Virginia Tech Softball Completes Saturday Sweep over Penn State and Radford in Day 3 of Hokie Invite

SALEM, Va—The Virginia Tech Hokies tackled 14 innings of action in a doubleheader against Penn State and Radford. Tech needed two different margins of victory on Saturday, but the sweep was there regardless.

GAME ONE

It was an exciting first game of action against the Nittany Lions for Tech's opening game of a three-game skid to end the weekend. The Hokies mustered three separate comeback surges in the battle against the Nittany Lions.

"We never feel like we're out of a game," Virginia Tech head coach Pete D'Amour said. "If we get down, it doesn't matter. We got firepower."

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— Virginia Tech Softball (@HokiesSoftball) March 7, 2026

An RBI from junior third baseman Brooke Klosowicz laid way to starting pitcher Bree Carrico, allowing a string of four walks, to plate two more runs for Penn State in the first.

This was uncharacteristic of Tech's sophomore arm, as she hadn't walked four batters in an appearance all year, let alone an inning. Carrico's day was done after 0.2 IP, allowing two hits and three earned runs.

Southpaw Emma Mazzarone entered with the bases loaded and forced a full-count groundball to end the frame, minding with the bases loaded.

Tech responded quickly, with leadoff batter Michelle Chatfield smacking a double into the right-center gap, allowing Kylie Aldridge to smack a double in the opposite gap, trading their places and plating Chatfield.

Two batters later, with two outs, sophomore third baseman Jordan Lynch knocked the Hokies' first of seven home runs in their double header, leveling the contest at three runs apiece.

"[Lynch] is more mature; she's always been a good player," D'Amour said.

Mazzarone worked through four more innings of solid work in the circle, lingering on the weary side of control as well, allowing four free bases, while allowing two runs.

Both came at the top of the second, when cleanup bat Macy Chamberlin sent a two-run home run to rightfield.

The Nittany Lions nabbed the lead once more at the top of the fifth when Klosowicz ripped a groundball to Rachel Castine at second, which skirted by her for an error, allowing Cara Bohner to score from second, the final run of Penn States afternoon, 6-5.

"I feel like that's a theme this year; if they punch first, we're going to punch back harder," Castine said.

For Castine, the obvious Saturday MVP, this was her only flaw of the doubleheader, as she knocked three homers over the two games, leading Tech offensively from the eight-hole.

She knocked two over the fence against Penn State, to both sides of the outfield, a solo homerun in the bottom of the fourth that leveled the contest at five, after Stetson transfer Addison Foster did the same two bats earlier.

"You put [Castine] out there, we got a lot of leaders, but she's bee in big games," D'Amour said about Castine's leadership and experience.

Castine gave Tech their only lead of the contest as well in its final journey to the plate in the bottom of the sixth, leading off the inning with a solo shot, rounding the bases with enough energy to power the lights that had just turned on at the Moyer Sports Complex, as game one reached its waning moments.

"Obviously exciting," Castine said. "I didn't realize it was the go-ahead home run at first, but once I got back to the dugout, knowing you can count on our pitchers to shut it down at the end of the game."

GAME TWO

The nighttime contest against Radford penciled a result more similar to the rest of the Hokie InviteTech had seen, an 8-2 contest.

13 STRAIGHT 👏#Hokies pic.twitter.com/7V4K2lWHoa
— Virginia Tech Softball (@HokiesSoftball) March 8, 2026

"We told the team that you have to be ready for game two," D'Amour said. "You can ride the wave in the first game, [and] crash the second game."

All of the Hokies' runs in this contest came within a span of three successive innings.

In the second to open scoring, freshman Gaby Mizelle knocked in Foster with an RBI-single, her 19th of the season.

Three straight singles off the bats of Chatfield and Aldridge ended when catcher Zoe Yaeger tallied the third for an RBI, cashing in Chatfield from second.

While a little small ball scoring opened the action against the Highlanders' arm, Dakota Redmon for the Hokies, their true power and prowess was unleashed in the fourth.

Castine nabbed her third homerun of the afternoon in Salem three batters into the bottom of the fourth, sending her and Mizelle in a trot around the bases.

That two-run shot moved Castine past teammate Nora Abromavage to the clubhouse lead for seven shots over the fence, albeit not for long.

Two walks and a single from Aldridge loaded the bases up for Abromavage, who unleashed her hands at the pitch for a grand slam, bouncing the Hokies ahead 8-0, and leveling the count at seven homeruns apiece.

After not making it out of the first inning against the Nittany Lions, Carrico got the start for game two as well, this time shoving a full five frames, not allowing any runs to come across.

Radford was able to plate an unearned run against Carrico when speedy shortstop Grace Bechtol forced a rare throwing error from the opposing shortstop Annika Rohs, later coming in to score on a sac fly from Amber Wolfe.

Senior Sophie Kleiman rounded out the final two frames for the Hokies, suffering a single earned run on back-to-back hits from juniors Abby Bossler and Amanda Lee.