In the final regular season series for Virginia Tech, they demolished Syracuse, finishing the campaign with a 44-9 overall record and making a push for an NCAA host bid.
Game 1: Virginia Tech 12, Syracuse 1
In the first game, Virginia Tech got out to a fast start against Syracuse’s Julliana Verni. Nora Abromavage got things started with an RBI on her first-inning double. Michelle Chatfield quickly doubled the lead with a sacrifice fly.
In the second inning, damage was done with one swing by Jordan Lynch with a three-run blast, making it a 5-0 lead. This led to a Syracuse pitching change to Sydney Jackson. However, the Hokies continued to put on pressure as Addison Foster knocked a two-RBI double to increase the lead to seven.
Syracuse wasn’t in a total rut on the offensive end, as they left the bases loaded in the first inning against Bree Carrico. Their first and only run was a third-inning leadoff home run from Madison Knight.
The Hokies continued to plaster opposing pitchers, including a Rachel Castine three-run home run in the top of the fourth frame, making it a 10-1 lead.
The Hokies were able to round off the game with Rachel Castine adding two more runs in the fifth, allowing Avery Layton to close out the game in five innings.
Game 2: Virginia Tech 13, Syracuse 2
In game two, the Hokies broke multiple single-season records enroute to another dominant performance, but it was Syracuse that got the action started, taking advantage of a fielding error while the bases were loaded. Allowing two runners to come across the plate.
The Hokies found their groove in the third inning. With the bases loaded, Abromavage closed the gap with an RBI single. This was quickly followed by Kylie Aldridge giving Tech the lead with a two-RBI single. That led to a pitching change in the middle of the inning, but a Rachel Castine sacrifice fly and a fielding error made it a 5-2 lead for Virginia Tech.
The runs kept piling up for the Hokies. Jordan Lynch got the fourth inning going with a solo shot. Another fielding error led to a run for the Hokies. Zoe Yaeger added another run with an RBI single to center field. That RBI from Yaeger broke the single-season RBI record for the program at 400.
Rachel Castine knocked the second home run of the inning with a two-run home run, which broke another program single-season record with 519 hits on the season.
Emma Mazzarone added the final score of the six-run inning with an RBI single to left, while she pitched the first four innings of the game.
With the Hokies up 11-2 in the fifth, it was a cruise toward another run-rule win. A wild pitch and a groundout added two more runs, making it a 13-2 win.
Game 3: Virginia Tech 12, Syracuse 1
In the final game of the series, the same story was told. This time, the runs came in the back half of the game rather than starting out hot.
Nora Abromavage added to her home run total with a two-run shot to score the first runs of the game in the third inning. Syracuse’s Jadyen Burney cut the lead in half with an RBI single, but the Orange offense couldn’t do much more.
The start of the fourth inning was a sign of the rest of the game, as Castine and Yaeger knocked back back-to-back solo home runs. Addison Foster and Michelle Chatfield doubled, scoring one and two runs, respectively.
The inning was capped off with a two-run homer, making it a 9-1 lead.
Syracuse put pressure on in the bottom of the fourth with the bases loaded, but left every runner stranded. Jordan Lynch later made the Orange pay with another three-run blast.
Sophie Kleiman put an end to the game in the fifth, securing a 12-1 win and series sweep.
With the Hokies' strong end to the season, they secured the No. 3 seed in the ACC tournament. They’ll face the winner of the matchup between No. 6 Virginia and No. 11 Pittsburgh. Tech got a series victory against UVA earlier this year and didn’t have a matchup with Pittsburgh. The Hokies' first conference tournament game will be on May 7.
