Chatfield Caps Off Virginia Tech Softball's Sunday With Walk-Off Single For 2-1 Win

BLACKSBURG, Va. — While games one and two saw Virginia Tech softball run-rule the NC State Wolfpack, the series finale forced the Hokies to bunker down and grind out a low-scoring 2-1 walk-off victory.

"I've liked my teams resilience since the first pitch of the first game of the year," Virginia Tech (28-4, 4-2 ACC) head coach Pete D'Amour exclaimed. "I would feel worse if we did something different than we've done all year."

3/3 at TSP 🤩#Hokies | @DeltaDentalofVA pic.twitter.com/oSBAlg7UJH
— Virginia Tech Softball (@HokiesSoftball) March 22, 2026

As the contest rolled into the bottom of the seventh, with the game knotted at one run a piece, a familiar song piped through the PA system: Metallica's "Enter Sandman."

With the roughly 984-person Hokie crowd jumping up and down to the riff of Kirk Hammett's guitar, it was junior Michelle Chatfield who sent the fans jumping even higher.

Second baseman Rachel Castine led off the inning by slicing a single off her bat, over the head of the infield. Junior Sara McNelly pinch ran for Castine and skirted 120 feet around to third off a well-placed bunt from shortstop Annika Rohs and a groundout to first base.

"I told the whole team, Rachel [Castine] gets on, we're going to bunt and somebody's going to win it," said D'Amour.

NC State relief arm Wynne Gore had entered the 1-1 stalemate in the fourth inning, and forced two outs in the seventh following Castine's single. This time, with McNelly situated on third, one out was all that was necessary to send the contest to extras.

With first and second wide open, she had the leverage to issue a free pass to Jordan Lynch.

"[Gore] hadn't thrown a lot of first pitch strikes, we were king of chasing the low stuff," Chatfield said.

Chatfield took the first two pitches of the at-bat for balls, putting her in a hitter's count. That count forced Gore to coral her deliverys back towards the zone, yet a low dropball was too easy to pass up for Chatfield as she roped the 2-0 delivery under the diving glove of Lily Livingston at third base.

"I think it was a little low, but I was defintely eager to hit it," said Chatfield. "I was just trying to hit it hard. ... Hit it hard, good things happen."

Tech scored its only other run of the battle by doing what it does often: hitting the long ball.

Sophomore outfielder Nora Abromavage roped a 77 mph line drive off her bat that barreled towards the left center fence.

Abromavage and Castine are tied once again in leading the squad in home runs with nine, as Tech (55 total home runs) inches closer to the Tar Heels conference leading 63 blasts.

Southpaw starter Emma Mazzarone made her second start of the weekend series, bookending the Hokies' matchups against NC State without allowing a run and punching out 17 batters across 11 frames of action.

"I like it, it has its ups and downs," Mazzarone said on making two starts in one series. "I've trained for this all fall."

The Wolfpack's lone unearned run came in quick response to Abromavage's blast in the top of the second. Just a half frame later in the top of the third, leadoff batter Maia Townsend rolled a single down the left field chalk with one out.

Abromavage fielded it in the left field foul territory but she lofted it over the head of Castine at second, sending it across the diamond into the right field foul grass.

Chatfield scurried from first to retieve the ball around the same time Townsend was slowing into third, but Chatfield's toss back to Mazzarone also missed the mark as it trailed into Tech's dugout, bringing Townsend home off a single and 180 free feet, in just a few seconds.

"Just didn't play catch," D'Amour said. "Play catch and it's a single."

The Hokies won’t take on a midweek opponent this week. They'll prepare to head north to Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, to take on the Boston College Eagles in an ACC weekend series.

Boston College only has one conference series under its belt, as the Eagles dropped first series 1-2 against the Pitt Panthers, so Tech enters with the edge in conference experience. The first game is set for Friday, March 27 at 4 p.m. ET.