Tech travels to James Madison for midweek twin bill

Hokies and the Dukes will square off at 5 p.m. in Harrisonburg

March 28, 2017

BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech softball team travels up I-81 this week for a Wednesday doubleheader at No. 11 James Madison set for 5 p.m. in Harrisonburg. Both games will be streamed on MadiZONE HD SportsNet and live stats will be available on HokieSports.com.

The Hokies (13-16, 3-9 ACC) are coming off a tough road trip at Notre Dame and will face its first non-preseason top four ACC squad since the first week of conference action this weekend. After taking two out of three from Virginia to open league play, Tech took on the brutal ACC gamut of No. 1 Florida State, North Carolina and Notre Dame. The Hokies welcome Georgia Tech to Tech Softball Park this weekend for a three-game set after its midweek twin bill with the Dukes.

James Madison trails the all-time series with Virginia Tech, 11-7, but have won three of the last five meetings. The two teams split a doubleheader in Blacksburg last season on April 6 with the Hokies taking the first game over then-No. 6, JMU, 2-1, and the Dukes claiming the night cap, 10-1 in six innings. The game one victory marked the highest ranked opponent that the Hokies had ever defeated at Tech Softball Park.

GONZO’S RESURGANCE

• After posting consecutive seasons that didn’t statistically match a stellar freshman campaign, senior Vanessa Gonzalez is on pace to set multiple career-highs in her final season in Blacksburg.
• She currently leads the team with seven home runs – her career-high is eight set in 2014 – and ranks second on the team and eighth in the ACC with a .675 slugging percentage.
• The Torrance, California native has already matched her hit total from last season with 28 and has also driven in 20 runs and scored 17 times while hitting .337.
• She’s also climbing two charts in the program record book where she ranks sixth all-time with 23 career home runs and seventh with 82 career walks.

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