Hokies continue conference play at Notre Dame

Tech and the Irish both sit at .500 heading into a key weekend series

March 23, 2017

BLACKSBURG - Winners of three-straight heading into the weekend, the Virginia Tech softball team hits the road for a three-game series at Notre Dame from March 24-25. The two teams decided today that they will play a 4 p.m. doubleheader on Friday and a single game starting at 3 p.m.

All three games will be streamed on WatchESPN via ACC Network Extra.

The Hokies (13-13, 3-6 ACC) swept their midweek doubleheader against East Tennessee State on Tuesday and run ruled North Carolina, 13-4, on March 19. All the while, the Hokies continue to be one of the top offensive teams in the ACC as they rank in the top five in slugging percentage, batting average and on-base percentage. Tech leads the league and ranks sixth in the nation with 35 home runs.

The Irish (13-13, 1-5 ACC) snapped a three-game losing streak with an 11-3 win over Michigan State on Wednesday. They’ve won nine-straight against the Hokies and lead the all-time series, 20-6. Tech last defeated Notre Dame on March 15, 2014, a 5-4 win in the second game of a doubleheader.

DAVENPORT IS TOUGH TO K
• Junior Breanna Davenport has come on in conference play to slug .920, hit four home runs and collect 23 total bases.
• She’s also one of the toughest hitters to strike out in the ACC. She’s only gotten out three times this season by way of the K three times in 83 plate appearances.
• Davenport has homered four times in the last six games and is tied for the team lead with senior Vanessa Gonzalez with six home runs.

HOKIES’ OFFENSE BY THE NUMBERS
• Nearing the halfway point of the season, Virginia Tech has one of the top offenses in the ACC and in the country.
• Tech’s .522 slugging percentage ranks second in the ACC and 14th in the country and their 5.5 runs scored per game ranks third in the conference and 57th in Division.
• The Hokies’ home run total of 35 ranks sixth in the nation while their 1.35 home runs per game ranks third.

WHY DO PEOPLE RUN ON DUFF?
• Sophomore catcher Lauren Duff has picked up right where she left off behind the plate as a freshman as she’s posted a .421 caught stealing rate (8-for-19) thus far this season.
•Her nine runners thrown out is tied for first in the ACC along with Georgia Tech catcher Kaylee Ellebracht, who’s thrown out nine runners on 34 attempts.
•Duff threw three runners out in the Hokies’ three-game series against North Carolina and all three ended an inning.
•The Chesapeake, Virginia native ranked second in the ACC last season with 13 runners caught stealing.

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