BLACKSBURG (hokiesports.com) - The Virginia Tech and Florida State softball teams will take to the diamond this weekend for an important ACC series at Tech Softball Park. The two are scheduled to play a Saturday doubleheader at noon and the single game on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Saturday is a busy day in Blacksburg as football’s Spring Game begins at 3 p.m. Parking will be first come, first serve as Lot 4 (softball/track) will be closed to the public until after 10 a.m. Softball fans are encouraged to arrive to the field early to avoid traffic, and to allow extra time to find parking. Parking in any legal spot in any lot is allowed Saturday. For more information, check the Football Game Day Page.
The first game will be broadcast live on ESPNU and will feature Pam Ward and Cheri Kempf on the call. It will mark the first televised Tech softball game from Tech Softball Park in program history as the team tries to break the attendance record of 1,977 set several years ago. The first 250 fans will receive a free Virginia Tech tote bag and it’s also an “Orange Effect” game.
Sunday’s series finale is slated for 1 p.m. and will be streamed live on Hokies All-Access.
Florida State, ranked 23rd in the ESPN.com poll, is 34-15 and leads the ACC with a 13-2 record. The two conference losses came from North Carolina and Maryland. The Seminoles are coming into the weekend after a three-game sweep over Virginia, but fell to No. 4 Florida, 8-0, on Wednesday night.
On the season, Florida State is batting .308 and is led by Morgan Bullock and Courtney Senas. Bullock is hitting .368 with six doubles and 12 stolen bases while Senas is hitting .359 with 13 home runs, 51 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. Three other regulars in the lineup are also hitting over .300 and four batters have seven home runs or more. In the circle, the Seminoles feature the top duo in the ACC in sophomore Lacey Waldrop and redshirt senior Monica Perry. Waldrop owns a team-best 1.58 ERA with a record of 17-7 and has 189 strikeouts in 151.0 innings. Perry’s numbers went up after Wednesday night’s game, but still is 16-8 with a 2.28 ERA and 161 strikeouts in 138.1 innings.
In ACC games, Florida State leads the conference with a .313 batting average and the lowest ERA in ACC play at 1.94. Waldrop has a conference-best 1.65 ERA with 144.0 innings pitched and 179 strikeouts in league play.
Tech won all three games at Boston College last week to improve to 6-5 in the ACC, but was swept at home Wednesday by Longwood to drop to 27-12 overall.
The Hokies leads the all-time series, 15-14, but the Seminoles have won the last two meetings – last season’s doubleheader in Blacksburg. Virginia Tech is 7-6 against Florida State at Tech Softball Park and 1-2 in televised games. Florida State has an NCAA RPI of 26th while the Hokies are 27th (thru games of April 14).
For updates on Virginia Tech softball, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_Softball).