This time last year, the Virginia Tech softball team was off to a disappointing 1-3 start. But this year’s version is starting strong, with a 4-0 start after winning the 49er Round Robin at UNC-Charlotte this past weekend.
With many injuries last season, the Hokies were limited on the pitching mound.
But now that the team is healthy, and with the help of a newcomer Kat Banks, the mound now has four different pitchers available for game day.
Last season, Kenzie Roark seemingly struggled on the mound, going 10-20 with an ERA of 3.06, but contributed 143 strikeouts in 176 innings pitched.
“She wasn’t struggling, we just didn’t score runs behind her and we didn’t take care of things,” said head coach Scot Thomas. “She started off great. She’s going to continue to do her job and we got to continue to do a great job behind her.”
Roark went 3-0 this past weekend in the 49er Round Robin. The senior started the first game of the tournament, in which she pitched all five innings. She allowed five runs on five hits while striking out four and only walking three to win against UNC-Charlotte.
Roark also pitched the majority of the second game against Iona, as well as the championship game against Iona, where she accumulated nine strikeouts and was named MVP of the tournament. “It feels good to win MVP,” Roark said. “I wouldn’t be able to do that with the help of anyone else.”
Sophomore Jasmin Harrell went 11-10 last season as the Hokies’ No. 2 pitcher. She started 17 games and set a school record with 19 relief appearances.
She finished last season with a 3.22 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 141.1 innings. “Last year I thought I did pretty well,” Harrell said. “I feel like I could’ve done a little better in certain games but I think it was as solid as I could be as a freshman. I learned a lot.”
However, Harrell had a shaky start in the Tech’s second game of the season.
After 1.2 innings, she was replaced by Roark after walking four and giving up two runs.
A version of this article appeared in the Feb 18 issue of the Collegiate Times.
Leave a comment 0 Comments Write a letter to the editor
All letters to the editor must include a name, e-mail, daytime phone number and affiliation to Virginia Tech. Affiliation includes: year and major for students; position and department for faculty and staff; current city for alumni and parents.