All season long, the Virginia Tech softball team has been riding its pitching, hitting, and defense to a 40-win season. Sadly, the Hokies were snubbed for a National Seed and instead of hosting the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, they were shipped off the the Tuscaloosa Regional being hosted by 15th-seeded Alabama.
After beating Belmont, 5-0, on Friday in the opening game of the regional behind a strong pitching performance from pitcher Emma Lemley, to face the host Crimson Tide on Saturday afternoon with a berth in Sunday's Regional Final on the line. Unfortunately for Virginia Tech, some sloppy defense was enough to drop them in the loser's bracket, and they face an elimination game Saturday night against the winner of Saturday afternoon's loser's bracket game between Belmont and Jackson State.
Virginia Tech grabbed a 2-0 first inning lead on a RBI singles from Bre Peck and Emily LeGette, but after originally being ruled safe at the plate for a 3-0 lead, Alabama challenged the call on Peck and it was overturned. Safe to say that it turned out to be a rather big overturn in the end.
Alabama scored the next four runs for a 4-2 lead and did it on some costly mistakes from Virginia Tech, something that has rarely happened this year. Kylie Aldridge had a solo home run in the top of the fifth to bring the Hokies within a run, but they were not able to push the tying run across and fell for the second time this season to the Crimson Tide.
Virginia Tech got a pair of base runners in the top of the seventh, but Alabama pitcher Jocelyn Briski got a fly-ball to end the game. The loss was even more frustrating for the Hokies, who outhit the Crimson Tide, 7-3, but three errors were the difference.