Hokies host No. 1 Florida State to kick off home slate

The Seminoles will be the first team ranked No. 1 to play at Tech Softball Park

March 9, 2017

BLACKSBURG - The Virginia Tech softball team returns to the friendly confines of Tech Softball Park this weekend with an ACC series against No. 1 Florida State beginning on March 10 to kick off the 2017 home slate.

With poor weather in the forecast, first pitch time for the series opener on Friday has already been moved to 1 p.m. in hopes of playing a doubleheader. In the event that only one game can be played on Friday, both teams have agreed to play a doubleheader on Saturday. First pitch time for the potential Saturday doubleheader is still to be determined.

The Hokies (10-8, 2-1 ACC) are coming off back-to-back losses for only the second time this season, matching their longest losing skid of the season. Their last two losses have come on walk-off base hits against two teams with a combined record of 36-8 in Coastal Carolina and South Carolina. On its five-game road trip, which included a series win over in-state rival Virginia, the Hokies’ offense exploded and now rank first in the ACC with 26 team home runs.

Florida State comes to Blacksburg with a 19-1-1 record and a 3-0 mark in the ACC. The two-time defending conference champions will be the first team ranked No. 1 in the nation to play at Tech Softball Park. The highest ranked team to ever play the Hokies in Blacksburg was James Madison, who were ranked sixth and split a doubleheader with Tech on April 6 of last season.

HOME RUN HOKIES
•The Hokies currently rank first in the ACC are tied with Auburn for sixth nationally with 26 team home runs.
•Per game, the Hokies average 1.44 round trippers, the most in the conference and the fifth-highest clip in the NCAA.
•Tech has had a player hit a home run in 13 of its 18 games thus far this season.

OFFENSE BREAKS OUT AGAINST UVA
•The Hokies set the team program for total bases in a single game and registered one of the top team performances in school history in their 2-1 weekend at Virginia.
•Tech’s 32 total bases in their 13-5 run-rule victory over the ‘Hoos set a new program record, breaking the previous high of 31 set against Seton Hall on 2/21/15.

GONZALEZ WINS ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Senior outfielder Vanessa Gonzalez was named ACC Player of the Week on March 6 after she hit .667 (8-for-12) with two home runs, three doubles and six RBI for the Hokies in their conference-opening series at Virginia.
• Gonzalez slugged 1.417, had a .714 on-base percentage and struck out only once in 14 plate appearances in a 2-1 weekend for the Hokies.
• She registered two multi-hit games and two-multi RBI games hitting out of the lead-off spot.
• Gonzalez hit the game-clinching three-run home run in the top of the sixth of the series opener that gave the Hokies a 13-5 lead and put the run rule in effect.
• Gonzalez also hit a solo home run on the very first pitch of the game that set the tone for the Hokies’ 5-1 series-clinching win on Sunday.

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