Five Ferocious Innings of Scoring Propel Hokies to 12-1 Win over Syracuse

After not leaving the Commonwealth for the entirety of April, No. 17 Virginia Tech softball dispatched Syracuse in New York, 12-1, in five innings.

Hokie Victory 😎#Hokies | @DeltaDentalofVA pic.twitter.com/OaY0VbmdTZ
— Virginia Tech Softball (@HokiesSoftball) May 1, 2026

Tech (42-9, 13-6 ACC) is coming off a seven-game stint at home in which it went 4-3. Batting first against the Orange (18-24, 4-16) may have been different in feeling, but the result that's permeated throughout much of the season.

In the top of the first, senior pitcher Julianna Verni pitched into back-to-back full counts to open the contest, yet both center fielder Addison Foster and third baseman Jordan Lynch reached.

The first hit came off the bat of sophomore Nora Abromavage, after she worked into a full count as well. Her bloop double brought in Foster.

The Hokies cemented their early advantage with a sac fly from junior Michelle Chatfield, her first of three RBI in the contest.

Freshman Bree Carrico got the start in the circle in back-to-back Friday affairs, as she faced her most dangerous scenario in the first. Two singles and a two-out walk drawn from infielder Kaimi Tulua loaded the bases for the Orange, but Carrico exited the first with a fly out.

Though she escaped this jam, Syracuse's run came with the bases empty from leadoff batter Madison Knight; she made herself 2-for-2 on the afternoon with a ball that just sneaked over the center field wall to open the third inning.

Beyond that, it was smooth sailing for Carrico in her three full frames in the circle. True freshman Avery Layton picked up the remaining two innings, fanning two batters over 44 pitches.

While Chatfield was one of the three Hokies to garner three RBIs in the contest, Lynch was the first to hit the mark in the top of the second. With Foster on second, and nine-hole batter, Annika Rohs on third, Lynch smacked a moonshot to left field to extend Tech's lead to 5-0.

Fifth-year senior Rachel Castine joined that list in the same fashion in the fourth, off relief pitcher Sydney Jackson as Castine launched her homer to left field just as Lynch did, breaking the double digit runs barrier for the Hokies, 10-1.

It was Jackson's second inning of work, and her fifth earned run suffered against Tech. In her first frame, the top of the third, senior Kylie Aldridge opened the inning with a walk before freshman Gaby Mizelle singled with one out.

With two outs, and in a pitcher's friendly 1-2 count, Jackson thought her delivery caught the zone against Foster, as she removed her mask and began her walk to the dugout, yet the call was a ball. One pitch later, Foster smacked a two-RBI double into left-center to keep the inning afloat.

With the run-rule advantage already in place, 10-1, entering the top of the fifth, Tech only added a few insurance runs onto that, with Chatfield entering the three RBI club.

With two outs, and with Luynch and Abormavage both situated in scoring position, a singled poked into left was all Chatfield needed to clear the bases.

The Hokies can clinch the series against the struggling Orange squad on Saturday, May 2, at 1 p.m. ET. Tech is looking to sneak into an ACC Tournament first-round bye. As it stands, the Hokies are fifth in the conference, with only the top four seeds earning a free pass into the second round in Charlottesville.

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