1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H	E
Mercer (3-4)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	2
Virginia Tech (5-2)	0	0	0	0	3	5	8	7	0
Charleston, SC Box Score

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Virginia Tech (6-2)	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	5	0
Ohio (4-5)	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	4	1
Charleston, SC Box Score

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Despite going 0-2 on the first day of the tournament, the Hokies bounced back to go 2-0 in Saturday’s games. An easy win over Mercer, coupled with other results in others games, earned the Hokies a spot in the championship game and they avenged yesterday’s tough loss to Ohio by knocking them off, 3-2, to win the tournament. Sophomore pitcher Jasmin Harrell hurled nine shutout innings on the day, earning a win in the morning and a save in the afternoon.

After four and a half scoreless innings, the Hokies’ bats came alive in the bottom of the fifth inning in the 9 a.m. game against Mercer, scoring three in the fifth and five in the sixth to earn their first win of the weekend, 8-0, in six innings. Ohio went on to beat Charleston Southern, 1-0, in the next game, placing Tech, CSU and Mercer into a three-way tie for second. Tech’s 18 runs scored in the first three games pushed the Hokies to the top of the list and into the championship game against Ohio University, who had defeated them, 2-1, in walk-off fashion Friday morning. After allowing two runs in the first, the Hokies tacked on three in the second and held on for the 3-2 victory, winning their second straight tournament.

Tech sent Harrell to the circle for the first game against Mercer. The sophomore hurler shined, tossing a five-hit shutout to pick up her first win of the season, allowing zero walks and throwing just 97 pitches through the shortened six-inning game. Jenni Holtz got the start for the Bears and allowed just three hits and a walk through four shutout innings. The Bears took her out to start the fifth and needed three pitchers to get through the final two innings, giving up a combined total of eight runs.

After both teams were retired in order in the first inning, Amanda Santa Maria got the first hit of the day with a one-out single to second base. Allison Jones moved her to second with a sacrifice bunt, but Harrell struck out Sarah Santana for the third out. Kristen Froehlich gave the Hokies their first big chance to score in the bottom half of the inning, ripping a triple to the wall in right center, but back-to-back strikeouts for Holtz left her 60 feet from the plate.

The Bears stranded a runner on third as well in the top of the third, and in the bottom of the fourth the Hokies pressured once again. Freshman Dani Anderson started them off with a one-out single to right center. After Courtney Liddle lined out to the shortstop, Froehlich earned her second hit of the day, making it first and second with a single up the middle. An error by the second baseman put Ashton Ward on first to load the bases with two outs, but Holtz struck out Betty Rose to get out of the jam and keep the score tied, 0-0.

After getting four shutout innings from Holtz, the Bears took her out and replaced her with Kari Chambers in the bottom of the fifth. Chambers lasted just three batters, surrendering a walk, a sacrifice bunt , another walk and a wild pitch. Kassie Bailey then entered the game with runners on first and third with one out. With Bkaye Smith batting, Kat Banks stole second. On a 3-2 pitch, Smith swung but catcher Sarah Santana let the ball get past her, allowing Banks to get to third, Sarah Ashby to score and Smith to advance all the way to second. Dani Anderson walked to load the bases for Courtney Liddle, who roped a single up the middle to score two, putting the Hokies up 3-0 in the fifth.

The Hokies kept the Bears off the board in the top of the sixth, highlighted by a line-out double play by Kristina Cruz, then went back to the plate hoping to increase their lead in the bottom of the frame. Betty Rose drew a leadoff walk, and after Cruz struck out, Marra Hvozdovic singled through the right side to make it first and second. Kat Banks struck out for the second out of the inning, but the Hokies then went on a monster two-out rally to plate five runs and end the game early, up 8-0. Smith started it off with an infield single to load the bases. Anderson drew a bases-loaded walk and Liddle was hit by a pitch to drive in the first two runs. Kristen Froehlich, who already had two hits in the game, then stepped up to the plate with the bases still loaded. During her at bat, a wild pitch moved up all three runners, allowing Liddle to score. Froehlich then had her second extra-base hit of the day, whipping a double down the right-field line to score the final two runs of the game, giving the Hokies an 8-0 victory in the bottom of the sixth.

Froehlich was the star of the game, going 3-for-4 with a double, a triple and two RBI. Liddle went 1-for-3 with a run and three RBI, and Anderson went 1-for-2 with two walks, a run and an RBI. Seven different Hokies scored in the game, with Smith being the only Tech player to score two. Amanda Santa Maria was the only Bear to collect multiple hits, going 2-for-2 with a pair of singles.

In the circle, Harrell hurled six shutout innings, allowing five hits and no runs while striking out four. Holtz started the Bears off with four shutout innings, giving up three hits and a walk while striking out five. Kari Chambers gave up two walks and two earned runs in 0.1 innings, Kassie Bailey allowed a hit, a walk and an unearned run in 0.2, and Molly Anderson allowed the final five runs, all earned, on three hits and two walks. Bailey and Anderson each struck out two.

After a five-hour break, the Hokies reconvened to face Ohio in the Buccaneer Invite championship game. Kenzie Roark and Caitlin Colvin got the nod to start the Hokie/Bobcat rematch. Roark struck out the first two batters in the bottom of the first, but a single, a hit batsman and a walk loaded the bases for Sara Clark, who hit a single up the middle to score two for Ohio.

Betty Rose replied with a leadoff single in the top of the second, then Colvin hit Ashton Ward. Bkaye Smith then roped a single to left, scoring Rose. Leftfielder Paige Kemezis threw home to try to get Rose, but the throw was late and got away from the catcher, allowing Ward to score as well and Smith to advance to third. Cruz then laid down a perfect squeeze bunt, scoring Smith and arriving safely at first, giving the Hokies a 3-2 lead.

The Bobcats stranded a runner on third base in each of the next three innings. Harrell replaced Roark in the circle in the middle of the fifth, inheriting a leadoff walk. After walking the next batter, Harrell struck out the side to end the fifth. She then struck out two of the three batters she faced in the bottom of the sixth to head into the final inning of the weekend with the Hokies still hanging on to a 3-2 lead.

Struggling to finish the game before the sun set, the Hokies went down in order in the top of the seventh. Down to their final three outs, the Bobcats sent Alexis Joseph to the plate. She led off with a grounder to second, but Jillian Van Wagnen kept their hopes alive, roping a triple down the right-field line. Kemezis then hit a sharp grounder to short, which Dani Anderson fielded cleanly and threw home to get Van Wagnen at the plate for the second out. Harrell then got her sixth strikeout of the game, sending Wethington back to the bench for the final out of the weekend, securing the Hokies a 3-2 victory and their second straight tournament championship.

Roark allowed two runs on three hits and three walks with three strikeouts in 4.0+ innings to improve to 4-1 on the season. Harrell then tossed three more shutout innings, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out six and earning her second save. She was named tournament MVP following the game.

Colvin allowed three runs on five hits and six walks in 5.2 innings and Emily Wethington pitched the final 1.1, retiring all four batters she faced. Sara Clark was the only player to earn multiple hits, going 2-for-3 with two RBI.

The Hokies return to action Wednesday to face cross-town rival Radford in a nonconference game beginning at 3 p.m., at Dedmon Center Field.

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