Hokies kick off five-game road swing at UVA on Friday

Hokies set to face the Hoos before taking on Coastal Carolina and South Carolina

March 2, 2017

BLACKSBURG - The Virginia Tech softball team begins a five-game road trek at Virginia with its ACC opening three-game series starting on Friday at 5 p.m. in Charlottesville.

After its series with the ‘Hoos, the Hokies (8-5) will play two single games in South Carolina. Tech takes on Coastal Carolina on March 7 at 6 p.m. before facing South Carolina on March 8 in a 6 p.m. tilt.

Friday and Sunday’s games against the Cavaliers will be streamed live on WatchESPN via the ACC Digital Network. Tech’s game the Gamecocks on March 8 will also be carried live on WatchESPN via the SEC Network.

The Hokies are coming off a 3-2 weekend at the Pirate Invitational in Greenville, N.C. where they saw all three of their wins come by run-rule. Tech split with Seton Hall, swept Coppin State and dropped a tough 2-1 decision to host-East Carolina. Through 13 games, the Hokies have been in six one-run ball games and have gone 3-3.

Sophomore Emma Strouth led the offense by hitting .583 (7-for-12) with a double, a triple and a home run to go along with six RBI over the five games. Senior Aysha Richardson turned in one of the better weekends in recent memory at Tech as she hit .500 (8-for-16) with seven runs scored while also throwing 8.0 scoreless innings and punching out nine batters in the circle. Her 4-for-4 performance at the plate and no-hitter in the circle in a 13-0 win over Seton Hall helped her receive Top Performer of the Week honors from the NFCA.

All-time vs. the field
•Tech is 35-21 all-time against Virginia and has won seven of the last eight meetings between the in-state programs.
•Coastal Carolina trails the all-time series with Hokies, 9-6, while South Carolina has split the nine all-time meetings, 6-6.
•The Gamecocks topped the Hokies, 6-0, in the second game of the season last year on Feb. 13, 2016 in Tampa, Fla.

Richardson does it all...again!
•Junior Aysha Richardson turned in another impressive weekend for the Hokies as she hit .500 (8-for-16) with seven runs scored and tossed 8.0 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts in the circle.
•She had one of the top performances in recent memory for Tech after throwing a no-hitter and going 4-for-4 with two runs scored in a 13-0 run rule victory over Seton Hall.
•Richardson picked up hits in seven-consecutive at bats over two games and hit her first career home run in a 10-0 win over Coppin State.
•Her play garnered her NFCA Top Performer of the Week honors.

For updates on Virginia Tech softball, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_Softball