This Weekend’s Headlines
• The Virginia Tech softball team (4-0) will head to the Palmetto State for the first of two straight weekends to participate in the Buccaneer Invite, hosted by Charleston Southern University.
• Tech will open with Ohio University on Friday at 9 a.m., and will then play CSU at 1 o’clock later that day. On Saturday, the Hokies will take on Mercer at 9 a.m., and will then play one of those three teams again in either the championship game or the third place game.
• Tech is 3-2 all-time against Ohio, last playing the Bobcats in 2006 in Athens.
• The Hokies are 0-2 against the Bucs, getting no-hit by them in 2008 at a tournament in Charlotte, and then falling to them last year at a tournament in Boca Raton. Both times, the score was 6-0.
• This will be the first meeting on the diamond between the Hokies and Bears of Mercer.

Last Weekend
• Tech opened the weekend with four wins, beating Iona twice, Charlotte and UNC Wilmington. Freshman Kat Banks hit .500 and sophomore Courtney Liddle hit .455 as the Hokies hit .365 as a team.
• Junior Kristen Froehlich had two home runs and nine RBI while freshman Dani Anderson (.429), senior Kristina Cruz (.417) and senior Ashton Ward (.400) all hit .400 or better.
• Kenzie Roark was named MVP of the 49er Round Robin after going 3-0 with a 2.42 ERA and 22 strikeouts for the weekend.

In the Palmetto State
• The Hokies are 31-17 all-time in the state of South Carolina. This is the first time Tech has played in a tournament on the campus of Charleston Southern. Tech will return to the state of South Carolina next weekend for a tournament at Coastal Carolina in Conway.

About Charleston Southern
• The host Charleston Southern Buccaneers are 2-2 on the season after splitting four games in Columbia, S.C., last weekend. They opened the season with a 10-6 loss to South Carolina, lost 7-0 to USC Upstate and then beat Winthrop 11-4 and Furman 1-0 to end the weekend on a high note.
• Melissa Adams leads the way at the plate early on, batting .500 with two doubles and an RBI. Kristin Kelleher is hitting .364 and Megan Lombard is hitting .286 with two home runs and four RBI. Erin Kegley also has two home runs and six RBI for the Bucs.
• In the circle, Big South Pitcher of the Week Morgan Dowdy has gotten most of the early work, throwing 20.2 of the 27.0 innings. She is 2-0 with a 1.02 ERA and 13 strikeouts. Kimberly Hobbs is 0-2 with a 17.61 ERA in just 6.1 innings.

About Mercer
• Like CSU, Mercer is 2-2 after the first weekend of play. The Bears beat Radford twice (6-4 and 4-3) and lost to Georgia Southern twice, 7-5 and 3-2.
• Sara Stukes has the lone home run for the Bears and leads the way with a .455 average. Amanda Santa Maria is hitting .417 and McKenzie Woody is batting .333, but the Bears are hitting just .229 as a squad.
• In the circle, four pitchers have seen action, with Kari Chambers pitching 12.0 innings to lead the way. She is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA and 12 strikeouts. Jenni Holtz is also 1-1, but she has an ERA of 6.48 with seven strikeouts in 8.1 innings.

About Ohio
• Ohio had a tough opening weekend, going 1-4, but two of the losses were to a top-10 Michigan squad. The Bobcats lost to Southern Illinois, Michigan (twice) and Houston, and beat Stephen F. Austin.
• Jordan Paden leads the way with a .500 average, but the team is hitting just .208 with one home run.
• In the circle, Melissa Bonner is 1-0 with a 5.11 ERA in 12.1 innings, while Caitlin Colvin is 0-2 with an 11.12 ERA. Emily Washington is 0-2 with a 19.64 ERA.

For updates on Virginia Tech softball, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_Softball).