Virginia Tech's Seventh-Inning Surge Comes Up Just Short In 10-9 Loss to Liberty

BLACKSBURG, Va. — No. 16 Virginia Tech's offense came one run short of a miraculous seventh-frame comeback against Liberty, 10-9. Despite a five-run seventh, it wasn't enough.

"Positives offensively, I thought we swung the bats well, hit a lot of balls hard," said Hokies head coach Pete D'Amour.

The Hokies seventh-inning rally comes up short.

Final: Flames 10, Hokies 9 pic.twitter.com/N0Z8geDWP5
— Virginia Tech Softball (@HokiesSoftball) April 23, 2026

Over the last three matchups against the Flames (23-23, 15-6 Conference USA) heading into Wednesday, Tech (38-9, 12-6) had outscored Liberty 24-0. The Hokies’ hopes of a fourth straight shutout ended early in the first.

"I can't complain because we were hitting the ball hard, throwing the ball hard, making good plays in the field," said second baseman Rachel Castine. "It's just not all piecing together."

The Flames threatened with runners on the corners against Tech’s freshman starter, Avery Layton. On the fifth at-bat of the contest, with two outs, Layton’s delivery was wild, allowing leadoff batter Ella Fox to scurry home.

The Hokies followed suit with a non-base knock RBI of their own, as Kylie Aldridge tattooed a sacrifice fly to the left field warning track, just a few feet of making the contest 3-1. Instead, it resulted in a 1-1 after leadoff batter Addison Foster scored on the deep fly ball.

The stalemate rested for an inning before Liberty blew open the doors at Tech Softball Park in the top of the third, when five runs came across.

The Flames stepped up to the third in the heart of the order, with the 2-3-4 batters all smacking singles to break the tie and move the 1-1 deadlock to a 4-1 lead.

With Layton throwing from the right side, and the Hokies southpaw starter, Emma Mazzarone warming up in the pen, Layton continued for one more at bat against the right handed Maci Strickland.

A walk allowed against Strickland ended Layton’s day through three innings, with an eventual five runs due to a two-RBI double from junior Paige Doerr, and a sac fly from left fielder Dani Lee.

For Mazzarone, overcoming the mental challenge of inheriting the bases-loaded, no-out jam was tough.

Her first earned run came off the bat of nine-hole batter, JaMaya Byrum, as she laid down a swinging bunt fielder's choice that Doerr skirted home on, elevating Liberty's lead to 6-1.

Mazzarone fired through the next two innings with zero-spots against the Flames as her offense looked to chip away at the deficit. That slowly came to fruition in the fifth, with a one-out, two-run moonshot onto Beamer Way from sophomore Nora Abromavage. Her blast was the first of two that Tech knocked over the fence against the Flames.

A walk and single in the sixth placed two Liberty runners on for the fourth time in the contest. Mazzarone worked through a similar scenario in the fifth, yet the sixth saw Liberty emerge out on top.

Strickland dribbled a ball slowly back towards the circle with the senior Brynn McManus on third. With two outs, McManus broke for home, and Mazzarone fired to the dish for the non-force out. Yet, McManus slipped under the glove of catcher Zoe Yaeger to extend the frame.

The Hokies, now operating with a three-run deficit, went down in order after the run from McManus, only elevating the Flames' momentum into attacking Mazzarone early in the seventh.

With two runners in scoring position, Fox poked a single up the middle to clear the bases as she moved up to second on the throw home, ending Mazzarone's circle appearance.

Redshirt freshman Bree Carrico entered to find the Flames' last two outs, with the first coming easy on a foul-out. Then, catcher Savanah Jessee slapped Carrico's two-out, 0-1 delivery into right, capping off Liberty's scoring at 10-4 as Fox crossed the plate.

The Hokies did have one thing on their side entering the seventh. The top of the lineup was due up with Addison Foster, as she entered the contest batting .428.

If Tech was in a six-run hole to open the seventh, three batters in after Foster and Abromavage both walked back to the dugout, the Hokies now stood in a six-run wide canyon.

Only third baseman Jordan Lynch was situated on first to make any light of the scenario.

Aldridge started the two-out rally with a double, which kick-started Tech's first RBI since the fifth, a two-RBI single off the bat of Yaeger, clearing the bases as Lyla Blackwell entered to pinch run for Yaeger.

"We're always going to fight, we're not going to give up," D'Amour said. "We hit balls hard, and they got through in the last inning."

Blackwell was needed instantly, as Chatfield got a fortunate roll to the wall on a base-knock into center, as she tripled and Blackwell scurried the 180-feet from first to home, bringing the Hokies back within three.

Now, Castine stepped up with more than just Chatfield on base, and the song "The Mighty Rio Grande" — the one from the 2011 film "Moneyball" — played. Castine promptly launched a two-run shot off the light pole in left field.

"Happy that I'm giving the team more opportunity to score," Castine said. "Trying to do what I can to help the team, trying not to be the last out."

Liberty up to that point, had stuck with its starter, freshman Abigail Findlay. But, with the lead being just one now after the blast, duties were handed over to Caitlyn Nesbitt, who did allow an infield single from freshman Gaby Mizelle. Nesbitt forced pinch-hitter Haley Luginbill to roll over to third base, completing the upset as the Hokies dropped their third straight contest.

It is the first time Tech has lost three in a row since last season, when it dropped its series finale to Cal, 4-0, before opening its series with Florida State with two losses.

The Hokies wrap up their seven-game home stand this weekend with a series against North Carolina spanning from Friday, April 24, to Sunday, April 26. First pitch is set for Friday at 6 p.m. ET, with coverage on ACC Network Extra.

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