Virginia Tech softball looks to rebound vs. NC State after being swept by Duke

After sweeping their first three ACC series, the Virginia Tech softball team hit their first big roadblock of the 2024 season last weekend at Duke. The Blue Devils swept the Hokies and took over first place in the conference by one game over Tech.

This weekend, the 15/13-ranked Hokies will hit the road again to North Carolina, this time traveling to play North Carolina State in a three-game series where they will look to bounce back from last weekend’s forgettable three-game set against Duke.

Virginia Tech had a doubleheader against Wofford postponed on Tuesday, but they picked up a win over Liberty on Wednesday night, 6-5. It was a good win as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the Flames rallied to take a 4-3 lead. Virginia Tech ended up with two solo home runs from Kylie Aldridge, one from Maija Louko, and a two-run blast from Emma Ritter. Again, the Hokies used the long ball to grind out a victory.

This is a case of the schedule being Virginia Tech’s friend at the right time. NC State is 1-11 in the ACC and 19-16 overall. Nothing is ever guaranteed, but this certainly feels like a series that the Hokies should be able to sweep, if not take at least two out of three, and anything less than that would be disappointing. 

Virginia Tech will swing the bats and put up runs, but the question will be whether or not their pitching can step up and have shutdown innings after they score, something they struggled with big time at Duke last weekend. Don’t get me wrong, the Blue Devils are a very good team, ranked in the Top 5 at the time, but there was a game or two to be won there for the Hokies.

This series with NC State will run Friday through Sunday.