BLACKSBURG (hokiesports.com) - The Virginia Tech softball team will wrap up the regular season this weekend, hosting the Maryland Terrapins in an important conference series at Tech Softball Park. On Saturday, the two teams will play the doubleheader at noon before playing the single game on Sunday at 1 p.m. on Senior Day. All three games will be streamed live on Hokie All-Access.
The series is a huge one for both team in regards to seeding at the ACC Tournament. The Hokies, who are 8-9 in the conference, currently sit one game ahead of Georgia Tech (7-10) in fifth place in the ACC – Georgia Tech is at last-place Boston College this weekend – and is 1 ½ games back of Maryland (29-24, 11-7 ACC) for fourth place. Tech has to sweep the Terps to get the No. 4 seed, but and has the tiebreaker over Georgia Tech should those end up tied in the standings. Maryland has plenty to play for as well. A sweep of Tech would get the Terps the No. 2 seed while two wins would get them the No. 3 by virtue of a tiebreaker over North Carolina. Tech could go as high as No. 4 with a sweep, or as low as No. 6 if Georgia Tech wins two more games than the Hokies this weekend.
Saturday will be a totally rad day at Tech Softball Park as it’s ‘80s Day. There will be free black and neon Hokie T-shirts for the first 300 fans in attendance, along with the entire day themed with ‘80s music and trivia.
Saturday is also Help Save The Next Girl Day, which is aimed at educating young women about personal safety, encouraging community vigilance and providing resources for victim families. Check out more at HelpSaveTheNextGirl.com. Also, on Saturday, there will be free pizza to all Tech students with a student Hokie Passport starting at noon as part of Student Appreciation Day.
After Sunday’s contest, the program will honor seniors Bkaye Smith, Betty Rose, Courtney Liddle and Jasmin Harrell as they will play their final game at Tech Softball Park. The first 150 fans will receive a free VT pennant and there will be a postgame autograph session with the team following the senior ceremony.
For the season, Maryland is batting .289 and is led by Lindsey Schmeiser and Lexi Carroll. Schmeiser is hitting .348 with 11 home runs with 22 walks, while Carroll - who also pitches - is hitting .346 with 18 hits on 52 at bats. Four other regulars in the lineup are also hitting over .300 and three batters have five home runs or more. In the circle, the Terps feature a duo of Kaitlyn Schmeiser and Madison Martin. Schmeiser owns a team-best 3.72 ERA with a record of 14-11 and has 111 strikeouts in 145.0 innings. Martin is 10-10 with a 4.05 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 124.1 innings.
Maryland is coming off a series win over North Carolina. The Terps downed the Tar Heels in the first two games, 9-4 and 9-1, but dropped the final contest 8-1. Maryland has taken games from all conference opponents faced.
The Hokies are edged by Maryland in the all-time series, 15-17, but have won the last four meetings. Maryland has an NCAA RPI of 102nd, while the Hokies are 31st.
For updates on Virginia Tech softball, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_Softball).