Collegiate Times

After falling behind 1-0 in a best-of-three series to Michigan, Virginia Tech knew it had to win two in a row to keep its season alive and it did just that.

In the first game of the day, Angela Tincher sat down 15 batters on her way to victory. She not only struck out 15, she didn't give up any runs and only allowed three hits. Tincher would strike out two of the first three Michigan batters and that would set the tone for the rest of the game.

The Hokies managed the only run of the game in the first inning. Erin Ota got on base first because of an errant pitch on 3-2 count by Michigan pitcher Jordan Taylor. Third baseman Charisse Mariconda stepped to the plate and ripped one to the shortstop who was unable to make the play.

The Hokies now had two runners on and were off to a solid start. Shortstop Misty Hall would then single to center field loading the bases for catcher Kelsey Hoffman. Hoffman would hit a line drive down the third base line but Michigan would make the force out at home on Ota. However, Michigan catcher Roya St. Clair would attempt to make the double play at first but first baseman Dorian Shaw couldn't make the catch and this allowed Mariconda to score from third.

In the top of the sixth inning, Tech centerfielder Jessica Everhart made a heady play. Second baseman Samantha Findlay of Michigan was up to bat with a runner on first. She flied out to center field but Everhart saw that the runner on first had taken off prematurely so she threw to first and was able to turn the double play, ending the inning and getting the Hokies out of trouble.

Misty Hall led the Hokies with two hits on three at-bats. Pitcher Jordan Taylor of Michigan would pitch five innings, giving up one run on three hits as well as striking out three.

In the second game of the day, the Hokies seemed to dominate in all phases of the game. Tincher continued her strong pitching as she was able to strike out seven batters and only gave up one run. The Hokies offense started to click in the third inning as they would go on to score four runs. Tech right fielder Whitney Davis got things started with a single to short and was able to advance to second on a throwing error by shortstop Teddi Ewing.

Michigan would then make a pitching change, bringing back in Jordan Taylor after having her sit the first two innings. Thing would get rough for Taylor pretty quickly. She would start off by walking left fielder Caroline Stolle. Jenna Rhodes would then lay down a sacrifice bunt to get Davis to third and Stolle to second. Taylor would then walk Erin Ota -- loading the bases. Taylor continued to struggle, walking Charisse Mariconda and bringing in one run for the Hokies. Kelsey Hoffman would later get an RBI in the inning bringing home Charisse Mariconda from third. Misty Hall would bring in two more runs on a double, bringing the total score to 4-0.

The Hokies weren't finished scoring after the third inning, either.

Whitney Davis would homer over the right field fence, giving Tech a 5-0 lead in the top of the fourth. Later in the fifth inning, Jessica Everhart would bring in Misty Hall to give Tech a 6-0 advantage. Michigan's only run would come in the bottom of the fifth inning by Dorian Shaw.

Misty Hall led the way again for the Hokies on offense as she had two runs batted in.

Tech will now advance to the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma for the first time in school history and will play No. 4 Texas A&M. A&M recently beat No. 12 Stanford.

The Hokies will take the field at 3 p.m. on Thursday, May 29.