Stanford Softball Swept by Virginia Tech in Road Weekend Series

You can't win them all. This weekend in Blacksburg, Virginia, the Stanford Cardinal not only suffered their first sweep of the season, but they also lost their first-ever series as a member of the ACC, falling to No. 16 Virginia Tech in all three matchups.

Game one on Friday proved to be very close, with the Cardinal losing 4-3. After going up 2-0 in the third inning, with second baseman, Taryn Kern, hitting a solo home run and right fielder Kyra Chan adding another run later in the inning via an RBI single.

A three-run home run by Virginia Tech catcher Zoe Yaeger in the fourth inning put the Hokies up 3-2.

The Hokies then added on another run to extend their lead to 4-2 in the sixth inning, when shortstop Annika Rohs brought in a run while grounding out to the shortstop. While the Cardinal did score a run in the seventh via a Jade Berry RBI single, it was not enough to secure the win.

Zoe Prystajko took the loss to drop to 7-2 on the season, going 3.1 innings and allowing three runs on two hits and three walks.

On Saturday, the Cardinal came back out ready to redeem themselves. Despite another hard fought battle, they came up just short in the 8-7 loss.

The Hokies got on the board early, scoring their first run on a hit-by-pitch with bases loaded before Yaeger brought in two more on a two-RBI single. The next few innings were scoreless before River Mahler responded for the Cardinal, hitting a solo home run in the fourth to cut the Hokies lead to 3-1.

From there, the Cardinal had momentum, with Kylie Chung tying it at 3-3 when she hit a two-RBI single in the fifth followed by Kern hitting a two-run homer in that same inning to give the Cardinal a 5-3 lead.

However, the Hokies threw the knockout punch with a massive sixth inning, starting with right fielder Cori McMillan's two-RBI double to tie things up at 5-5 followed by first baseman Michelle Chatfield driving in McMillan with a single.

After Virginia Tech second baseman Rachel Castine hit a two-run home run to cap off the sixth inning and give the Hokies an 8-5 lead, the Cardinal found themselves struggling to regain momentum despite a Camryn Carmouche two-RBI double in the seventh, as it was still not enough to get the win.

On the mound for the Cardinal was Chung, who took the loss after allowing five runs in five innings on five hits and three walks, as she struck out four.

Playing in another close game on Sunday, the Cardinal once again came out with the result they didn't want, losing 6-5.

Highlighted by two late-game home runs by the Hokies, the Cardinal were able to take a 2-0 lead after Joie Economides got them on the board in the first inning with an RBI single while Emily Jones scored on a wild pitch in the third inning.

However, Virginia Tech regained the lead in the fourth inning when a two-run home run followed by an RBI single caused the Hokies to take the 4-2 lead. But the Cardinal quickly responded in the fifth inning to retake the lead, getting an RBI single from Jade Berry, a run from Jones off of another wild pitch and an RBI single from Kyra Chan to make it 5-4 Cardinal.

But in the bottom half of the fifth, the Hokies tied it up with a home run, and after the Cardinal were unable to score in the last two innings, the Hokies won the game on a walk-off home run in the seventh.

Alyssa Houston pitched 3.2 innings for Stanford and gave up three runs on three hits while walking three and striking out four.

Chung took the loss to fall to 9-3, allowing three runs in 2.1 innings on two hits while walking one and striking out three.

Next up for the Cardinal is a home game against Saint Mary's on Wednesday, where they will look to get back on track ahead of a crucial three-game homestand against Syracuse. First pitch for the Saint Mary's game will be at 5 p.m. (PT) and will air on the ACC Network/ESPN.

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