Virginia Tech Softball Conquers Early-Contest Scares, Handles Georgia Tech 10-2

The Hokies plated all 10 of their runs in the first, third and sixth frames of the game.

Virginia Tech Athletics

BLACKSBURG, Va. — One inning into Friday's series opener between Virginia Tech softball and Georgia Tech, the Hokies looked like they were in trouble.

No. 10 Virginia Tech's (38-6, 12-4 ACC) starter Emma Mazzarone had conceded two walks and a bloop single in her first three at-bats to juice the bases. Though she worked a double play off a grounder and tacked on another to end the frame, Georgia Tech (27-23, 8-11 ACC) scratched across a run.

But the Hokies answered resoundingly at the bottom of the frame and never let up in an eventual 10-2 run-rule victory.

Starting off Hokie Hi weekend on a high note. 🎶#Hokies | @DeltaDentalofVA pic.twitter.com/wylnWuvXTm

— Virginia Tech Softball (@HokiesSoftball) April 17, 2026

"Just keep doing what we're doing, and it's going to play out in our favor," said Virginia Tech head coach Pete D'Amour.

Third baseman Jordan Lynch delivered the resounding blow with a walk-off two-run shot in sixth that ended the contest automatically via run-rule. The Hokies' surge started early, however.

In the bottom of the frst frame, center fielder Addison Foster produced a leadoff single before Lynch followed with a fielder's choice. Left fielder Nora Abromavage got ahead in the count with three straight balls and walked on her fifth pitch.

Abromavage, along with Lynch, reached home plate off the very next pitch. On the first pitch of her at-bat, designated player Kylie Aldridge sent the ball deep and over the right-field wall, flipping Georgia Tech's 1-0 advantage into a 3-1 deficit. The Yellow Jackets nevert truly threatened again. In game one of the series, Georgia Tech went 0-for-8 with runners on base, 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and 1-for-8 with two outs.

After both teams went down in order in the second frame — including a near-home-run by Hokies second baseman Rachel Castine that was stopped at the center-field wall by Georgia Tech center fielder Holly Medina — Virginia Tech layered on in the third.

"You hit the crap out of it and keep doing it," D'Amour said of moving on from Medina's run-saving play. "That's a softball play. The thing with us is, we value how hard we hit balls more than we do hits. You hit the ball hard, and you hit that one. She made a good play, but you come out of there feeling pretty good about yourself."

Catcher Zoe Yaeger drilled a two-out double down the left-field line, scoring Abromavage and Lynch.

Two pitches later, first baseman Michelle Chatfield reached on a fielding error that plated pinch runner Lily Pallante. For good measure, Castine sent her second pitch just west of the second-base bag, scoring Chatfield.

In the span of one frame, Virginia Tech turned its already-comfortable 3-1 lead into a run-rule-threatening 7-1 gap.

Though Georgia Tech countered in the fifth with an RBI sacrifice groundout from left fielder Alyssa Willer, the Hokies did not relent.

In the sixth, needing three runs to claim the game, Virginia Tech did exactly as needed. Stepping in to pinch-hit for shortstop Annika Rohs, pitcher-turned-pinch-hitter Emma Mazzarone sent her fourth pitch deep into the high Blacksburg sky. Though it settled into the glove of Medina, the long fly ball offered enough time for pinch runner Lyla Blackwell to score, elevating Virginia Tech's lead to 8-2.

After Foster delivered a two-out double, Lynch stepped to the plate. D'Amour had instructed the sophomore to zip a line drive to left-center. She did so. Only, it landed over the wall.

"I saw the ball going to left center, and then I saw it was going over the fence," Lynch said. "I was like, 'Dang, I just had a walk-off.' I didn't realize until I was running the bases."

Across the season, Lynch is hitting at a .445 clip. She went 2-for-4 Friday, finishing with two RBI and scoring a team-high three runs.

"I'm going to sound like a broken record — [Game one against Georgia Tech was] a continuation of her career here," D'Amour said. "That's it. She's been a stud from day one, and I expect her to play like that."

In the circle, Mazzarone went for six frames, allowing four hits, two walks and two runs (both earned), while racking up five strikeouts. After the first frame — a one-hit, two-walk affair — Mazzarone did not yield another walk for the rest of the game, allowing only three subsequent hits.

"Average for her, but average was good enough," D'Amour said. "Had hard time controlling strike zone a little bit, but got out of jams. And think the first inning was that was a key play when we turned a double play with no outs. Limited to one run. Could have been a lot worse than that."

The Hokies continue the series Saturday at 7 p.m. ET with a chance to move to 5-1 in ACC series. Virginia Tech's lone ACC series loss was in its first set of the season to then-No. 25 Duke. Game two will be available for streaming on the ACC Network.