Softball On SI

Pitt Stuns No. 11 Virginia Tech Softball with Ninth-Inning Walk-Off

Pitt softball stunned No. 11 Virginia Tech with a dramatic ninth-inning walk-off, snapping the Hokies’ 17-game winning streak in a 7–6 upset victory.
Maren Angus-Coombs|
Pitt softball's Kylie Griggs jumps on her teammate after driving in the game-winning run against No. 11 Virginia Tech on Thursday, April 17, 2025.
Pitt softball's Kylie Griggs jumps on her teammate after driving in the game-winning run against No. 11 Virginia Tech on Thursday, April 17, 2025. | Pitt Athletics

The No. 11 Virginia Tech Hokies saw their NCAA Division I leading 17-game win streak come to a stunning end on the road against the Pitt Panthers Thursday night.

Pitt walked off the Hokies 7-6 at Vartabedian Field thanks to a bloop single off the bat of Kylie Griggs in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Griggs led the Panthers with a 3-for-4 showing at the top of the lineup with a walk, a run scored and a run batted in. KK Esparza also had three hits including a home run.

The centerfielder has reached base safely in 12 consecutive games while recording a hit in 11 of those 12 games. Griggs is batting .475 (19-for-40) with seven doubles and four home runs in that 12-game span.

Meanwhile, Esparza is bringing the power at the plate. She has now hit four homers in her last five games and is batting .471 (8-for-17) during that span.

The Hokies jumped out to a 3-0 lead after a two-out double from Kylie Aldridge in the top of the second and then scored two runs in the top of the third after a triple from Jordan Lynch.

From there it was a back-and-forth affair.

Pitt scored four in the bottom half of the inning, claiming a 4-3 lead after Camryn Murphy blasted a three-run home run that cleared the scoreboard.

Esparza and Ana Hernandez extended the lead to 6-3 with back-to-back home runs in the fourth, but the Hokies chipped away at the lead, scoring one in the fifth and two in the sixth to tie the game at 6-6 heading into the seventh.

The Panthers had several opportunities to score over the last four innings but stranded runners on the bases until breaking through in the bottom of the ninth.

Bekah Duck got the start for Pitt, but it was Gwen Sparks who earned the win after pitching 4.0 shutout innings of relief, allowing just four hits with three strikeouts and issuing no walks.

Virginia Tech's Emma Lemley allowed six earned runs on six hits and three walks. She struck out four and last only 3.0 innings in what stands as the worst outing of her season.

The two teams will wrap up their series with a doubleheader on Friday starting at 2 p.m. ET.

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Maren Angus-Coombs
MAREN ANGUS-COOMBS

Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.

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