1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Virginia Tech (33-17) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
(19) James Madison (41-6) | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 4 | 9 | 0 |
|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Virginia Tech (33-18) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 1 |
(19) James Madison (42-6) | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | X | 10 | 10 | 0 |
|
HIGHLIGHTS:
• Jessie Mehr hit her fifth and sixth home runs of the season
• Caroline Schoenewald hit her second home run of the season in the first contest
• Hokies will wrap up regular season at Boston College this weekend
HARRISONBURG, Va. - The Virginia Tech softball team dropped a pair of games to No. 19 James Madison Wednesday evening at Veterans Memorial Park, falling 4-3 and 10-3. The wins ran JMU’s winning streak to 33 games, the longest active streak in Division I softball.
The Dukes got on the board in the bottom of the second inning of the first game, stringing four hits together to plate two runs. They used two more hits in the third inning to score another run, forcing a pitching change. The Dukes added one more run in that half inning, but Tech made it interesting in the seventh inning. With two outs, Jessie Mehr blasted a two-run home run to make it 4-2 and Caroline Schoenewald then launched a solo home run to cut it to one run, but the Hokies couldn’t get the equalizer in falling 4-3.
Tech had five hits at the plate, led by two from Vanessa Gonzalez. Mehr, Schoenewald, Katey Smith and Kylie McGoldrick each had one hit off Megan Good, who improved to 25-0 on her freshman campaign. Good, one of 26 semifinalists for the national player of the year, went 6 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits with five strikeouts. Jailyn Ford picked up the save by ending the game with a strikeout.
Maggie Tyler (L, 14-10) went 2 1/3 innings, allowing four runs on six hits with a strikeout. Kelly Heinz pitched well in relief, tossing 3 2/3 innings of shutout ball. She allowed three hits, walked two and struck out six.
In the second game, JMU (42-6) jumped out in the first inning on a pair of two-run home runs from Erica Field and Taylor Newton, chasing Heinz from the game after just a third of an inning. Mikaela Aiken gave up two more runs that inning as JMU finished the frame with a 6-0 lead.
Mehr got the Hokies on the board in the second inning with a solo home run, her second of the day and her sixth of the season. In the third inning, Kelsey Mericka drew a bases-loaded walk and then Mehr drove in Michelle Prong with a single up the middle to make it 6-3. JMU went on to score four more runs to put the game away.
At the plate, Tech had eight hits, led by two from Mehr, McGoldrick and Bailey Liddle. Prong and Smith each had one.
After a solid first game, Heinz (L, 12-5) gave up four runs on three hits and a walk in the first inning, recording just an out before being relieved in favor of Aiken. Aiken went 3 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on five hits with a walk and a strikeout. Tyler went the final two innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits with a strikeout.
Tech (33-18, 8-12 ACC) will wrap up the regular season this weekend in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, with a big three-game series at Boston College. The two will play the doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m., and then the single game on Sunday at noon. BC (24-22, 4-14 ACC) needs to win two games to move past Georgia Tech (16-34, 6-18 ACC) and grab the No. 8 spot in next week’s ACC Softball Championship. The Hokies will enter the weekend at 8-12 in the conference and need to win two more games than Pitt (10-11), which hosts Louisville (14-6), to finish sixth. Tech is locked into next week’s tournament, which begins Thursday at Tech Softball Park, and will be either the No. 6 or No. 7 seed and will play Thursday evening either against North Carolina or Notre Dame.
For updates on Virginia Tech softball, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_Softball