
Game 1 was a pitching duel between two of the top hurlers in the ACC. The Hokies' Emma Mazzarone and Virginia’s Eden Bighan held both offenses in check for the first three innings.
While both teams threatened to score, the Hokies got on the board first. After Nora Abromavage got on base with a walk, she made her way to second on a passed ball. Kylie Aldridge then took advantage and doubled to pick up the first run of the game.
After Virginia Tech drew first blood, Virginia raised three runs off an Alex Call three-run blast to take the lead and seize the momentum.
What once was a pitching duel turned into an offensive battle. After the fourth inning both Hokies and Cavaliers were finding their way on base, but the Cavaliers added to their lead in the fifth with an RBI single.
Down by three, the Hokies worked their way back into the game. In the sixth, with bases loaded, Gaby Mizelle knocked an RBI single. Two batters later, Addison Foster was walked to bring the Hokies within one. With one out, Jordan Lynch couldn’t even the game with a flyout.
With all momentum trending towards Virginia Tech in the seventh, Virginia’s Julia Cuozzo put the game to rest with three straight groundouts to clinch the first game, 4-3.
Game 2: Virginia Tech 5, Virginia 2
In the second contest of the series, the Hokies had the bats hot early. Addison Foster got the scoring started in the first as she made her way home from second off a wild pitch and a fielding error. Despite loading the bases, Virginia held the damage to just one run in the first inning.
Though Virginia Tech did add to its lead in the second inning, a Michelle Chatfield single through the infield scored the two runners on base. Virginia was able to get one back after an RBI double from Madison Greene to make it a 3-1 game.
The Hokies, for the third consecutive inning, extended their lead. Annika Rohs knocked an RBI single, followed up by a Foster sacrifice fly, making it a 5-1 game.
Virginia was able to get one back off a sacrifice fly, but Bree Carrico shut down the Cavaliers for the rest of the game to win 5-2. She tallied a complete game, only allowing three hits.
Game 3: Virginia Tech 5, Virginia 0
In what had been a competitive series, the Hokies showed that they were the better team in the rubber match.
Similar to game one, Mazzarone and Bigham got the starts. While both teams were held scoreless in the first two innings, the Hokies were close until they broke past Bigham’s pitching in the third. Zoe Yaeger put the ball in play that allowed two runners to cross the plate on a throwing error with the bases loaded.
Virginia made a pitching change to Julia Cuozzo, but a batter later, Aldridge bunted in a run. Rachel Castine added one more in the inning with an RBI single through the left infield to make it a 4-0 lead.
In the following inning, Zoe Yaeger’s ability to put the ball in play brought in a run on a fielder’s choice while the bases were loaded once again. That proved to be the cherry on top, as Mazzarone and Carrico shutout Virginia in the final game. Virginia could only muster four hits and struck out 11 times in the game.
Virginia Tech won the series with a 5-0 win against Virginia in the rubber match.
This was the first series this season that Virginia Tech won without a single home run all weekend. It demonstrated that the Hokies can win without the long ball, even against a ranked rival.
Virginia Tech faces off against Liberty on Wednesday and then they are back in Blacksburg with a series against Georgia Tech this weekend.
