Hokies host Georgia Tech this weekend at TSP

Tech offense continues to roll as March comes to close

March 30, 2017

BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech softball team kicks off a five-game homestand this weekend as the Hokies (13-18, 3-9 ACC) welcome Georgia Tech (10-23, 3-6 ACC) for a three-game beginning on Friday, March 31, at 7 p.m. at Tech Softball Park.

Sunday’s game will be streamed live on WatchESPN via HokieVision LIVE and live stats for all three contests can be found on HokieSports.com.

The Hokies dropped two tough games at No. 11 James Madison on Wednesday as the Dukes won a pitcher’s duel in game one, 2-0, and barely claimed the second game, 7-6, after Tech plated four runs in the top of the seventh. Tech has lost five-straight after winning three in a row last week.

Georgia Tech will serve as the Hokies’ first non-preseason top four ACC opponent since Tech took two out of three from Virginia to open league play. After the ‘Hoos, the Hokies took on the brutal ACC gamut of No. 1 Florida State, North Carolina and Notre Dame.

The Yellow Jackets lead the all-time series, 22-20, but have lost five of the last six meetings with the Hokies. Virginia Tech last faced Georgia Tech in Blacksburg on April 7, 2013, a 10-4 Hokie loss in six innings. Since then, the last six games have been played in Atlanta.

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.
• The Hokies’ .504 team slugging percentage, which ranks third in the ACC and 21st in the country, is bolstered by 40 team home runs and 1.58 doubles per game.
• Tech’s 40 long balls are tied for sixth nationally and are tied for first in the ACC with North Carolina.
•Tech has five different players with four or more home runs with senior Vanessa Gonzalez and junior Breanna Davenport leading the way with seven round-trippers each.
•Davenport, Gonzalez, sophomore Emma Strouth and sophomore Olivia Lattin all have 5+ home runs and slugging percentages higher than .597

DAVENPORT LOOKING DOMINANT
• Junior Breanna Davenport was one of the Hokies’ top performers in the month of March where she has hit .339 with three doubles, six home runs and 14 RBI.
• In conference games, she ranks fifth in the ACC with 25 total bases and ranks tied for second with four home runs.
• Davenport racked up five multi-hit games in March including two-hit performances against No. 1 Florida State and North Carolina and a three-hit game against No. 11 James Madison.
• Her seven home runs this season is a career-high and she’s on pace to set new bests in RBI and slugging percentage.

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 83 career walks.

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