Collegiate Times

The Virginia Tech softball team split a pair of games with the North Carolina State Wolfpack on Saturday to finish out its series 1-2.

The Hokies (33-16, 9-9 ACC) won the first game 6-2. The team started the game with two back-to-back doubles and took advantage of the struggling Wolfpack pitcher, scoring three in the bottom of the first.

Sophomore catcher Betty Rose kept the runs coming in the bottom of the third as she hit her ninth home run of the season, keeping the Hokies ahead 4-0.

The Wolfpack (24-21, 5-11 ACC) finally got on the board in the top of the fourth with back-to-back homeruns off of senior pitcher Kenzie Roark. Roark was able to redeem herself by retiring the next batter and having the last batter ground out to close the inning.

However the Hokies came back with a solo homerun by senior Kristina Cruz in the bottom of the fourth. Singles by senior Ashton Ward and sophomore Courtney Liddle helped put the team up 6-2.

Neither team scored in the following innings, and the Hokies’ nine hits finalized the score 6-2, giving Roark (16-7) the win.

“I felt pretty good,” Roark said. “I was able to keep them off balance, and I had a lot of really good plays behind me.”

The Hokies’ four hits in the following game were not enough to win, when the Wolfpack hit eight and quickly took the lead, winning 3-1.

The Wolfpack took advantage of its first at-bat and put up two during the top of the first with a two-run home run.

The Hokies tried to come back in the bottom of the third, loading the bases with only one out. Liddle walked to drive in the Hokies’ only run of the game. The team could not get a clutch hit and left the bases loaded, still down 2-1.

“I felt that we were more up in the first game,” junior Kristen Froehlich said. “And we kind of just lost it.”

The Wolfpack had another solo home run in the top of the fourth to advance its lead 3-1. The opposing team kept the Hokies scoreless, winning their second game of the series.

Harrell received the loss after pitching over six innings of the game before she was taken out and replaced by Roark, who retired the last three batters to end the game.

“There was a vibe that wasn’t there that we’ve had before that we can’t really pinpoint right now,” Ward said. “It’s just that lack of fight that we had, and I think we’re capable of a lot more.”

The Hokies are 33-16 and have already won eight more games this year than last. However, the team has lost the last eight of 12 games, which is half of the losses it picked up this season.

“With any softball team, there’s always slumps and ups and downs,” Ward said. “We’re trying to think of how to pick it back up. We still have a lot of fight left.”

The Hokies will continue on the road with a double-header Wednesday against Liberty at 2 p.m.

A version of this article appeared in the Apr 26 issue of the Collegiate Times.