March 12, 2014
Tech falls FGCU, 3-2
Hokies return home to host No. 22 Notre Dame this weekend

FORT MYERS, Fla. - The Virginia Tech softball team wrapped up its Spring Break trip to Florida with a 3-2 walk-off loss to Florida Gulf Coast University Wednesday afternoon at the FGCU Softball Complex.

The Eagles jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to a pair of solo home runs early on, but freshman Elizabeth Birle cut the lead in a half with a solo home run of her own in the fourth inning. In the fifth inning, Vanessa Gonzalez led off with a double and came around to score on a two-out single from Dani Anderson.

The game remained tied until the seventh inning when FGCU got a one-out walk from Kelsey Carpenter, who moved up on a ground out and then scored the winning run on a two-out double from Chelsea Zgrabik to win in walk-off fashion.

Kelly Heinz struggled from the start, giving up a leadoff home run in both the first and second innings, forcing Tech head coach Scot Thomas to make a quick change to Maggie Tyler. Heinz lasted just over an inning, giving up two runs on four hits with a strikeout. Tyler was solid in relief until running into problems in the seventh. She took the loss to fall to 6-4, going 5.2 innings. The sophomore allowed a run on three hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

The Hokies had nine hits, but left nine runners on base, including two in the first inning and three in the third inning. Tech was led offensively by Gonzalez and Anderson, who both had two hits, while Kylie McGoldrick, Katey Smith and Birle each had one.

Tech (11-11, 2-3 ACC) will return to Blacksburg this weekend to host No. 22 Notre Dame in a three-game ACC series. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday starting at noon and the single game on Sunday at noon.

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