Entering the final weekend of the regular season, the Virginia Tech softball team was in a position to have a chance to win the ACC regular season championship and get the top seed for next weekend's conference tourney at Boston College.
In order to get the top seed, the Hokies just needed to sweep No. 9 Florida State, but the Seminoles made sure that didn't happen. Behind five runs with two outs in the first four innings, FSU captured the regular-season title with a win behind the pitching of Ashtyn Dantley. The sophomore scattered eight hits and allowed four earned runs.
Virginia Tech started Indiana transfer Sophie Kleiman, and she got the first two out of the game before FSU loaded the bases with an infield single, a hit by pitch, and a walk. Amaya Ross delivered a two-run single for a 2-0 lead. A Jahni Kerr RBI single in the second, and Danley had an RBI single in the third for a 4-0 lead.
Virginia Tech got on the board in the bottom of the third inning on a Cori McMillan RBI single, but FSU answered back in the fourth on a two-run home run from Michaela Edenfield for a 6-1 lead. Bre Peck had an RBI single in the fourth for Tech, and McMillan hit her 26th homer of the season in the fifth and added her second of the game in the bottom of the seventh to account for the nine-run difference. The Seminoles scored at least one run in every inning.
There is still a lot of softball left for Virginia Tech this weekend. The 15th-ranked Hokies need to pick up some wins if they have a chance to host the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament and get a Top 16 seed. Another loss this weekend, and that chance might be over.