BLACKSBURG – Following three non-conference wins this week, the Hokies continue ACC play at No. 8/7 Florida State with a doubleheader at 4 p.m. Saturday and single game Sunday at noon at JoAnne Graf Field.
The Hokies hold an even 24-24 mark, 10-8 in conference play with the Seminoles sit in the top conference spot at 13-1, 35-5 overall.
Last at-bat: The Hokies shut out two their opponents in two of the three games this week. Maggie Tyler tossed 19 strikeouts between Tuesday's 1-0 win over Western Carolina and Wednesday's at Radford. On Wednesday, the ace threw one strikeout in the first inning before striking out seven of the last nine batters. In game two of the WCU doubleheader, the Hokies’ bats exploded with nine hits and four home runs: a pair of solo shots by Olivia Lattin, a three-RBI bomb from Emma Strouth, and a two-run walk off by Caroline Schoenewald. Lauren Duff and Strouth also slugged one-run and two-run doubles, respectively.
Against Notre Dame, Tyler struck out six in her 19th complete game of the season, tying a career high set in 2014. With Tyler’s third strikeout of the day, she now ranks third in Tech softball history with 673 strikeouts. Breanna Davenport’s one-out, two-run home gave the Hokies momentum in the seventh. However, Tech dropped three games to Notre Dame. At Longwood, Tyler tossed 17 strikeouts in 8.2 innings in the circle. Davenport notched a single in her first two at-bats to hit 4-for-7 in the twin bill. Emma Strouth went 2-for-3 in game two with a pair of standup doubles and an RBI to put Tech on the board. Emma Strouth led the Hokies offense with a .667 average, including a perfect outing at the plate in game two on Saturday with a two-run home run.
Versus the Seminoles: The Hokies trail the series with the Seminoles, 16-21 with a 6-7 record playing on the road. The two squads have not faced in Tallahassee since April 2011 when Tech won the series 2-1, both wins coming in extra innings. In the 2015 series, the No. 25 Hokies and No. 10 Seminoles went to extra innings in two of the three games.
Three-time ACC Pitcher of the Week: With Maggie Tyler's 19 strikeouts already this week, the senior ranks fifth in the country with 218 this season. Tyler made her 25th start in the circle, throwing her ninth complete-game shutout and 18th win of the season. Additionally, Tyler was named the ACC's Pitcher of the Week for the third consecutive week on April 11. Florida State’s Jessica Burroughs is the only other ACC pitcher to receive the award multiple times this season (three).
Emma's Emergence: Since traveling to Longwood on April 13, Emma Strouth has had five multi-hit games in the last seven. The freshman logged nine RBI, four doubles, and two home runs in the stretch. She holds the second-best batting average on the team of .345 behind Lauren Duff's .353.
On deck: The Hokies will take on Elon on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in North Carolina.
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