No. 20 Virginia Tech clinches Commonwealth Clash series
The bats stayed hot for No. 20 Virginia Tech. The Hokies crushed four home runs in their 6-1 win over No. 23 Virginia, clinching the rivalry series.
Zoe Yaeger and Emily LeGette – the two Virginia Tech batters with multiple hits on Saturday – went back-to-back in the second inning against Hoos starter Julia Cuozzo. Yaeger, who made the highlight play at the plate Friday, wasn’t done in the batter’s box. She crushed a two-out three-run blast against Courtney Layne, making the lefty pay for a pair of walks earlier in the inning. Cori McMillan hit her eighth home run of the season to extend the lead in the fourth.
Virginia struggled to take advantage of free passes and runners on base. The Woos left 13 runners on base and went 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position. They had a chance early against Virginia Tech starter Emma Mazzarone. She loaded the bases after allowing a single and two walks in the first. However, the Hokies’ defense stepped up getting the force out at home on back-to-back plays.
Mazzarone went four scoreless innings and worked around five walks. Sophire Kleiman relieved Mazzarone after the first two Virginia batters reached in the fifth. Kleiman left the bases loaded after striking out the side.
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Virginia loaded the bases again in both the sixth and seventh but failed to put together the big inning either time. The Hoos are still a quality team but the inability to score more than one run when earning 10 walks probably leaves them quite frustrated.
Virginia Tech will seek the series sweep on Sunday at noon ET. The Hokies will then head to the state of Kentucky for a midweek game against the Wildcats and their ACC series at Louisville. Virginia will hope to take the series finale before hosting James Madison and Boston College next week.
