BLACKSBURG – Outfielder Emma Strouth turned in a single, double and home run with four RBIs to lead No. 24 Virginia Tech softball to a 9-7 victory over Lipscomb on Wednesday night at Tech Softball Park.
With the win, the Hokies (24-4, 5-1 ACC) moved past last season's win total of 23. A big reason for the win came by the way of the long ball, as four players hit a home run, including Strouth. Pitcher Carrie Eberle (15-1) pitched her eighth seven-inning game, finishing with six strikeouts and three earned runs given up on a career-high 138 pitches.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Outfielder Darby Trull doubled to left in the bottom of the first, getting on for shortstop Caitlyn Nolan. Nolan, on the first pitch she saw, lifted a towering home run to left to give the Hokies a 2-0 lead.
Lipscomb (19-9-1) would answer, though, scoring a run in the top of the second off a double down the third-base line. But Tech responded with a no-doubter from Grace Chavez, hitting a solo home run to left in the bottom half.
Putting the pressure back on, the Lady Bisons plated two runs in the top of the third off a couple Tech errors. With the game knotted at 3-all, the Hokies went to work at the plate, as outfielder Emma Strouth blasted a homer to left and first baseman Jayme Bailey followed with one of her own, sending it over the fence in right center to give Tech back its two-run lead, 5-3.
With the bases loaded in the fourth, Strouth hit a bases-clearing double to right center to extend Tech's lead to five. More of the same, Bailey also doubled, knocking in Strouth to cap a four-run inning.
Lipscomb would flirt with producing a comeback, getting the bases loaded and no outs in the top of the seventh. Then it would have its four-hitter hit a bases-clearing double to left center, trimming Tech's lead to three. The Lady Bisons would tack on one more off a Tech error, but Eberle would get the final out with a strikeout looking to end it.
NOTES
- The four home runs are the second most Tech has hit in a game this season. In its last five games, dating back to when it hit five homers at NC State last Saturday, it has racked up 13.
- Eberle is now up to 15 wins in the circle, the most in the ACC. She is one of only three pitchers in the league to be in double digits.
- Strouth has now had a double in three straight games and her three hits tonight marked her fourth time this season of owning three, tying her season high.
- Nolan and Trull also finished with multi-hit games like Strouth, with two apiece. It was Nolan's seventh and Trull's ninth.
UP NEXT
- The Hokies will hit the road for the second straight weekend in ACC play, taking on Pitt (4-22, 1-5) in a three-game series starting on Friday. All three games will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.Gallery: (3/20/2019) 2019 SOFTBALL vs. LIPSCOMB
