Thoughts on the first weekend of softball

What a great weekend for the Hokie Softball ladies!! You allways have things to work on and improve, but what a promising start to our 2012 season. Courtney was amazing, but so was the rest of our lineup. Dani, Gaskill and Betty all had solid weekends ... Fro went yard three times and Kelsey had some big hits with seven walks and over .600 for an on base percentage ... very solid. I know Kylie was disappointed, but she is going to be fine and Bkaye had solid at bats all weekend. Logan did a nice job, as well.

Pitching-wise, I couldn't have been any happier. We kept our walks down and all three that threw this weekend had solid outings. Jaz did a great job in her innings, Bailey worked hard out of jams and other than a couple of hits, Bella was great as well. Bella's ERA doesn't tell the whole story, because we had an inning where we didn't play the ball well and she gave up the home run after we should have already been out of the inning. I'm real proud of Jaz as a leader from the circle and Bailey is showing what she is capable of.

Defensively we played it really well, but need to continue to work on our short game defense and sharpen it up a little. 5-0 ... we will work building on that!!

We have a tough game with Radford tomorrow and then on to the ACC/Big 12/SEC Challenge at Auburn. It should be a fun, challenging week!! Go Hokies!!

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It's Game Week

Well Hokie softball fans, the 2012 season is here and it is game week!! I feel really good about our preparation to this point. The weather has been so incredible that we have been outside maybe more than ever and for sure the most in recent years. I think the girls are anticipating the start of the season and they have been working very hard.

We are young, but talented and have several key upperclassman ready to lead the way. To date our only question marks are Kat (who is coming off mono, but is working hard to catch up) and Jasmin is still working on her left knee issues. We have tried several things to give her comfort, strength and confidence, but I think it is going to be an ongoing week-to-week training issue. Otherwise, besides a few sore arms and so forth, I think we are healthy and ready to roll!!

Hope to see some Hokie fans in Jacksonville, Fla., this weekend!! ... Go Hokies!!

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Fall Ball Update

Hey Hokie softball fans!! Hope everyone is doing great and excited about all of our fall sports and their progress, especially with a big weekend with football taking on Clemson in Blacksburg Saturday!! What a great atmosphere it will be for us to bring recruits into and give them a tremendous experience!!

On the softball front we are off to a hard-working start although we were a little disappointed this past weekend. There were a some bright spots, however and there is a bright light at the end of the tunnel. Folks, we are young and talented and the upperclassman give us the leadership and experience to help us continue get to where we want to go. Hang with us because I think this is going to a fun team to follow once we put it all together the way we want.

Come and get an up close look at what I am talking about as we will inter squad scrimmage again Friday at 3 pm and then take on Milligan at 1 pm on Sunday afternoon, complete with the awesome new HokieVision scoreboard and videoboard. Hope to see you there!! Until then... GO HOKIES!!!!

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End of the Year Wrap-Up

37-20 ... Not a bad year, but then again when you don't accomplish what you set out to do it becomes less impressive. The bottom line is we didn't finish like we needed too. We didn't play bad, just not well enough to get it done the way we wanted, so time to move on ...

We did improve our RPI about 30 spots to 54th (putting us right on the NCAA bubble) and the primary statistical leaders and impact players are all returning. Our all-conference and all-region selections were all underclassmen, and team awards were all returners as well. You combine this with the fact that we are bringing in the most talented overall recruiting class and newcomers in the history of our program? … That is exciting!

Next year’s schedule is going to be much more difficult with the likes of Alabama, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and others on the schedule, so strength of schedule won’t be a problem. However, let me make this perfectly clear, not making the NCAA tournament this year is unacceptable and winning the ACC and moving on to the NCAA's is a priority next year!

By the way, congrats to Clarisa Crowell for making the Women's College World Series as the pitching coach for Oklahoma State!! Very proud of her representation of our program.

We have lots of recruits and verbals still playing in the state high school playoffs, so keep a watch out for them!! GO HOKIES!!

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It's Tournament Time

Hey Hokie fans! Well, we are in Atlanta for the ACC tournament and the weather today is beautiful!! We had a great workout today at Georgia Tech's facility and trying to stay focused, relaxed and rested for tomorrow night game against Florida State.

In taking a quick look at the last half of April we certainly had some games that we would like to have back. Three more wins would have been huge in the league and we let one getaway at UVA, didn't take care of a lot of scoring opportunities in the first NC State game and just weren't able to finish things in any of the Maryland games in a three close games. That hurts too as we tried to finish with 40 regular season wins and now puts us squarely on the NCAA bubble.

We did take care of business out of conference though with a 5-1 record vs three regional opponents. Dani breaking her hand in the Longwood series has been tough, but Cruz has stepped up at short and Dani has been a trooper playing as a DP with a cast on her right hand.

Bottom line is that we win the tournament and we don't have to stress about NCAA selection Sunday!! I think we can do that, but it is going to be a tough run against hungry teams ... we need to be a little hungrier!!! I think the girls are ready and we are excited to hit the field tomorrow night.

You can catch all of the action on ACC Select or on Hokies All-Access with our own Jerry Massey on the call. If you are in the Atlanta area, please come out and support the team, it should be a very exciting tournament.

Go Hokies and let's bring another ACC title back to Blacksburg!!

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Where Has The Season Gone?

It's hard to believe that we are down to the last three weeks or so of our season ... Charlotte seems like it was last year though, and we keep plugging along.

I really feel like our team has matured and gotten better over the last month or so and that is exciting news heading down the stretch with some of our biggest games left. Biggest games? Actually all of our games are huge at this point. Every game we have left is a regional contest and that can be a huge factor when selection Sunday comes along for the NCAA tournament, so that means we have to stay sharp every day!

The Georgia Tech series was a good one ... after a solid showing and taking game one, I really feel like we played the game well enough to win game two in seven innings. Georgia Tech is a great team and we showed ourselves and everyone else that we can hang tough and win with the top of the league. Having everybody healthy was huge as Court returned to the lineup and several players stepped up and got it done in the first two games. Even though we had some late mental mistakes and ran out of steam in game three, I was pleased with our overall effort.

Last night was a nice win as well. Radford's softball team was receiving Top 25 votes at the beginning of the season, so let's give credit where it is due and point out that they have a very solid team. Given regional implications, it was great for us to get the sweep over them this year and I thought it was a much more solid performance overall than the February effort ... by the way, great crowd last night!!

Individually, I think our pitching staff, primarily Jaz and Kenz, continues to give us some great outings and puts us in a place to win. Court has come back very strong and Ashton is on a roll at the plate right now. Fro has accepted her role as a utility player with tremendous acceptance and Dani continues to provide us a spark each game as a freshman. Marra and Betty are both great season stories as they are doing a great job of contributing each week. Richelle and Kat are in a bit of a slump, but I think they are seeing the ball well and making contact, so that means they should be fine and able to rebound. Bkaye is continuing to be a great defensive force and last night did a great job of getting the ball in play.

One of our big bonuses this year is the ability to look at our reserves and know that we have options and this will be huge over the rest of the season. Although Cruz has missed some starts as we try work the line up offensively, her number can be called every game as a starter or off the bench. Her batting average is down, but her on base percentage is good. Sarah and Nina continue to be our top pinch runners and Kujo and Laura are solid pinch hit or pinch run options. Alicia has always been a solid reserve at third, but right now has a tender shoulder that we are monitoring.

So it is on to UVa for the big interstate rival series. We have to be on top of our game this weekend as UVa continues to try to turn its season around. Personally I think that makes them dangerous and we can't afford any slip ups. They run a lot to try to put pressure on you and are solid overall. Melanie Mitchell was hurt, but is now back pitching full time. I hope to see all the Hokies from the Charlottesville/Valley/NOVA/Richmond area there to cheer us on. Remember the game times have changed and our doubleheader will start 4 on Friday with a noon start Saturday.

Until then ... GO HOKIES!!!

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The Last 10 Games ... 9-1 ... We'll take it!

Hey Hokie Fans! ... Well since the UNC series we have taken care of business pretty well. Our two mid-week doubleheaders went very well as we swept Cornell and UNCG . I was pleased with our overall efforts in both games even though we had a few let downs here and there. Bottom line is that we won all four games and we were able to get some people in the games.

I think our season will continue to be defined by continuing to do the positive things more consistently and trying to learn from and eliminate the negatives. We are a very good team, but we have a lot of work left and we need to continue adjusting our game accordingly. Mid-week games give us that opportunity when we are in the middle of ACC play, however since most of them are regional games that effect regional rankings we can't look past anyone at this point.

Our ACC series since UNC have went very well too ... anytime you can get a sweep in the ACC it is huge. Boston College is a much-improved program this year and have some big sticks in the line up. Winning all three at home was huge and, by the way, they have won the rest of their ACC games at this point and will be a force to reckon as the season plugs on.

Winning in Tallahassee is always huge. FSU has led the ACC as a representative in post season play and onto the World Series several times in the past and that is a tradition that we hope to emulate. Winning the series makes that even more gratifying and I was extremely pleased by our overall team effort. With Court still out from her injury in Chapel Hill, we lose that potential spark in the line up, but like I have said, it seems like someone is always stepping up and getting it done.

That however wasn't the case offensively in the first game where we failed to make adjustments against one of the league's top pitchers. Jaz threw great in a 1-0 losing effort. Some may want to focus on the home runs she gave up this weekend, one in game one and two in game three, but Jaz's walk to strikeout ratio is very good and she is 100 percent better than where she was this time last year. She also pitched this weekend after having a line drive hit off her chin in game one, didn't complain and kept fighting. I love her attitude and the reason we lost game one wasn't because of a poor pitching performance, we didn't get it done at the plate. You don't win unless you score.

With that being said I was very pleased with our overall effort in finding a way to win in games two and three. Kenzie was lights out all weekend and came in a relief effort Sunday to show the type of pitcher she is, getting it done in tight situations. I'm real proud of her effort! Probably the most amazing thing was that we didn't quit and won two games on the road in extra innings and that just doesn't happen easily when you are hitting in the top half of the inning. Ashton had some huge hits and runs scored throughout the weekend and several others had big contributions at the plate or on the base paths.

Dani continues to come up with big hits, while players like Betty and Marra have their share of timely hits. Sarah continues to be a clutch pinch runner, while Laura had a big RBI in game three in her first start ... how many big catches can Richelle make in the outfield, by the way? If you would have told me that we would win without Court or Kat (sick) in the line up on Sunday I would have said "somebody's gonna have to step it up!" and that is what happened! Real proud!!

Congrats to Dani and Kenzie for their ACC weekly honors as player and pitcher of the week! While Kenzie was also the Tech Athlete of the Week!! Kenzie will be with me at the Blacksburg Sports Club this Wednesday as I get to address the luncheon crowd and Kenzie will be on hand to answers questions as well.

We have a huge weekend at Tech Softball Park this weekend as the Yellow Jackets come to town. We hope to see the biggest crowds of the year to help us pull out victories over a Top 25 program. It's supposed to be beautiful weather so come on out cheer us on !! Until then.... GO HOKIES!!!!

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Catching Up

Let's get caught up Hokie Softball fans ...

First of all, our spring break trip was an overall success at 7-3, but more importantly you could see us getting better as a team and maturing from a softball standpoint. At the Central Florida tournament we still had the problem of giving up the big inning to a good South Alabama squad, but we did make some adjustments even though our success rate didn't necessarily show it. We did hit it well for the weekend and that has been a common theme for us.

We had a couple of days to practice and enjoy Florida before heading to Arizona. The players got to hang out in the sun and some had family members to stay in the area. Our flight to Arizona was uneventful and it was great to see and practice at a first-rate facility in Tempe. We were able to go to dinner with our former second baseman Shanel Garofalo Saunders and her major league Hokie husband Joe for dinner on Wednesday night. We really appreciate their hospitality!! Then the team was able to catch a Diamondbacks spring training game after practice on Thursday before going back to work on Friday.

We were very solid on that Friday, winning both games and setting us up with the showdown with No. 8 Arizona State. we struck first with two runs and loved our demeanor, but then an outfield collision between Kat and Marra shook us all in the bottom of the third. We lost focus for a little bit and Arizona State took advantage, but we recovered for a solid finish. The game could have easily been tied going into the bottom of the sixth, but they came up with three more runs. For sure the score doesn't tell the story and luckily the girls are okay with Marra still recovering from a concussion and should be ready to play this week. We came back and won Saturday night and Sunday to finish the weekend strong.

We opened ACC play in Chapel Hill this past weekend and started out sluggish at the plate. For the first time this year our hands were really slow in the first game and we looked defensive at the plate. We were better in game two but still nothing timely with runners in scoring position. We were much better on Sunday though and left with a win which salvaged a disappointing weekend. Those that were there showed great concern for Courtney as she was spiked on the back of her leg at first base on a routine play. Not sure how it happened, because her foot was clearly on the inside of the bag. She received 13 stitches, but luckily no tendon damage. Unfortunately she will more than likely be out of commission for the home opening ACC series.

We have a lot of people doing a lot of positive things thus far:

- pitching-wise on most days we have been very solid and have pitched well enough win ... Jaz has really looked great and Kenzie has been solid as well

- defensively we struggled early, but have gotten better ... still room for improvement

- offensively Dani, Court, Betty, Marra and Fro have led the way with Kat and Richelle still battling for us in the top of the order. Bkaye, Cruz, Hensel, Kujo and Ward are working on their consistency, but have all had their big moments.

- Sarah continues to be our top pinch runner with 7-of-8 stolen bases ... Laura, Nina and Alicia have all been ready to contribute when asked to do so

It is time for a HOME game and we hope everyone comes out this week to support us. Cornell is one of the top Ivy League teams and is very well coached, so we will have our hands full Wednesday. Hope to see everyone at Tech Softball Park Wednesday!!! Until then ...... GO HOKIES!!!

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Update heading into Spring Break

Well folks, we have come out playing pretty good ball so far and have won all three tournaments that we have participated in thus far, so we can't complain, but we can get a lot better ...

First weekend out we went 4-0 and won 2 games against a real good Iona team that I predict will win their conference and make the NCAA tournament again. Our bats were on fire all weekend with a high number of extra base hits and a lot of runs scored. We showed our potential offensive capabilities with good speed and power and defensively we were good enough, but left a lot of room for improvement.

Weekend two at Charleston Southern I was thoroughly disappointed in our start ... we cannot afford to have lulls in our competitive mindset and effort and although we turned it around on Saturday for two wins and another tournament title, it was a disappointing overall weekend. Our adjustment phase of our hitting was not solid and overall we didn't take care of the little things that can add up to big problems. Our kids understand this issue and have been working to improve it.

We had a real good win at Radford midweek. Radford has become a high level regional program and that means a lot for the mid-week action and really brings bigger meaning to those games. We really didn't play that well, dropped some balls that we shouldn't have, but fortunately it didn't hurt us. Jaz threw an exceptional, Court got the big HR early and Kenz came to get the important final out. Last year we would have lost that game ...

This past weekend we played fairly well overall, but continue to play behind in games. which we need to break that habit. I was especially pleased with our effort Saturday night and really got to see what we are made of with great energy and focus. Big hits with runners in scoring position and aggressive base running. Solid pitching effort and just playing the game the way we were are capable. However Sunday we spotted Coastal a three-run first inning and lost a disappointing game in extra innings. We won the tournament, but knew that we have left a game behind.

I'm real pleased overall with our underclassmen who have come in and contributed early in big ways.

We now head to our second segment of the season "Spring Break" with high hopes of continuing to get better and have everything clicking on all cylinders for ACC. I would love to see us come out of Spring Break with 20 wins, if we can do that I think we would consider the pre ACC schedule a success. If you are in the Orlando or Phoenix area please come out to cheer us on, we would love the support!!! Until then ... GO HOKIES!!!!

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Headed to Myrtle Beach

Hey gang, just wanted to give a brief update after today's big 2-0 win over Radford. We're 7-2 and playing well. We didn't play our best ball today, but this is a game we would have lost last year, so that's encouraging! Jazz threw a great game and Kenz finished it up for us and obviously Court's big home run in the first helped spark us to the win.

We now head to Myrtle Beach for five games before our long Spring Break trip next weekend. We'd love to see any South Carolina, Orlando or Phoenix-area Hokies out cheering us on over the next three weekends before we launch into ACC play.

I feel like we have a pretty good team, we just have to continue to get better. Every time we take the field, I think we do that and hopefully we'll keep playing into mid-May.

I'll try to check in with something a little more in depth, but I wanted to get something up for you. Until then ... GO HOKIES!!!

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Game Week is Here!

Finally, we can see the light at the end of the tunne ... or is that light at the end of the fieldhouse? Either way the Hokies will start the 2011 season this weekend in Charlotte!

Practice has been really good and the girls have worked very hard with a different mentality this year. Not that it has been horrible in the past, but I think we are little more focused then last year and have a much better idea of what these early season games mean to us in the big picture. There is no game that is insignificant and we have to be ready to take every game with the same killer instinct.

One thing that has been a positive is that we have been outside during pre-season, which didn't happen at all last year. Sunday, we had a great intrasquad scrimmage on the field complete with local umpires. It was a solid practice/scrimmage for us and really good to have umpires out there to give a realistic feel headed into this weekend's games. I thought we got a solid pitching effort in the circle and had some great at bats. Base running-wise, we were very solid as well and as I have said I think this is one of our best teams ever with regards to scoring speed. I know the girls and staff are ready to get into game time mode!

Look forward to seeing everyone in Charlotte this weekend and wear plenty of ORANGE AND MAROON!!! Until then.... GO HOKIES!!

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A quick January update

Just about time everybody!! Hokie Softball team practice begins Jan. 19. At this point it looks like we will be starting out in the fieldhouse, but hope the weather breaks soon ... Overall we look pretty good heading into spring practice. Kenzie is still rehabing an injury from the fall, but is pitching now at home and Kristina is coming back from a shoulder injury, but she says she is doing great and looking forward to getting back. From some of the Facebook comments it looks like they are all ready to get back and take care of business. Go Hokies!!

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Fall Ball and Newly Signed Recruits

Every fall we go through a similar routine. I mean we bring new players in and look around for some of the faces that we are used to seeing and remember that they have graduated and moved on in life. Although It is similar, at the same time it is very different with putting all the pieces of the puzzle together and rarely does it come together like we expect.

For example ... we recruit speed, but until you put everybody out there you don't realize what kind of speed you really have ... and we are fast! Especially scoring speed which is what I call people who are fast from 1st to 3rd. Stealing bases is one kind of speed, but the ability to be fast and have the baserunning skills to take two bases at a time easily is different.

Power? Did we hit hit a bunch of long dingers? No, but we did hit a few bombs from people who we weren't necessarily expecting to and our gap power was solid and something that we are hoping to live on next spring. Gap power and scoring speed produces runs!

Pitching? Do we have another dominant 12-15 K's per game type pitcher? No we don't, but nobody else does either and our pitching is really good and it is a deeper staff. The game is evolving and the hitting is really catching up the pitching, plus in our case I am really confident in our defense. We made some awesome plays this fall on the infield and with our speed on in the outfield not many balls are going to drop out there.

Overall we looked very solid and had no definitive issues to solve, we just need to keep getting better in all facets of the game and I think we are going to be a great team in the Spring!!....

As far as the recruiting class that we just signed goes? I can't think of an overall class that I have been more excited about in the history of our program. This class truly has it all... power, speed and solid pitching :

Lauren Gaskill - Pure dynamic, triple-threat softball athlete, going to be a lot of fun to watch

Kylie McGoldrick - Tremendous leader and softball savvy player, always hitting the center of the ball

Jessica Rappe - Great player with a desire to improve everyday, nobody will outwork this one

Logan Spaw - Versatile player with power who is ready to step in and to whatever asked to help the team, great stick

Bella Carrao - Huge upside as a pitcher in the circle and a big kid with power at the plate

Kelsey Mericka - Big, strong athlete who punishes the softball, could see her behind the plate or at 3rd

Additionally we also already have several walk ons who have committed to coming next fall that I can't mention at this time, but several are true diamonds in the rough.

Needless to say our future looks very bright headed into the spring and for year to come!! ... until next time ... GO HOKIES!!

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Wrapping Up 2010

Well folks it wasn't the season that we had hoped, but I do think we showed the type of team we could have been if we had been healthy all year at the end of the season. We went into the ACC Tournament trying to make some noise, and we did, although we would have loved to make the championship game on Sunday. The UVa game was a an example of the type of team we thought we could be and it was a very exciting fastpitch game. In the semis, we really thought we had the FSU game won, but a couple of calls didn't go our way and we weren't able to get the job done. The kids played very hard though and realized what could have been.

As a whole, the season was disappointing and we realize what we could have done if had stepped up in a few games and obviously weren't bitten by the injury bug. There were some bright spots however and we will carry those into next year. I thought our freshman class did a great job. Jasmin wasn't expected to pitch as much as she did and she will only get better heading into next season. Courtney and Bkaye both had solid years and both will improve their games as they move forward. Look for both of them to be team leaders as they move through their careers. Betty, Sarah and Ella filled their roles nicely throughout the season. Look for Betty and Sarah's role to get even bigger as time goes on. Betty is solid behind the plate, with a lot more potential as a hitter and you can always use Sarah's speed to win games. Kujo is a another player in that class that we feel has a lot more potential than what she showed this year, we look for her to come back revived and ready to go in the fall.

Fro and KG had good years as well. Fro in particular got better, but more significantly accepted her role as an outfielder and did a nice job. KG was huge for us at first base and also was more solid at the plate this year. Unfortunately she wants a more significant role as a pitcher and has decided to transfer. Marra is a very hard worker and will continue to improve and see her role expand as her career continues. The really tragic story of that class is Kelsey, who was starting to have a tremendous season and then got hurt and missed the majority of the last half of the season. Hopefully she will come back with a lot of confidence.

The junior class is our leaders of next year and I think we have a couple of good ones. Richelle played all year with a shoulder injury that eventually relegated her to DP duty and although she filled that role well, we need her back in centerfield. Ashton had a good season, but with so much more potential, she played OF, first base, pitcher and shortstop as we juggled the line up because of injuries and she accepted all of those challenges. We do need her to step up as a pitcher though and I know she will work hard in the off season. I also think that the end of the season was a wake up call for Kenzie, who threw very well down the stretch. If she brings her "A" game every day, she is going to have a phenomenal senior year. I was real proud of her effort at the ACC Tournament. Kristina made a bigger step than I think she was expecting coming from JC to Division 1, but I think she was really getting it in the end. She needs to get a lot better at the plate and stay solid at the hot corner for us. Alicia also handled her role on the team well and leads our team in the classroom as our top scholar athlete.

Our senior class leaves having been a part of some very special years - two ACC titles, beating Team USA and going all the way to the Women's College World Series in 2008. This was obviously a disappointing way to end their careers, but Whitney was having a great year at the plate before she got hurt and then came back strong in her comeback performances especially at the end of the season. Misty basically played the whole season on one good knee and exploded in the second half of the year. It’s hard to tell how many home runs she would have hit had she been healthy all year long. I was really impressed with Amber and how she handled her senior year, especially as a team leader. She continued to work at her game, always trying to improve and I think the younger players recognized this and followed her lead. We will certainly miss the positive influence of the Walker family as a whole.

On a side note.... I don't often look at the web sites with the chat forums and so forth although they are talked about frequently in the coaching world. I have heard our football staff say things to contributors like "If I ever see information on the web sites that is mis-conveyed you will never get anymore inside scoop from us" and things like that and the bottom line is that what is said on the internet is generally rumors, opinions and speculation. People get on the web sites with various intent from positive to harmful, or at least what they think is harmful, while 95% to 100% don't have the full story. I appreciate our kids and recruits not buying into the negative things that they read, it is just opinions and ... well... you know what s they say about opinions, everybody has one and many people on the internet seem to have an awful lot of time on their hand.

We’re looking forward to next season though. The ACC is going to look a lot different as a whole and it should make for some exciting fastpitch softball! Have a great summer and GOOOOO HOKIES!!!!

PS - GOOD LUCK TO OUR BASEBALL TEAM IN POST SEASON!!!!

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Wrapping Up the Regular Season

Well folks, the last time I did an entry we were headed to Longwood and I made the comment that they were playing like an ACC caliber team and I was certainly right. In particular Longwood had some great sticks throughout there line up and were able to score a bunch of runs. In game one we scored enough to win, but didn't pitch it very well and in game two we found a way to win 4-3 for the split. Great crowd in Farmville that night and I was glad to see so many Hokies!!!

UNC came to town next and although we had our chances to win game two on Saturday we couldn't take care of business and lost 1-0. On Sunday we game back and took care of business with a big win. i think the girls went away Saturday feeling like we let one slip away and played very focused and a lot more aggressive at the plate. We need to see a lot more of that!!

As I have said before our mid week games against Big South teams are bigger than they used to be because now our conferences are aligned in the same region. So, our regional match up with a hot Liberty team was huge!! Liberty came in after winning 13 of there last 15. However, what a great team performance, especially from our pitching staff. TWO big wins that we needed and on a very special night ...

It was Senior Night and that is always a time to reflect on the careers of our senior players. Misty, Whitney and Amber have seen and been a part of some of our programs greatest accomplishments. ACC Championships, beating Team USA and making it all the way to OKC for the World Series is something very few players can ever claim, especially the part about beating Team USA, because it had never happened before. So, we are proud of them and I know there opportunities with Virginia Tech Softball is something they will never forget and hold close their heart.

It was also a special night because of our special guests from the Friends of Jaclyn (FOC), Olivia Shroades and her family. FOC is an organization that promotes the awareness of kids with or who have had pediatric brain tumors. As a Virginia Tech Softball team we have sponsored Olivia through FOC and we have been truly blessed with that experience.

To complete our regular season we traveled to Boston to take on the BC Eagles and it was a good trip! We ate at the Fire and Ice restaurant in "Haavad Squa" on Friday and then took the series 2 games to 1. I was very pleased with our overall offensive effort , but we didn't pitch it well in game two and had to take the split, but turnaround and played a great game Sunday for the series win.

So, what is next? We are going to use this time to rest and heal for the most although we will scrimmage a couple of times. Hosting the ACC Tournament is certainly an exciting time for our program, especially having it here on our field. Georgia Tech is obviously the front runner at this point, so BC has a challenge in the first round, but I really feel with the rest of the field anybody can beat anybody depending on what team shows up. Should make for some exciting softball!!!! With that said let's fill the stands for every game and we will try our best to make this tournament a memorable one!!

Until the ACC Tournament ... GO HOKIES!!!

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Catching Up

Sorry that it has been a while since I have updated, but here we go ...

After the NC Sate weekend we had two mid-week doubleheaders with North Carolina A&T and Hampton, both of which we swept. Given our conference alignment in the South Region these games were big for us in a couple of ways. One, it gave us an opportunity to gain confidence and get on a winning track. Two, their conference is in alignment with the ACC, so regional wins are always good.

The next weekend we took on UVA in a home series ... it was an awesome weekend with regards to our Alumnae Weekend Festivities, with every former team represented. Al, BJ, BJ's fiancé Katy Baker did a great job with arranging everything and Donnie Walker was kind enough to do the cooking on Saturday for the picnic. Top of the Stairs sponsored the social on Friday night that was a big hit as well and we appreciate Jason Brauns help with those arrangements. The event was a success and it was great seeing all the alumni that returned and seeing some of their kids as well.

Unfortunately, we didn't take care of things on the field too well as injuries continued to mount with the loss of Whitney due to a torn PCL and Mistty and Courtney still not 100%. We had a good chance to win game two, but UVA's left fielder spun around and caught a ball falling on the ground that would have won that game for us. Certainly a disappointing weekend from a softball standpoint.

We were off midweek and headed into a lion's den to play Georgia Tech on Easter weekend. Georgia Tech is one of the best hitting teams that I have ever seen and they showed up ready to roll. We unfortunately have all year long given up "plus runs" when we should taken care of routine scenarios throughout the game. With a great hitting team like Georgia Tech, you can't afford to do that and give them extra at bats, walks, etc and they made us pay. Trying to get a consistent batting order and let kids settle in has been tough all year long and that weekend was no different.

ETSU, came to town for a doubleheader the next week and we were able to secure two wins on that Tuesday and yet two more out of conference, but regional-friendly wins and then we went to Boone for a single game against Appy State and just didn't finish the job. We were up 5-3 and didn't close the door and allowed them to come back in the sixth inning. I was very upset with our lack of finishing attitude, but then again that has unfortunately been a trait of our young, inexperienced and injury-riddled team.

Off to Maryland weekend before last and we were only able to win one game in the series up there and our inconsistency as a whole continued to keep us rattled. Our pitching staff has not consistently stepped up to the challenge, but at times can show what they are really about and it seems that a lot of the time when our defense makes a mistake it gets magnified or we give up lead off walks and they are sure to score.

Last Wednesday we played a very solid Radford team and I really didn't feel that the score was indicative of the game played, two tough calls that didn't go our way sparked a four-run inning that we could have been out and then we didn't take care of business and inning or so later. I thought we had pretty good purpose at the plate, but lacked purpose hits!! You have to accept the challenge of standing in the batter's box with runners in scoring position and we didn't do that well. We also have to accept the challenge of stepping into the circle and pitch with a focused/competitive attitude and we don't always bring that ...

As a whole this year, we have allowed things to snow ball one inning here and there and it has killed us ... we haven't accepted the challenge of hitting with runners in scoring position and we have pitched it consistently enough to keep ourselves out of that big innings and then defense it on top of that. Injuries have kept us consistently inconsistent with our line up and this means we have had players playing our of position many time throughout the year and in my opinion is a leading factor to all of our problems.

Which takes me into this past weekend's series with #16 Florida State ... Although in Game one we gave up several "plus runs" we were able to stay competitive, not get down and finish two exciting games. Misty was huge all weekend with two bombs in game one and the walk off laser that was hit in game two which garnered hr ACC Co-Player of the Week honors, but overall we played the game much better. For the first time since the second weekend out, Misty didn't run with a noticeable limp and players stepped it up all through the line up to score runs and hit with runners in scoring position. It certainly was a fun overall weekend and I think the players saw what they could have been accomplishing all year long ... and that was with Richelle as a offensive player only and Whitney and Kelsey still out of the line up. What could we have done as a healthier team this year? I don't exactly know, but I know we are getting a little healthier and it seems to be a positive. Hopefully Whitney will be back this weekend and we can stay on a confident roll.

A strong Longwood team is up next and they are playing like an ACC caliber team, so it doesn't get any easier for us, but we have to play with confidence and get the job done tomorrow in Farmville. Hopefully some of our central Virginia fans will be there to pull us through heading into to a huge ACC weekend with UNC coming to town ... until then ... GO HOKIES!!!

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The NC State Series

Well as I told the girls on saturday before the game, this series is going to define what we want to be about for the rest of the season ... and they didn't disappointment us or themselves!

Sweeping the Wolfpack on Saturday was huge for us especially playing on the road facing one of the top pitchers in the league. I really felt like the girls worked hard to make the adjustment at the plate and two home runs (Court and Fro) later combined with a tremendous pitching performance by Kenzie with solid defense and we had finally played a complete game! That was one of the things that I had said in my last entry was that the girls needed to feel what it was like to play a complete game and things would turn around. we definitely played a complete game.

The second game we busted out for 11 runs in four innings and I think that we got a taste of what it is supposed to feel like when you are aggressive in the box and swinging at strikes. I was very pleased all around and again another solid pitching performance this time out of Jasmin and Ash got an inning of relief work as well. Pretty much everybody had a hit up and down the line up and we were able to manufacture runs which has been a weakness for us so far ... at the end of the day I was very pleased with our effort and I know the girls felt the same way.

On Sunday we once again played very hard, obviously NC State came out with a little different demeanor too and i thought we were going to take the series with Court's second bomb of the weekend, this time a two-run homer. However, we let it slip in the bottom of the sixth allowing four runs. A tough play at the plate caused the opportunity to give up the fourth run in a collision that took Court out of the game with a separated shoulder. This really hurt because the kids fought back to score a run in the seventh and Court would have been up again, but we fell a run short. Loved the effort though and I think we can really feed off of this weekend.

Injury-wise, Misty and now Court are out at this point and Richelle is still just hitting for now ... pretty tough when your 2, 3, 4 hitters are injured or completely out. I am really proud of the girls that have stepped up and played out of position to keep us heading in the right direction. If you would have told me at the beginning of the year that our line up would be this out of whack for the first ACC series and that we would take the series??? ... I would have said that would be a tough way to do it, but they have. Kristina has done a great job in her move to SS and Kels has stepped in solidly at 3rd.

In order to keep Ash's bat and speed in the line up she has accepted her new role in left field and Whitney has had to move to centerfield to cover for Richelle being out. On top of that Fro has been moved to right field to fill the void of Whit's move to center. Betty is a solid defensive catcher and she came in to fill for Court yesterday behind the plate as well ... shew!!

Got to keep them momentum rolling this week though heading into a big clash with rivals UVA. North Carolina A&T was off to a quick start and almost upset NC State a week ago, so we can't overlook them and Hampton will come in hungry to knock us off on Wednesday. We look forward to playing some home games for sure!!!

So we shall see you at the games this week at Tech Softball Park and don't forget Alumnae Weekend coming up this weekend!! Until I see you at the park ... Go Hokies!!!

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ACC Season Is Upon Us

Well folks, we are off to Raleigh to start the ACC schedule with a date against the Wolfpack, but first I will take a quick glance at spring break.

In Clearwater we won more than we lost, however we are still trying to find the team we want to be and Clearwater was no exception. The win over UTC was a good one and we played a solid game against Boston, but overall we just aren't playing complete games.

I was very proud of the pitchers as I thought they had five solid efforts. We hit in spurts, but didn't put enough hits together in key situations. Defensively we did take care of the ball well for the most part and I was happy with that...

As for Boca, we just didn't play that well overall. I think this team needs to feel what it is like to play a compete game in order to become consistant and win.

Bottomline is we have let games slip away, because of one bad play, one mental mistake, one bunt not down and that has got to stop before we can get this season headed in a positive direction.

On a positive note we held our first three outdoor practices of the year and the girls have worked hard this week. NC State is always solid and it will take our best effort to take the series.

If you are in the Raleigh area this weekend come out and support us!! We need to get off to a good start in the ACC ... Until then ... GO HOKIES!!

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Leadoff Classic Follow-Up

Well fans ... our woeful play is continuing to shoot us in the foot!! We need to be making 100 percent of the routine plays and we aren't. To top it off, every time we make a mistake the other team is making us pay!! Playing the schedule we had this weekend was tough and we knew that going in, but we can't keep giving good teams extra opportunities, whether that is an error or a lead off walk. We are pressing at the plate too and as soon as we can shake it loose we will start to be the type of team that we can be.

That being said, the girls are working hard to make the adjustments necessary to succeed. The trick now is to not press, have confidence in our abilities and have some fun!! Hopefully the sunshine of Florida will do the trick. If you live in the Clearwater area or going to be down for Spring Training please come out and see us at the Eddie Moore Complex at the beginning of the week and in Boca Raton at Florida Atlantic University at the end of the week. The schedule of games and times are right here on the website.

We are going to get this thing turned around, so hang in there with us!! ... until next time ... Go Hokies!!

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The early-season update

Well after two weekends of softball I have to admit I am quite disappointed. Yes, we do start as many as eight different players at times from last year’s line-up. Yes, we are young in critical spots. Yes, it hurt us when Misty got hurt against Georgia. She is a tough athlete to replace and that hurts us in the meat of our order and defensively ... and yes, we have not been on our field to practice with the snow on it, which can attribute to some errors.

However, we played so passive this weekend that we didn't show the talent that we have on this team. I think the passiveness may come from lack of experience and play at this level, but now we have to step it up ... quickly!!! With the Leadoff Classic ahead, us there is no time to lick our wounds for long.

On a positive note we have a couple of players getting’ it done. Whitney, Courtney, Richelle, KG and Bkaye are doing a good job at the plate. Whit is really seeing the ball well, Court is making solid adjustments at the plate, Richelle is showing signs of the true "gamer" talent that she is, KG is having some great at bats and of course Misty was doing well before she got hurt on Friday.

Pitching-wise, Jasmin has done a great job as a freshman out of the box and has thrown more innings than I thought she would have at this point, although her future is incredibly bright she is getting it done right now. KG has also had two very solid starts and we need that to continue, because I really believe that she can be a difference in the circle for us. Kenzie shows signs of being a great pitcher, but needs to step up as an upperclassman and get it done, but she will and right now Ashton is gaining confidence in the circle.

Overall I am disappointed with our start greatly because we are not competing like I want to see us compete. Mostly it's the one-on-one battles where we need to get excited about being in that batter's box and wanting the challenge or stepping in the circle and going at batter's with a "try to hit this!" mentality. ... Hang in there with us, because we have very good team, just need to get better between the ears and we will be fine.

Come out and see us on Wednesday at Tech Softball Park for our first home game, weather permitting.... Until then ... GO HoKiES!!

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Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!! .... and it couldn't come at a better time, well it comes at the same time every year I guess, but with our team with so many new faces it just seems appropriate to be excited about the new year ...

The fall season went very well and I think all of our loyal Hokie softball fans are going to have fun watching this team play and grow.

Gaining early season experience is going to be of major importance to this team. Now what you need to know is that this is the hardest working bunch we have ever had and are doing a great job of going above and beyond on their own in their preparations. The self motivation is awesome!! However, this is a team that needs game experience and that can only happen on the game field against opponents that give us the necessary competition to prepare us for the ACC and beyond. I believe our schedule provides us that opportunity.

One thing that didn't happen this fall was that we didn't get to see our complete line up and having said that we still did well. Misty will be back and she is chomping at the bit to get back in that line up. Richelle suffered a late fall shoulder dislocation, but that doesn't seem like it is going to hold her back. Veterans like Whitney, Kenzie, Amber and Ashton, along with JUCO tranfer Kristina are ready to get it done and lead this team, but the excitement of the younger players is going to be fun to watch. Courtney, Bkaye and Jasmin are just three freshman that are going to be leaned on heavily and I have been extremely impressed with our super sophs Fro, Marra and KG, although we need to get KG 100% healthy.

Practice starts on January 18th, so I will give an update on the pre season practices shortly after we begin.

Again, Happy New Year!! ..... until next time, GO HOKIES!!!

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Season Wrap Up

Well, another year of softball has come and gone. It amazes me every year how we start looking in January to the season that is to come and think about what lies ahead and just about every time it goes down a path that is unexpected, or at least the journey has twists that you aren't expecting. That is the way a softball season goes though, I mean a 12-game football season has twists and turns of its own, so multiply that by 4 1/2 and see what you get?

Throughout the year I was reminded of how much we were going to miss Angela. Now would I want her back? Of course!!! Did I miss her? Not really, at least not from a playing standpoint because I wasn't expecting her to be there anyway. You get four years out of player like her and you have to accept the blessing that you had and move on. That is what we did. However ...

What didn't expect was the players that we didn't have in the line-up, primarily Misty (suspension) and Richelle (dislocated ankle), but we had other injuries to deal with that kept us in a tough spot. Kristin Graham wasn't healthy to pitch until after spring break, Charisse fractured her hand (but played through it), Kenzie hurt her knee over Spring Break and missed some games (she came back strong though and gave a tremendous effort), Marra was emerging as a contributor when she injured her hand and had to have surgery, not to mention Heather being out for the year with Tommy John surgery and not being an option all year. At one point we were down to one pitcher!!

Now I say that and some people may say that I am making excuses, but in reality I am amazed with what the kids did in spite of everything.

Lets start with Jenna!! Talk about leading by example!! She came to our program very raw and lacked smart base running skills, but emerged to become one of the all time greatest threats in our program history. I am blown away by her effort in every way and how she matured as a player.

Charisse? Well, she just happened to turn in her greatest effort at the plate as well and continued to prove that she is one of the greatest third baseman in our game period.

Jess? Now here is a real story! Jess became a different person as a whole; still a gritty competitor and unselfish but became a vocal leader when no one else would really step up to the mic and a great year at the plate as well.

How about Erin? Due to her academic schedule she was rarely in practice and started off extremely slow, but finished at an incredible pace! Her numbers may not tell the whole story, but at the end of the season you wanted her at the plate for the big hit/at bat!!

Beth? She has always had to fight and win a starting spot all four years and done it well. She led the team in doubles and home runs as she quietly went about her business as a solid first basemen and leading by example.

I know Whitney didn't finish as strong as she would have liked to and the rest of the team struggled to be consistent at the plate, although Graham and Fro had some big hits here and there.

The pitching staff certainly had their ups and downs and the expectations of them were huge. However, they did do a decent job of keeping the ball in the park and giving us ground balls to field. Kenzie showed a lot of improvement as the season went on and I look forward to seeing her come back strong next year. Abbie showed the ability to pitch some strong innings and we are going to need that from her in the future. Her game at East Carolina at the end of the season proves that she can be productive at this level and KG needs to have a confident, injury-free year and her potential is still through the roof!!!

The one player that I haven't mentioned that I don't know what we would have done without is Amber. She struggled behind the plate early, but got better, threw a few runners out attempting to steal and gave us a great overall effort and there is not much else that you can ask for given for out of any player.

We finished .500, 28-28 and I am not sure how we did that well at times. We played hard all the way to the end and although we had our disappointments we never gave up our goals of heading back to the Regionals. I can only think of one time all year that I was truly disappointed in our effort and we had a "sunrise service" to discuss that problem.

Hats off to this staff ... Katie did a great job given our injuries, Kevin kept us focused, BJ continued to do his same great job of making us look good in print and Angie and Derrick played out their roles behind the scenes. A special thanks to Chris Helms as our new sport administrator. He has been very supportive and proved to be someone we can count on.

However, I am most proud of this staff, Al did a fantastic job of putting out any fires that could have risen up and was always the great steady influence he always is with our program and Barb did a phenomenal job with our pitching staff and did an admirable job of dealing with two guys like Al and me. I am very lucky to have the staff that I do and we may have pulled off one of the better coaching jobs that we have done over the past 14 years.

Next year is going to be a completely different story and one that I am excited to get here!! Have a great summer!!!

GO HOKIES!

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The pre-ACC Tournament entry
After a disappointing start and a season plagued by critical injuries and suspension, we have climbed our way back to the .500 mark. I have to admit that as upset as I am with the overall picture, I am also very happy with the effort of certain players who have come in and given their best effort even when at the beginning of the year their expectations may not have been so high. Many players have been forced to change positions or step up their game at a higher level in order for us to achieve the success we have at this point. I will get back to that a little later though ...

My last entry was right before we played Boston College and that was a huge weekend for us ... great crowds and a great ACC series sweep for our team. We really came out of our shell hitting-wise scoring 9, 14 and 9 runs respectively for the series. It was great to see us put a balanced attack together and get the sweep. We then went down to Liberty for a doubleheader sweep at a place where Paul Wetmore and the Flames have always given us trouble. With the ACC aligned with the Big South, Liberty is an NCAA regional team, so the wins are even more important than in the past.

Back in ACC play we traveled to Chapel Hill to take on the Tar Heels.

UNC has a very good, veteran squad with the best overall pitching staff in my opinion, and we did not make the necessary adjustments to play well on Saturday. In fact we were awful and UNC, as strong as they are, made us pay dearly. On Sunday we played much better, but came up short unfortunately. On Tuesday of the same week we took on Longwood and once again played very poorly. I was very, very frustrated with our team's lack of focus and sense of urgency. The bottom line is that Longwood has a very good squad and we needed our "A" game, but we didn't bring it and suffered with a split.

After a little team focus exercise on Wednesday, we came out Thursday with a much better approach and were able to knock off North Carolina A&T in a twin bill in Greensboro. Again the MEAC is aligned in the same NCAA region, so those wins meant much more than just two W's. That set us up for our weekend series with Maryland. It was a huge series and we just didn't get it done. In the first game, we blew a lead and in the second game we found a way to win after blowing another lead. Jess Everhart hit a two-run double to steal back the win, but on Sunday we just didn't have enough in the tank and dropped the series in disappointing fashion needing help from Georgia Tech to gain a No. 4 seed in the ACC tournament. It looked like it was going to happen too, but Sunday's game (Georgia Tech at Maryland) was washed out and we ended up as the fifth seed. No matter though we were going to have to play Maryland in the first round anyway, but would have enjoyed a home advantage.

The last two weeks have played out fairly well as we have gone 4-2 with good wins over Campbell and East Carolina and we pushed ourselves back to .500. It has been a long row to hoe, but I admire the kids' determination to fight back a little. So, here we sit 27-27 needing to go deep into the ACC tournament to have any chance at a regional berth, maybe even have to win it all to make it to post season. The incentive is certainly there and back-to-back-to back ACC titles have never been accomplished. I think our players are up for the challenge and Maryland will be our first target on Friday night at 7:30.

I was going to give and individual rundown on our success, but I think I will do that in next week's segment when I give an ACC tournament rundown and hopefully a look into regionals. We need all the support we can get in Raleigh, so everybody show up Friday night!!! Until then ... Go Hokies!!!

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Down the Stretch We Come
The last two weekends have been fairly prosperous. I think we are playing a much better brand of softball than earlier in the season. You may have heard me say at the beginning of the year that we needed to peak at the right time and get better as the season progresses. Well I think that has happened from the standpoint of getting better and I still hope that we can peak at the right time.

UVA weekend was very successful. Although we would have loved to have taken all three games, two of three was critical. More importantly it was a team effort and in the best atmosphere we have ever seen in Charlottesville. We used to go up there and out draw them, but this time it was about 50-50 and that is a tribute to Coach Schmidt and the increased interest in softball all over the state. Charisse was clutch in the batter's box, Beth hit a monster bomb and the pitching staff really stepped it up. By the way it was great to see all of our central Virginia Hokie softball fans!!

The ETSU mid week trip was a homecoming to my alma mater and things have certainly changed, but huge improvements in the softball facilities was nice to see. I was happy with the win, but I was disappointed that we didn't finish stronger. It's a bad habit to get a good lead then put it in neutral. Hats off to the Bucs, they didn't quit.

Last weekend was a trip back to Tallahassee which is the scene of several big Hokie wins in the past. I was pleased with the overall effort, but errors killed us in game two and game three was a big win over a nationally ranked opponent, with Froehlich, Jenna and Erin coming up big. Kenzie pitched a tremendous game on Sunday and should serve as confidence for the rest of the season. We had our opportunities to take two of three, but getting at least one win was good for us.....

We have now had two series against a top team in the league, Florida State and Georgia Tech, in which they have won one and we won one and the other game could have gone either way. If we can learn to finish those see-saw games then we are going to finish very strong this year.

Boston College is up next and they are always athletic and scrappy. Three wins is gonna be tough but huge, if we can pull it off!!!

See you today and tomorrow.... THINK PINK on Saturday!!!... until then GO HOKIES!!!

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The On To UVa Notebook
It has been a while since the Leadoff Classic, so I think it is time that we catch up a little ...

I really think we grew up a little during spring break. With all the things we have had to deal with from an injury standpoint and so forth, we have had to take every opportunity to grow, get better and learn the game in real time. Practice can only prepare you for games, the real experience and where you get better at the game is playing the actual games. Spring break is generally a great place to gain the experience, because we always try to play in good weather, get games in and play good competition.

Our trip to Clearwater went fairly well, as I stated we grew and learned a little, but we also went 3-2 which was a good feeling to have won more than we lost. We have been getting a great effort at the plate out of several of our seniors namely Jenna, Charisse and Jess, but we also had some positive things happen out of Kristin Graham and Marra too. All in all I think we got a little better, but a long way to go.

A day after we finished the games in Clearwater we were working out on the beach when Kenzie went down with a knee injury! What else could happen? Right? ... So, we go to Nashville and the NC State series in front of us with one healthy pitcher. Not a great formula for success, but that is the way it has been.

So, we headed to Nashville with a great weekend of great weather in Florida and on to Kenzie's homecoming debut, with the catch being that she won't be able to throw. After playing pretty well through 6 innings at Lipscomb we can't close the deal and lose in the bottom of the 7th. It was a great example of needing more than one pitcher to finish a game, but hats off to Lipscomb for playing all 7 innings.

Back to Blacksburg for the NC State series which was rained out.

Although I would have liked to have gotten in a couple of games, maybe it was a blessing of sorts due to our pitching injury woes.

So, 11 days off and in comes a big hitting Ga Tech crew and they certainly lived up their reputation in the first game, although the good news is that Kenzie is going to be okay and Kristin Graham will get her debut at some point in the weekend ... 13-0 in the first game, probably pushed Kenzie back into the line up too quickly and we weren't as successful as we had hoped. Once a game gets out of hand, it is tough on the mental game at the plate. We got to get rid of it and be ready for the next game and that is exactly what we did. Abbie came back and pitched a whale of a game for 10 innings and we had our chances to win, but although we didn't it was great to see us fight after the first debacle. Then come back on Sunday and win with a great team effort and 5 innings of solid relief pitching by Kristin and she got the game winning hit! I would have loved to taken 3 from Ga Tech, but going into the weekend if you would have told me that we would have a chance to take 2 of 3, I wouldn't have felt good about that. As a bonus on the weekend, we just got better and better. That is the real key to this team and I have said that from the beginning.

Now for last night ... We played a doubleheader where no one won a game. What did you say coach? Last night we both took advantage of the other team's lack of ability to take care of the ball. Even though KG hit a monster home run, they dropped a 2 out pop up with bases loaded and walked in a run for us in game one. In game two, we are up 5-1 and can't keep a ground ball in the outfield from going to the fence. Have a passed ball with runner on 3rd during an intentional walk for the go ahead run and then give up three straight squeeze plays with veterans on the corners? I call it like I see it in this column, but I was as disappointed with this team as I have ever been. We put it in neutral and didn't finish with the sweep right in front of us!!! ... That is how neither of us won a game.... they gave us the first game and we gave them the second game.

Big question!!! Can we go to Charlottesville with a different energy?

A different purpose? Can we go back and build from the Ga Tech weekend? Those are the questions that will hopefully be answered and we will talk about it a lot over the next couple of days.

See you in Charlottesville, until then Go Hokies!!!

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The rainy day in Columbus update
The NFCA Leadoff Classic is like the pre-season NIT is for basketball, however unlike basketball the games are still played outdoors and susceptible to the weather. This is a tournament that has had to deal with its share of weather; especially rain and one would think that it was played in Seattle. Bad luck I guess, but this year we only got one game in and it was against our super regional opponent from last year, Michigan.

We played very well through six innings and I was happy with the progression of our pitching staff. You can see that we are maturing in the circle and we had a lot of quality at bats. The biggest thing is that it was great experience for this team heading into ACC play and let our players, especially younger players, know that we can still hang with a Michigan and with a little better effort, beat a solid team like them. There isn't one team in our league better than Michigan, but several just as good as and now we have another game to draw upon our experience heading into conference play at the end of next week.

We're leaving today for spring break. The weather is supposed to be beautiful in Clearwater and once again we have great competition to continue to prepare us for the second half of the schedule. Hope to see a lot of Florida Hokies out at the Eddie Moore Complex in Clearwater ... See ya soon and GO HOKIES!!

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A much better weekend, but a tougher weekend lies ahead
After a very disappointing start from the first two weekends, we turned it around a little with a much better effort in Myrtle Beach. We arrived on Thursday night, and on the bus ride down our trainer, Katie Baer, came up with a great idea that she had read in the HokieSports the Magazine. Track coach Dave Cianelli talked in an article about the University of Texas burying game balls to put those games behind them and move forward to the next game. So, we stole the concept and added a twist, we took a softball and wrote all the negative things that we wanted to put behind us from the first two weekends and buried those negatives and moved on. We went down on the beach; dug a three-foot hole, tossed the ball in and the girls covered it up!

For the most part, it seemed to work. We gave a better overall performance hitting, fielding and pitching. The only negative was that passed balls still seemed to find a way to doom us and unforced errors were the culprit in the losses. We still have left a few too many runners on base again, but our hitting definitely was sharper and you could see our younger players gaining confidence while our older players stepped it up and showed what they were made of when it counted. This was no truer than in the extra inning versus Appalachian State when down by two and Erin starting on second, Charisse led off with a single and Jess followed with a walk-off, three-run homer to win the game. Reese and Jenna both had outstanding weekends at the plate, while Whitney, Kristin Graham (KG) and Kristen Froehlich (Fro) all had big hits at one point or another. Kim and Beth also had some quality at bats in pinch-hit roles with Beth hitting her first homer of the season as a starter on Friday.

Our pitching duo of Kenzie and Abbie are getting better as well and we are going to continue to see them grow as pitchers. Abbie has been battling a sore foot and is pushing through the pain, but by the second day it had been affecting her pitching a little and she needs to continue to work on the mental side of the game. Abbie's confidence will come with time and innings pitched experience. Kenzie is getting stronger and stronger, so we need to see her progress as the season goes on. But I liked what I saw on Sunday and she will more than likely continue to see the bulk of the innings.

Our catcher scenario is still an issue, but the catchers know that in order to get playing time, they have to catch the ball. Passed balls have killed us at this point and seems that they always end up allowing runs to score. So, we are still a work in progress behind the dish with Amber, Kelsey and Alicia working hard to get better and lead from behind the plate.

We have a tough weekend coming up in Columbus at the Lead Off Classic. We are probably in the toughest pool with No. 1 Alabama, No. 6 Michigan, No. 13 DePaul, undefeated No. 19 Southern Illinois and an always-tough Illinois State. It should be a great experience for us heading into Spring Break and our ACC schedule.

... by the way, if you are ever in Myrtle Beach and you dig up an ACC-logoed softball in the sand, don't throw it in the ocean (it may wash back on shore), bury it deeper!! ... GO HOKIES!!

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We have to get the ship righted
Not sure where to start with this weekend's performance ... I guess I should start with yet another injury scenario. This time it wasn't a pitcher, but a very valuable member of our program in Richelle McGarva. In the most freak injury that I have ever seen, Richelle dislocated a bone connecting to the ankle. I am going to spare you the details because it wasn't pretty, but Richelle was starting to get comfortable and becoming a very productive part of the top of our order.

So, that increases our out-for-the-season total to three very important players and encompasses about four positions on the field and two of our top hitters. What do we do from here? Somebody has to step up and get the job done!

Jenna has been doing a great job (hitting .483) as our leadoff and has mixed up her soft slaps and power slaps effectively. Jess is playing exceptionally well, seeing the ball and has really hit the ball sharply. A few at'em balls have taken away from her average, although her on base percentage is great at over .500. Charisse is playing well, but not to her potential, and Whitney is starting to come around in a big way. We need some other people to step it up quickly.

Our pitching staff is going through a learning curve right now. With Heather out and Kristin Graham still not throwing in the circle, the duty is solely up to Kenzie and Abbie and they have to push through this early season and use it to better themselves as the season moves on. We need some run production early in some games to give them a little comfort zone.

In the second game against Evansville, we had runners in scoring position five innings in a row and came up with nothing. That has to change in order for us to turn this thing around in a positive way. With players out of position trying to cover up for our losses at certain positions, it is going to take a little extra effort to get this headed in the right direction. Quality effort in practice and improvement in mental toughness is going to be key!!

By the way, Charisse broke her pinky on her right hand in a botched squeeze bunt attempt where the catcher drove her into the ground on a tag at third base Sunday. What else, right? They say, "that which doesn't kill you will make you stronger!" I think we are becoming an experiment for that statement!

Another weekend of softball coming up and another weekend to get this ship headed in the right direction! GO HOKIES!! - Scot

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The season is underway
Believe it or not the games have begun and miraculously, with great weather in Chattanooga. Every time we go there it seems like it rains, but this year was beautiful!

Wish all of the games were as good as the weather, however it was a great opening day to the 2009 season ... I was really pleased with the way we came out on Friday night. Maine had a solid, scrappy team and Abbie threw very well to start the season off right and we found ways to score a few runs to beat the Black Bears. I was especially proud of how we took care of the ball and that same level of play continued into the second game.

Troy has a very good team with pitching comparable to the ACC and with the exception of an "excuse me single," Kenzie threw a great one-hit shutout and again we were defensively solid in taking care of the ball. The big disappointment was stranding 19 runners in two games, which is something that haunted us last year. We just can't have that continue to happen to be successful.

Saturday was a complete debacle ... we didn't pitch it, catch it, hit it, throw it, etc., etc., at all. I would rate it as one of the worse efforts in our program's history.

So how would we respond? Well for 6 and 1/2 innings it went very well. We changed the line up around and made it a little more productive, scoring four runs on eight hits, but then we blew the lead in the bottom of the seventh, giving up five runs. We had plenty of opportunities to get out of the inning, but it snowballed on us too quickly and ended up being an extremely tough loss to swallow.

Individually, both Abbie and Kenzie looked great on Friday. Saturday they both struggled, but didn't get any defensive help. Kenzie threw another strong game on Sunday through six innings, but didn't finish the job in the bottom of the seventh. She had made a couple of great pitches, but we didn't field the ball cleanly and the rest is history

Jenna, Charisse, Erin and Jess all had positive weekends at the plate and Richelle started showing us signs of what she is going to be like for us as a player here at Tech. Whitney has looked great in practice and came up with a couple of nice hits, but she can get better.

We need somebody to step it up and hit the ball at first base and several freshman need a little more time to get used to the game at this level. We need to continue to focus on getting better and healthy in the pitching area. This year is going to be a lot about peaking at the right time and we certainly haven't peaked too early given this weekend's performance. HANG IN THERE WITH US FOLKS. WE WILL GET BETTER!!! Until next weekend ... GO HOKIES!!

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Fall season wrap up
What a great crowd this past weekend!! Friday night was easily the biggest fall crowd that I have ever seen. People are excited about softball and our program and passing up high school football to come and check us out is a big deal around these parts.

We went 3-1 this weekend and there were some positives and negatives. First of all, we found ways to score runs - four homers, SAC flies, steals, run and hits, etc. - which was a very promising point. Our pitching staff didn't give up a home run for two weekends, which I thought was huge in the bigger scheme of things. Our pitching staff has three primary goals, 1. Keep the ball in the park: check 2. Work ahead of batters: needs improvement 3. Limit the walks: needs improvement. We are a work in progress, but I think the girls are responding.

Defensively we were pretty good with the exception of three innings against ETSU on Friday night in which we looked like a "here come the clowns act" at a circus. We did make a couple of mental errors on Saturday against Liberty that cost us and that shouldn't happen. Our outfield made some great catches, Jess, Jenna and Whitney all made diving catches on the weekend and jess made a great catch over her shoulder on Saturday. We signed a JUCO last year from Canada (I'm not sure if I can mention her by name, but you can figure out who she is) who will enroll in January and will end up being a great addition to our outfield unit in the spring and I think that the competition for playing time will help all of them.

The infield looked awesome in our first tournament, but this weekend we were a little less sharp. We have some issues to address, but I think we will be able to get better heading into the spring. Erin and Charisse are going to be the steady players at third and second, but the first base scenario is wide open at this point with Beth (who has been injured), Kim (had a couple of big hits, but also had a couple of errors), Kristin Graham (injured elbow) and Kelsey Hensel all good via for playing time. Shortstop will be a shared duty between Misty and Kristin Froehlich, depending on whether or not Misty is catching.

Speaking of catchers ... Misty has looked the best, but Kelsey Hensel and Amber have shown some positives at times. Amber has struggled at times to catch the ball and has struggled at the plate, but is really working hard. Kelsey has the ability, but needs to pick up the pace a little.

Pitching wise, with two pitchers on the shelf, it's the Kenzie and Abbie show as I stated earlier working ahead, limiting walks and keeping the ball in the park are all major priorities. Overall I was pleased with their effort, but there is some room for improvement and that will come with innings pitched early in the season. We need to get Kristin Graham healthy and when that happens and we can get some confidence in her then I think our pitching staff will complement each other very well.

Offensively I was pretty pleased this weekend overall. We hit four home runs and manufactured some runs, so that was good. Charisse and Whitney have hit the ball well all fall. Jenna had a disappointing first weekend, but did very well this past weekend. Kristen Froehlich had another solid weekend at the plate as well. Erin had a good first weekend and not as good this past weekend. Misty and Jess had a couple of big hits, but we need to see the consistency turned up a notch. Bottom line for this year will be if you aren't hitting, you won't be playing. We have plenty of players waiting in line to take a starting position.

Well now it is about individual improvement, healing and conditioning. We have a lot of work to do before the spring gets here and we look forward to seeing the same great crowds in our renovated stadium! Until then ... GO HOKIES!!

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Off and running in the fall
Well if you weren't in Lincoln, Neb., you may have had an opportunity to come by Tech Softball Park for our first exhibitions against outside competition this past weekend. In any regard, we have started the new softball year and we have had good workouts thus far.

Here is our current state of things ... we have a group of very solid returners with some great additions. At this time we still have several that are walk ons and trying to make the team. These players have helped us with numbers in scrimmage scenarios while trying to earn a spot on our roster. I think we are as two-deep solid at every position as we have ever been and this means that if you want to play, each player is going to have to step it up or risk losing playing time/earn playing time.

I thought our first weekend went pretty well. We were 3-1 ... lost a five-inning game to a great-hitting Radford team 2-0. Radford only had one hit and I was particularly pleased with Abbie Rexrode and Kenzie Roark's performances. Kristin Graham came out a little nervous and struggled early, but settled down against Limestone. All three pitchers have been working hard and throwing well in practice under our new pitching coach Barb Sherwood.

Defensively, we played the ball well and with the exception of a couple times when we weren't in the right spots for cuts or didn't back up plays (which happens in the fall). I was pleased overall with our defensive effort. We had a couple non-hustle scenarios that I wasn't pleased with and those players will have to step it up. Like I said earlier, we are two deep and if you don't get it done playing time will suffer.

Offensively ... we look like a different team in practice than in games. This is my struggle to deal with and fix as the head coach, but we were passive at the plate for most of the weekend. Jess, Reese, and Kristen Froehlich all were fairly consistent at the plate and Misty had a couple of big hits. But overall we were complacent at the plate. It is just the first weekend out and I certainly understand that we are a work in process, but we need to gain a sense of urgency in our play. We can't wait until the fifth inning to crank the motor and we have to take our practice to the games.

Players that stood out the first weekend? Kristen Froehlich and Kenzie, plus some steady veteran play by Jess and Reese. Certainly all things that can be worked out before spring and we will work hard to get better. Hopefully we will be much better in two weeks at our fall tournament in Salem. Hokie football is off so I expect to see everyone out for the games at the Moyer Complex!! Until then ... GO HOKIES!!

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The Long Overdue Postseason Part II
Well, what can I say? It has truly been a rewarding year and one that we will never forget!

I left off the last edition by finishing up the ACC tournament ... The thought of returning to Knoxville for Regionals was bitter sweet. Sure we were glad to get into the NCAA tournament, but Knoxville again? We definitely would have rather been hosting a Regional in Blacksburg, but the NCAA Selection Committee had a different idea.

Starting off with Louisville was a tough task immediately and we new that the big Aussie was going to step up her game for us. It was a tough, grueling game in which, as predicted, we would leave runners in scoring position on several occasions. In the end, it was another great pitching performance from Angela and a big swing from Misty got the job done in the 10th. I thought we played a great game and Louisville played right with us, but our work was just beginning.

There are certain places that you play where you just feel the stars are in alignment with the home team ... Tennessee is one of those places. As we prepared to play our first nationally televised game, I sensed that our kids were ready for the task, but could we disrupt the alignment of the stars and get our foot in the door. That we did, Angela and Kelsey worked flawlessly together to baffle the UT order to the tune of 14 Ks and only three hits and Caroline had an at bat for the ages as she refused to go down with bases loaded and hit the grand slam!

For the first time we were able to play on Sunday and remember the stars alignment? Well we came out really flat Sunday morning and I could see it coming. I'm not sure what the deal was, but the entire team struggled out of the gate including Angela. The zone wasn't working well for her and we weren't playing the ball well behind our pitching staff as I pulled Angela for Kenzie in the second inning. However at some point you could see our level of focus change in about the fourth inning. Was it the effort of Kenzie in the circle that inspired us? Was it just a flat out determination to not fail as a team? Not exactly sure, but even as we went down 5-1 in the fifth and eventually 7-1, in the end our focus for the "if necessary" game became very clear ... we were determined to make it to Super Regionals!

The "if necessary" game was now on us, but Angela was relatively fresh and we had turned the intensity back up and were much more focused and determined. In the fourth Erin came up with a big single, but a rain delay put us off with Misty up to bat. After the rain delay and the playing of "Enter the Sandman", Misty was chomping at the bit to get in the batter's box. She was actually walking toward the batter's box, before Tennessee had even taken the field. I reminded her that the UT pitcher would have to take a few warm up pitches first then I could unchain her to go to the box. Another home run would be her answer and as it turned out her second game-winner of the weekend. Jess and Whitney also had big hits as Beth had gotten on by error. In the end we had taken a comfortable four-run lead and Angela and our defense closed the deal and it was off to Ann Arbor!!

Now Michigan had a tremendous reputation and came into Super Regionals with the top pitching ERA staff in the country! Games one and two played out as would be expected, primarily a pitcher's duel, but in game one they put together a couple of hits and in game two we were able to take advantage of an error to score our lone run. After Saturday, I knew we had to make some major adjustments at the plate, but I was extremely nervous with high anxiety on Sunday morning, only to find that our team was fine and ready to go!

We made the adjustments, the girls bought into the game plan, the pressure was on Michigan and we had been there and done that with regards to "if necessary" games. I had preached to the girls at the end of the season and all of postseason that we needed to have confidence and draw on the experience of the season's schedule. The reality was that we had seen it all, we had played the best of the best and we were ready.

Another big four-run inning that was started by Whitney, a key walk by Caroline, a sac bunt by Jenna, walks by Erin and Charisse, and just great patient at bats created a run. Misty's double down the line created two more and an infield single by Kelsey scored an aggressive Reese from third. Was this enough to get it done? Well, just for insurance Whitney hit her first career homer over the right field fence in the fourth and we manufactured another run in the fifth with Jess' hit to score Misty who had advanced on Kelsey's sac fly to center. Angela continued to do what she does best and finished them off, but what an amazing day with so many heroes! To need to win two games on Sunday to make it to the World Series, who would have thought? Obviously we did, the girls stepped it up in a major way and the coaching staff did awesome job of keeping it altogether. Believe it or not, there was a lot of negative criticism going around, but we overcame it and moved on.

The Woman's College World Series!!!!! What an experience! We had just played what many people have said was the best Super Regional this year, lots of positive exposure on ESPN, but this was truly different! A national stage again with more fan fare and as we returned to "the scene of the crime" (beating the national team in OKC earlier) I was confident that we were ready. Unfortunately we had some All-Americans to contend with ourselves. I really thought that we played well enough to beat Texas A&M, but the bounces just didn't fall our way. We also had our chances against Florida, but once again were turned back.

Although I would have like to be there for the last game, I was very proud of our team and the way we represented Virginia Tech on a national stage! I have heard from so many people about how proud they were of our team and the excitement for our program. It has been very humbling and it amazes me how many people really pay attention. I have already noticed a difference in the way we are perceived on the recruiting trail and the letters and compliments continue to come in for the girls and our program.

2008 will be season that we will never forget and always cherish forever!! I look forward to putting it all back together next year and hope to see everyone in the fall. Until then ... GO HOKIES!!!

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Postseason Part I
Let catch up ... ACC CHAMPIONS!!! What a great effort by everyone involved! The Maryland game started out a little nerve racking, giving up three runs in the first, however even though Angela may not have started out with her best game, her teammates picked it up and got the job done and she settled down to get the job done as well.

Overall we had some tremendous at bats and that trend continued throughout the tournament. It was great to see us go down and come back with really no panic at all. I was really pleased and as it turned out the first round win was huge because of the weather.

The Florida State game was big in that we had to come off a day of sitting around and waiting for the weather to get this one underway, but Angela and Kelsey had FSU's number and our run production in the third was enough to get the win. Erin was huge all weekend and led off with a double, Misty ripped a single then stole second and Jess ripped the double to score Misty. Great combination of speed and gap power to get the needed runs.

In the championship game, we left way too many runners on, but in the end it is who scores the most runs and not who left the least amount of runners on, I had to remind myself of that and fortunately it didn't come back to bite us. Beth has been providing us with some huge hits this year and she started the second inning with a lead off single to get things going. Jenna kept pressure on the Wolfpack with her speed and stole second. Shanna Smith is a tremendous SS for NC State and would kill us later on with big plays, but this time "Ms. Steady" Erin would hit the hard ground ball that Smith couldn't come up with and scored the deciding runs. Angela was great all weekend and I was really impressed with how she attacked the top Wolfpack hitters like Smith and Presnell.

It was a great win and a thrilling accomplishment for all of us to win back-to-back ACC titles and something we will all cherish.

When postseason starts, the pressure gets turned up! On the field? ... of course and like I have heard "pressure is a privilege!" ... but I am talking about life necessities: laundry, mowing the yard, getting kids to practice and normal work items doesn't stop either.

So I apologize for the delay in this entry after such important games in our history ... With that being said I will review last weekend's regional once we get to Ann Arbor. Until then ... GO HOKIES!!!

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Back to College Park
I will start by saying that I truly believe we have the toughest first round draw in the ACC Tournament. Why?... because of two factors really, 1. We are playing the home team which should give the Terrapins a sense of comfort, and 2. After they were upset by BC Saturday they came storming back to run rule BC on Sunday. Otherwise, at this point this could mean that Maryland, who has had a very good year, will be resting their NCAA hopes based upon their performance at the tournament.

Maryland is very well coached and we will have to be at the top of our game to get the job done this weekend. Maryland does have some injuries in their pitching staff, so look for Sarah Dooley to start.

Also, we have to have a "be on our toes at all times" type of mentality. We will have to expect the unexpected and take care of those opportunities as they present themselves.

We are now up to 19th in the NCAA RPI, which is a good spot to host a regional and secure either a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament....

first things first though. Let's go up to College Park to secure another ACC title. Hope to see big Hokie crowd at the tournament!

Come on and bring a friend! Go HOKIES!!!

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Wrapping up the regular season
Well, another regular season comes to a close. It's hard to believe that it has been 13 years. I remember some instances like it was yesterday from that very first team. One in particular stands out was a meeting that I had with the first team after I had made cuts and set the first roster ...

Not knowing any sizes at this point I rolled about four shopping carts full of equipment into the locker room with T-shirts, shorts, socks, shoes, etc. Now remember, with the exception of our Louisville Slugger contract which included just bats, bat bags, helmets and catcher's gear, we were doing everything by low bidder at that point and the brands were a bit of a grab bag. As everyone searched for sizes I noticed the puzzled look on Kim Avent's face? "Kim are you okay," I asked. "Sure Coach, but ummmm, who is paying for all this stuff?" I assured her that the athletic department had graciously given us an equipment budget to cover what really only amounted to the bare necessities. The relief of the expense not coming out of her pocket and the appreciation shined on her face.

Boy are we spoiled now!! Nike contracts and full Louisville Slugger deal that includes fielding gloves among other things are the norm and expected. The first year we never stepped a foot on an airplane (done that five times this year alone), didn't step a foot into the state of Florida and weren't allowed to think about a trip west of the Mississippi River (both done this year), we took Blacksburg Limo and vans from the motor pool versus the awesome buses we ride in today from University Travel, and we stayed at Days Inn versus a Double Tree.

We've had lots of changes on the field as well. A temporary field with a scoreboard that you hung numbers on to versus the nice facility that is Tech Softball Park. Once it is completed I think we will all be very proud of what we have and can hopefully make it even nicer with the restoration of our cages and so forth.

As for softball? Another 40-win season, a top two finish in our conference, a top two finish in our region, we played another tough schedule, beat the US National Team, Angela's 2,000th K, and are poised to go after a second ACC title. Would we like to have a few games back? Well you can probably say that about every year, but it hasn't been a bad season overall and the post season looks very promising!

The UNC series was a tough one, but after we fought for the first win and were positioning ourselves for the needed sweep, we just didn't get it done in Game 2 or 3. UNC is living up to its No. 14 ranking and although we stayed close in both of the last two games of the series, we just didn't get it done. It reminds me of what happened to our football team and the Boston College games. Maybe that is a poor analogy, but I hope that we can turn the tide at the ACC tournament. The good news is that we went up to 20th in the RPI after the weekend's play.

ECU came to town for the first time in many years. It was a somewhat disappointing split, but we closed hard in the first game and Angela did the honors again as we hit the ball up and down the order ... and it was a great experience to see her close on 2,000 K's! In Game 2, I thought Kenzie gave a great performance, she just let a couple of mistakes hurt her and we didn't come up with the necessary runs to win. In the late innings we woke up for some hard shots and scored a run, but overall not enough. ECU is 53rd in the RPI, which means the loss, although not a great one, is still not a killer to a team that also split with UNC.

What's to come? We have to wait until ACC play is completed this weekend to see whom we play in the first round of the tournament. Regionals? We will definitely make the NCAAs again, but whether we host or not is still up in the air and I would guess that it is 50-50 at this point, which is not bad.

Otherwise, don't forget to watch "The Game" on Tuesday night! ESPN2 at 7:00! I will write again once we know who we are playing in the ACC tourney ... Have a great weekend and GO HOKIES!!!

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FSU and Bristol
I can't say enough about how great our fans are and last Friday and Saturday, they shined again! What an awesome night it was for softball last Friday night! Great weather, great crowd, under the lights and big time softball in the ACC!

Kelsey came up with a big hit to right field with runners on in the third that scored Anna and Erin and we got some insurance from Beth in the sixth with some solid head's up base running to force an error and score a third run. However, I was very pleased with our at bats and although we made a couple of unnecessary errors it was a solid game and I thought Angela threw very well.

The key to the fastpitch game is timely hitting and Kelsey provided that for us in the third and overall our hitting has been timelier here toward the end of the season. Also, we did a very good job of taking care of the bunt; it was very obvious that FSU wasn't going to take the strikeout so easily, so they attempted several bunts that for the most part we handled very easily.

Saturday was an interesting day to say the least. In game one we again had some timely hitting by Jess E., Jenna, Erin and Charisse, plus a nice sacrifice fly by Misty to come up with enough runs to win ... In game two we had runners in scoring position in six of seven innings and this time we couldn't sneak a ball to a hole for a hit to score. The first and second innings were great examples with a runner on third and we hit line shots right at the third and second baseman. Oh well, that is the way it goes sometimes.

Illegal pitches were the talk of the day with 16 being called on us for the doubleheader. It would take a lot of time to go into the specifics of the rules, but I will tell you that we have worked with Angela this week and sent our concerns to the ACC office ... overall two out of three is not bad, but we have to continue to finish well in the league.

On Tuesday we headed to Bristol and I surprised the girls with a fun opportunity to ride in the pace car around the Bristol Motor Speedway!! I just can't believe that the NASCAR guys go twice as fast as we did with 40 other cars involved. It was quite an experience for all of us.

After that we got down to business and were able to knock off my alma mater 6-0 with Angela and Kenzie combining on a great game as we manufactured a couple of runs and Caroline broke out with a three-run homer!

Arguably the biggest series in the history of Tech softball is on the horizon this weekend as the Tar Heels come to town ranked No. 14 in the nation and are obviously having a tremendous year. Hopefully we can rise to the challenge and pull the upset. We need everyone in attendance that can be there Saturday and Sunday, be loud and proud!!

See you then and ... GO HOKIES!!!

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Busy Times
What a crazy, busy week and a half for our team. Let me take a quick look back at what has transpired ...

First of all, in the split with Longwood last Wednesday we were disappointed that we couldn't close the deal in game two, but I really feel like the game was lost in the first three innings. We did have a bases loaded opportunity in the eighth, but couldn't get anyone to step up and drive the runs in to score. In the first game Heather gave a solid effort over five innings of work and Angela came in to close it out. My goal was to get our pitchers some midweek work and although Kenzie struggled early I am hoping that we learned from the experience. We did come back strong in game two after the four-run spot to tie it up, but I wish we could have had a little better effort in the eighth.

If there is some goods news it would be that Longwood is a very good team and if they were playing in the Big South, I think they would be competing at the top of the league. RPI-wise, Longwood is a top 75 team and it shouldn't hurt us in the end.

Off to BC! Jet lag set in once again, but I was pleased with our overall effort. The field at BC is small and can sometimes be difficult to score runs in bulk unless the ball is over the fence. We found ways to pull out the wins with some clutch hitting and a solid pitching performance.

Radford came in with the highest RPI in the history of its program and turns out to be crucial regional games. In the first game, we came out a little flat, but came to life in the third with some big purpose hits to score three runs and finished with a much better presence than we started. In game two, I was really impressed with our finishing power and we finally closed out the game early. After the first three innings of the day I thought we put together some great at bats and got the job done.

Yesterday, Liberty came to town and it was really about gaining another step in the healing process for our campus in light of the April 16th tragedy. Although we won both ends of the doubleheader, the games were insignificant to the opportunity to come together in Hokie Spirit, play some ball and give a small diversion. Athletics were the first university activity asked to return to normal daily routines and it was fitting that we were on the field, doing what we do with our good friends from Liberty. We really appreciate them joining us last night at the candlelight vigil. Also, we appreciate Lisa Sherman, sister of Leslie Sherman, for throwing out the first pitch yesterday.

On an overall softball note ... I am really impressed with what is going on with the top of our order. Jenna, Erin, Charisse and Kelsey have all really stepped it up. Beth has also really turned it up a notch and we continue to get important base hits out of Misty and Whitney. Anna and Jess Hodge look to be turning the corner a little by putting the ball in play, but we really need someone to step it up in the bottom of our order with consistency as we approach these final two weekends of conference play. Amber had some nice at bats as the DP yesterday as well. Stolen base totals are pretty impressive and plays to our aggressive style. I didn't think we would get as many as we have all year, but the girls are doing a great job.

Jess Everhart is out for at least a week with a shoulder injury, but we are hoping that she will be able to make a comeback soon.

Big weekend against the Seminoles!! Hopefully we can come up with some big wins!! See you tomorrow night at the park and GO HOKIES!!!

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Three Big Wins and Great Crowds!
I have said this plenty of times in the past, but we have the best fans in the country! Even with less than favorable weather, you packed the stands and if the weather had been better I think it would have been standing room only. The additional ramps for the end of the stands should go up before next week, which will allow the project managers to open up all the seats.

I was talking with one family at the end of the autograph session on Saturday that had driven five hours that morning to see us play. I relayed that message to the girls and I think they realize how people make the special effort to see us play and that we are privileged to have such great support. Very few schools in the entire country can compare to our numbers, especially on the East Coast.

Three great wins though! UVa showed some life last week by taking two of three from NC State and the Cavs' affinity for hitting the long ball was something we had to respect, but our pitching came through with Angela and Heather combining for the win on Saturday, Angela in the second game and again the combined efforts of Kenzie and Tinch in game three. Plus, we played the ball well behind our pitchers and I was extremely pleased with our attentiveness to their short game.

Offensively, Reece was awesome all weekend and she was rewarded with the ACC Player of the Week. I am really pleased with how Reece is hitting both sides of the plate. Erin came up with a couple big hits and Jess, Misty and Whitney continue to turn the corner in a positive way. Kelsey hit the ball hard all weekend as well and as a team we hit the ball harder than the statistics may show.

Nonetheless we had a great weekend, found ways to score runs and it was a huge conference sweep. With UNC continuing to play so well, we have our work cut out every week and this weekend will be no different as we head to Boston to take on the Eagles ...

... but first things first, the Longwood Lancers come to town tomorrow night. This is a very talented team that plays a tough schedule and just doesn't back down. We definitely have our work cut out for us in this mid-week contest. Ryan Washington is an exceptional player and has a strong supporting cast. We will definitely have to turn it up tomorrow night to get two wins. I hope to see a similar mid-week crowd to what we saw this weekend and we are definitely going to need it the support ... See you tomorrow afternoon and GO HOKIES!!!

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Olympic Team Victory and Maryland Series
When we started the season I warned our team that the month of March was going to be grueling and it was, but I am very pleased at the outcome. So many road games, so many challenging opponents week in and week out. Was it worth it? Only time will tell because we hope to use the experience for a great finish to our season.

Did you hear that we took a mid-week jaunt to Oklahoma City to play the US National Team last week? Did you also hear that we won???!!! UNBELIEVABLE!!! The US National Team is without a doubt the best team in the world right now, but as the saying goes "every dog has its day" and last week it was it.

Well, I personally believe that the ESPN2 replay of the game May 6th will show that our bunch went out there to compete and I am very proud of the way we took care of business. Angela was absolutely dominating (proving that she belonged in the national team process in a big way) and Kelsey called an excellent game, but what impressed me was the quality of our at bats! Although we only had one run, we had six hits, worked deep into the count several other times, had a close play at first, had a close steal at second and we played flawless on defense. One of the best plays all night was made by Charisse on what looked to be a perfect slap hit by Natasha Watley, as Charisse came across the infield snagged it and made a great throw to first.

In the end, Angela continued to keep the national team hitters off balance and trying to figure a way to make positive contact, and offensively a big lead off double by Kelsey and the battling bloop hit by Caroline was enough to get the job done. When you see the game, I think everyone will be very proud of our representation of our university in a win for the history books.

Our trip to the Oklahoma City bombing site was very special as well ... can you believe that was 14 years ago? I was shocked to find out that many of the girls didn't know about the bombing, but then it hit us ... they were only 5 to 8 years old at the time! Time flies, but it didn't take long for the girls to understand the significance of the tragedy and the resemblance of our tragedy, especially with the senseless loss of life and a community that had to deal with the aftermath. We were blessed by the time spent at the Oklahoma City Memorial.

Quick turnaround and it was off to Maryland! Our first three ACC weekends were on the road and that makes it tough, especially when you are playing a team like Maryland who has had such a great start to their season. Laura Watten and her staff do such a great job so we knew it was going to be tough.

Saturday was playing along great until right at the end of the second game. In the first game we scored runs, took advantage of situations, we were able to get Angela out of the game early and Heather did and awesome job of finishing the game. Charisse stayed hot and was a single shy of the cycle. Usually the triple is the toughest to get in the cycle, but this time Charisse struggled with the single! Wish that was a problem with all our hitters all the time! Misty also started coming around with some big hits.

In game two, Kenzie threw a great game and we tried to use the same strategy that we used in Raleigh by bringing in a lightly used Angela back in the game, but this time it didn't work out and the bottom line was that we didn't make the good adjustments to win.

Not the problem on Sunday however and even though we spotted the Terps three early runs I was really proud of how our kids came fighting back quickly to get the job done. Charisse and Jess led the way with Jess hitting her second home run of the season. We had a lot of quality at bats in the game and I really liked our overall demeanor in taking the series. Angela fought well too and after giving up three early runs and five walks she settled down to strike out 18. It was a great team victory overall.

We finally got a breather this week to collect ourselves and we definitely needed it heading into this weekend's series with the Wahoos. Last weekend they proved that they are still hungry by taking two from NC State and they have shown an affinity for hitting the long ball. We are glad to be playing at Tech Softball Park this weekend and hope we have a great crowd. The stands are almost complete and really look great! It may rain early on Saturday, so keep a close watch to the website in case we have game time changes. See you this weekend and GO HOKIES!!!

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Catching Up A Little
Well we have played several big contests since my last entry so let me see if I can catch us up....

We came into Atlanta in the middle of tornado activity in the metro area and although we were thankfully not near the funnels, we did see our share of hard rain and wind. On Saturday, we decided to shorten the day to one game and make use of a beautiful Sunday for the doubleheader.

On Saturday we finally got to see some home run activity! Not sure why we haven't hit the long ball this year, but Erin and Charisse came up with two back to back shots to secure the win. Funny that the two smallest players in our line up came up the biggest. Angela also had a great game and we played the ball well behind her even though she didn't come up with as many K's as we are used to seeing. I thought Ga Tech made some great adjustments and fought at the plate, but this is a team game and the girls stepped it up defensively.

We split Sunday as Jess Everhart game up with a big three-run homer to put us ahead in the first game. Angela threw another good game and we had a another great team win. Unfortunately we didn't fair as well in the third game as we spotted Ga Tech four runs in the first due to errors and misplayed balls. I was very disappointed that we didn't take care of business a little better from the onset and we paid for it in the end. We put ourselves in a position to sweep, but Ga Tech was much hungrier than us and spoiled the sweep. Kenzie came in in relief and did a great job.

Mid-week, we had in the highest ranked non-conference foe to ever play at Tech Softball Park and the No. 11 Houston Cougars didn't disappoint us either. I really liked the Houston team, solid all the way around, no weaknesses in the order and a tremendous spot pitcher in Angel Shamblin. I really liked our approach at the plate though and we only struck out a few times, but after a scorched double by Beth down the left field line, two batters later Jenna used her short game speed and ability to force an errant throw as we won 1-0. It was a classic fastpitch game under the lights and a big win for us. Angela threw extremely well for the win.

NC State was the big question mark ... after losing so many players they were tough to figure out. But then again, I didn't realize that Angela was going to throw lights out either. On Friday we were able to jump on the Wolfpack early for three runs and I really liked the demeanor of our team. We used gap shots and the short game to get the job done. In the second game, we started Kenzie and she threw extremely well, but we were looking for the sweep and with the game knotted at 1-1 and I decided to bring Angela in to close the deal. We took a little longer than I wanted to score the second run, but again it was a team effort with runners on Alicia Field got us a pinch hit ground out that moved runners into scoring position and then utilized the pressure of the short game with Jenna to provide the go ahead run. Jenna has done an awesome job this year and continues to step up big for us.

The third game we had opportunities to score early but State's outfielders came up with a few huge plays to hold us back. Then Kelsey hit a deep ball to centerfield to score two. The Pack's outfield was awesome and probably kept us from scoring another four or five runs on the day. Again Angela was awesome and sured up the ACC pitcher of the week honors and should make an argument for national pitcher of the week. Overall, it was a great team weekend and like I said, we hit the ball much better than the score shows and you can see some kids really coming out at the plate and huge sweep over a young team that has a lot of talent.

On the to play the world's best team in Oklahoma City! It should be an awesome experience for everyone and although it is a tough mid week trip I think it will be worth every minute. We've got to focus a little ahead though with a huge series coming up with Maryland who is playing very well through the early schedule! Hoe to see you in OKC.... GO HOKIES!!!

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UNCG Recap
What a beautiful March day for softball! I know it was a little cooler up in the stands, but I certainly appreciate everyone's attendance last night for our first night under the lights at Tech Softball Park. I really think that the lights create a great atmosphere for our games and last night was a great start.

Finally! ... We busted out hitting in the first game and Angela got her first no-no of the year, along with the career win mark. Angela was devastating last night and I was really proud of how our team didn't wait around to finish a game. Truly a team effort at the plate utilizing base hits, stolen bases, gappers, short game pressure and SAC flys to score eight in four innings of work. In the past we have coasted at times, but it was good to see us finish one.

Game 2 came with a plan ... get all the pitchers some game time and utilize the the pitching staff for a win. Heather started the game and after settling down threw very well through the first three. Elly came in for innings 4 and 5 and for the second straight appearance threw very, very well. In the 6th and 7th, Kenzie came in and threw two gems facing a minimum number of batters and looked awesome in doing so.

At the plate, we got a little lazy and failed to adjust to a much slower pitcher, something we will need to work on to get better as we move through the middle to end of the year.

Hoping to make some solid transitions heading into Atlanta as we take on the Yellow Jackets to start the ACC portion of the schedule. Hope all the Hokies in the Atlanta area will be able to make the games this weekend and bring a friend! ... GO HOKIES!!

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Spring Break '08
Well as many have you have been keeping up with the blog of our trip, I sit writing a review of our trip from a softball standpoint after having our original flight cancelled last night and spending the day in Phoenix. Although I enjoy the opportunity that we get on our spring break trips I will be glad to get back to my family.

We really had a glorious week of great weather and great softball. The plan was for us to take on a tough schedule to give us the necessary experience to be prepared for the ACC schedule and hopefully into post season, we weren't disappointed.

It was our first trip to Tucson and who would have thought that we would have started out 3-0 with Angela having only pitched 4 innings. In a testament to our team and pitching staff we were able to get the job done as everyone stepped up their game. Heather Lowry in particular shined in her efforts through the first 3 games. As a team we continued to make adjustments and find ways to win games.

Then we took on Arizona on Saturday night. If we had settled down from the beginning the result may have been different. Angela was phenomenal in her dual against Mowatt and I was really pleased with our effort at the plate. We had 7 regulation inning base hits and several hard hit balls in extra innings, but couldn't find a gap. Bottom line you can't give a great team like Arizona a three-run head start and expect to win. However, we fought like champions and I was really proud of our effort. Jess Everhart came up in the second inning with a shot up the middle that started us off in the right direction mentally. Then later on Charisse drove in Erin and Kelsey for two runs with a shot the gap and we battled around to tie the game late. It was a game for the history books and I think we gained a lot of respect from the Arizona crowd and we fought til the end.

The environment was awesome Saturday night and our team soaked in every minute, unfortunately we got to bed a little later than we would have liked and had to get back up early to play the first game against South Florida. Playing a team like South Florida is tough enough, but playing on short rest after a mentally draining day was too much and South Florida put us away early and we never really threatened.

Off to Long Beach for the second half of Spring Break was our next destination as we knew that we would run into two more Top 10 opponents. On Friday we started out with one of the most storied programs in softball history, UCLA. Although I was disappointed in our effort to make adjustments at the plate, Jelly Selden was awesome. Angela threw another great game as well and the reality was very similar to the Arizona game as UCLA drew a lead off walk, then we committed a two out error and they came up with a bloop single to score their lone run. One thing we know for sure is that we can hang with anyone in the country, but could we find a way to win a big one?

After our Rutgers win, in which I was very proud of our teams ability to come back and put somebody away, it was another Top 10 battle against Northwestern and the softball fans in attendance would not be disappointed. We faced another big time All-American caliber pitcher in Lauren Delaney who was throwing seeds Saturday. Probably the hardest thrower we have faced in a very long time. We scouted Delaney the day before and although she threw very well, I think we got to see her best stuff and although we didn't have a tremendous amount of strikeouts we didn't make a lot of positive contact either. In the end we were able to pull off the squeeze play with Misty at the plate and Jess Everhart made a tremendous slide to win a thriller! Once again Angela was awesome and Kelsey did a great job of using Tinch's pitches very efficiently.

The Notre Dame game was the biggest disappointment of the week and although the have a great program and may have won anyway I would have liked to see a better effort from our kids. We were flat and didn't take care of business at all and Notre Dame made us pay.

On Sunday we wanted to leave with a good taste in our mouth and we were able to beat Northridge and able to get everyone a little playing time in the process. Overall it was a very good spring break week in which the dividends will pay off with experience alone.

Our facility isn't complete yet, but we will be playing Wednesday evening against UNCG for our home opener. Look forward to seeing everyone out at the Tech Softball Park and ... TURN ON THE LIGHTS!! See you there and GO HOKIES!!!

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Hokies United Memorial
Well the weatherman wasn't as kind as we would have hoped for, but we got in two solid days of the Hokies United Memorial Tournament and I think most left with a good feeling about their experience.

The tournament win was great, but more importantly I think we have started to turn the corner to what has otherwise been a lackluster start for our team. We finally found the gaps with a few shots and hit the fence three other times. Charisse stayed hot and she got a little company this weekend with several players improving their batting averages.

Angela and Heather both threw extremely well this weekend and Elly threw a three hitter, with a little defensive help she may have thrown her first complete game as a Hokie. Angela was devastating in the championship game against a solid Winthrop team and Heather continues to grow into the pitcher we need her to be. Kenzie threw in relief all weekend, but will get another start this weekend in Tucson.

We are starting to find our line up and I look forward to seeing how we match up in Arizona. It is going to be a very fun business trip and the experience will serve us well heading into the ACC schedule. Hope to see many of you in Arizona this weekend!! ... GO HOKIES!!

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Bumpy Start...
It has been a little crazy around the Hokie Softball office here in the early part of our season, so let's get a little caught up from the first two weekends.

We had a good, but not great start down in Miami. Pittsburgh played extremely well all weekend and we knew that Mizzou was going to be a test, but after a late night finish on Saturday with a solid victory over FIU, I think our sunrise event with Mizzou the second time was a little to early. We started off strong then faded and great teams like Mizzou are going to take advantage of any opportunity that is given to them. Overall, not a bad weekend, but we certainly came away with things to work on.

Last weekend in Charlotte was just a ho hum performance by our team. Actually the first game with Charlotte was a great game and I thought their pitcher did a great job. Not to take away or diminish the other teams' efforts that we played, but I wasn't happy with our overall effort and competitiveness the rest of the weekend. Some may say "You won the tournament, didn't you?" and the answer is yes, but expectations of playing at a different level is exciting and we didn't match those expectations with our performance.

Good news is that the last couple of days have been much better in practice. We haven't been hitting the ball and usually we do hit well early in the season. I think we have been some what passive at the plate in our approach and certain players aren't taking their solid practice swings to the games at his point. We changed up our preparation this week and focused on the outer edges of the plate, looking to be successful in an expanded hitting zone. Charisse and Jess Everhart are leading us at the plate, Erin still leads the world in "at'em balls", Jenna is showing signs of the player she can be and we are looking for several players to turn it on this weekend.

Pitching has been very good for the most part. Angela has been very solid, with the exception of the second Mizzou game, but like I said earlier we were all short on rest. Heather has looked really good at times. I think we are starting to see that consistency start to shine through and Heather leads the nation in ERA at this point(and you thought only Angela was a national statistics leader) Kenzie looked awesome in Florida and although she had a tough outing against Charleston Southern, I think she will be back strong this weekend. Elly is still regaining her game sense and confidence. Before it is all over Elly will be a major factor for our success both in the circle and at the plate.

We have shuffled the defense at times trying to get opportunities for different players, hence several different line-ups. I am hoping to get that a little firmer over the next week or so as players compete and win their position. Misty has played short and catcher, Jess Hodge is going to get a look at first base and Anna has played both right and left field and we have toyed with the DP spot, so we are trying to find the best scenario for success here in the early going ... Kelsey has already matched her number for runners caught stealing which is awesome.

In other news, the tournament this weekend as you may already know has been adjusted due to today's weather potential in the area. The rest of the weekend looks great though and we hope that everyone will come out to support the teams.

Our games with Radford next week have been moved to their place, because our stadium renovations are not complete. Although the renovations are very exciting, the late start of construction compared to the start of our home schedule (January to February) did not leave a great opportunity to get it done. The process is tenuous and we are waiting patiently and excitedly for the completion of our renovated home of softball.

Hope to see everyone this weekend in Botetourt. It is a great complex and we are very fortunate to have a venue like this as our back up plan to the Moyer Complex that was devastated by wind two weeks ago.

Let's all continue to keep the Northern Illinois community in our prayers as they continue the healing process. ... HOKIES FOR HUSKIES!!!

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Time to crank it up!
Well, the 2008 season is upon us and although the weather is beautiful here today in Blacksburg, I am looking forward to our trip to Miami at the end of the week.

We have handled this pre-season slightly differently than the past, with a greater focus on the offensive side. I really like what I am seeing in our swings and now the challenge is to take those to the game field. We have worked pitch counts (especially 2 strike), adjustments, pitch recognition and obviously pure swing mechanics. On Sunday we scrimmaged and I liked what I saw out of our projected starters.

Pitching-wise has been much different than the past. With Coach McVay out most of the time with her pregnancy it has put more on the pitchers and catchers to work independently. I am really pleased to how they have handled this scenario and although I will be the primary pitching/catching resource through Spring Break, I really feel good about where they are from a maturity standpoint. As seniors, Angela and Kelsey are doing an awesome job of leading the way. We will be glad when Coach McVay is back full time though.

This weekend, we will be playing in what I think will pan out to be a very tough tournament for us. Pittsburgh has always played us tough, Texas-Arlington leads the way in their conference, I know FIU is excited about Coach McClendon and I get to play against my old buddy Ehren Earlywine at Mizzou. Mizzou comes in with the highest expectations, and rightfully so, but the other teams have our extreme attention as well.

I always look forward to getting out on the road. It is a time when you really get to know your teammates and focus in on our path of success together. Hopefully we will be blessed to get on the right track with this first tournament.

Hope to see you in Florida!!! Go Hokies!!

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Pre Season Workouts Begin
Tis the season, softball that is!!! ... I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas Holidays and looking forward to a very Happy New Year!!

We had our spring team meeting last night and we start our workouts tonight. We are going to spend the bulk of the next two weeks on hitting and the players will work defense on their own.

Team practice starts on the 27th, only two weeks before the start of the season. Everybody is back healthy and ready to go! We are looking forward to seeing everyone at our games in a few weeks. Until then... GO HOKIES!!!

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FALL 2007
Fall ball is a time for opportunity, experience, shaking out the cob webs and I hope everyone got a chance to see the 2008 version of Hokie Softball. We played 9 games and didn't play the same line up twice, which I think is a good sign of improved depth.

From a pitching standpoint Angela threw three complete games with two of them being no-hitters and continues to prove why she is one of the best pitchers in the history of the game. Heather came off of early fall knee surgery with a rough first outing, but then threw a shut out against Liberty last weekend in a great effort. Elly Gosby was a little up and down, but what do you expect from someone who hadn't thrown a game in a year and a half. In my opinion, Elly will be a major contributor for us in the spring. One of our biggest bright spots was freshman Kenzie Roark who threw very well and won two games for us including the championship game last Saturday. Most people would think that in the champioinship game we would give Angela the call, but not this time, as it worked out we combined the efforts of Elly and Kenzie (Kenzie getting the win) and Angela getting the one inning spot save against Longwood.

Catching wise we are still very talented. Kelsey does a great job of calling and managing the game from behind the plate and Misty Hall is extremely solid with a cannon for an arm. Morgan has looked solid in practice and will be a solid option for playing time. Beth's sister Amber has also been working hard at the catcher position and will be a big help with the pitching staff when she is not in the line up.

Defensively we did a great job taking care of the balls that were put in play and over 9 games I don't think we had but 4 or 5 errors which is really good for fall ball. With the addition of Jess Hodge and Misty Hall it has allowed us to move Charisse back to her natural position at third base and I think we were much more comfortable in the infield as a whole. Beth Walker was very solid for us at first base as she will continue to be a major role player for us at either corner. Stephanie is still a leading candidate at first. It will probably depend on who is hitting the best as to who gets that job. Kim Jalm also shown some promise at that position.

Outfield wise we are still very solid with several different options. Jess Everhart was great in center and Whitney, Caroline and Jenna were solid as well. One of the biggest outfield role players, however, will be the play of Anna Zitt. Anna played primarily in the infield for us last year, but is a natural in the outfield.

Offensively we had just about everybody back, but at lead off. So, what do we do about that issue? How about another Rhodes sister? Jenna really stepped up and played well utilizing the bunt and slap and is the leading candidate at this point given her fall performance. Erin could also see time in that spot, but is still a formidable number two hitter with tremendous bat control skills.

One of the positions that I remained consistant with was using Jess Everhart in the 3 hole. I just really felt that Jess was having a great fall practice and can handle that job as long as she stays positive and continues to make adjustments at the plate. She hit a couple of long balls against Liberty, but I think she can be a devastating gap hitter.

Four through six or seven in the line up is anybody's guess and the options are awesome: 1. Stephanie - Lefty power who has shown an ability to come up big in the past 2. Caroline - Had a great year last year hitting for power and accepted the #3 spot in the batting order, but needs to cut down on the strikeouts. 3. Misty Hall - Going to see playing time at catcher and shortstop, but has the ability to be a big time hitter with tremendous power. 4. Charisse - Seems to always come up with the big hit in the big game. 5. Kelsey - Great contact hitter who could see time in the 2 spot on occassion, draws walks and rarely strikes out. 6. Beth - looks to return to the form of two years ago where she ended up as an ACC 2nd team selection, big time power. 7. Elly Gosby - Has looked great in practice, but needs to continue shake a little bit of dust to regain her game day skills.

After that Whitney, who came up with some big hits for us last spring, gives us a lefty look in the bottom of the order and we are continuing to see a bright future for Jess Hodge, who although is still making the adjustment to college ball, came up with a couple of important at bats this fall. Anna is working hard and has look much better in practice. Kim Jalm has shown some life as well and could be a major pinch hit factor as the season progress when she is not in the starting line up.

Overall I was very pleased with our fall effort and I am really looking forward to a succesful spring. The ACC is tough enough and we have several perenial powers on the schedule including two time defending national champion Arizona. It should be an excitng season again as we shoot for another ACC title and march further into the NCAA tournament. ..... See you in the spring!! Go Hokies!! --

Scot

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Back in full swing!
Tis the season! Can you believe that we are already talking softball? Where did the summer go? Well ready or not the 2007-08 version of Hokie Softball is well underway with preparation and I am already excited about what I am seeing.

First of all, the girls are excited to be back and it really shows on their faces. Although the lack of success at regionals had us down, I think that we have all been able to look back on the 2007 season with favor. Winning an ACC title was a tremendous achievement and we look forward to defending our title this season. One thing is for sure the ACC is tough and that target on our back has gotten bigger!

After just a couple of days the returners are looking good and we have been very pleased with the showing of our new players. Kim Jalm, Jess Hodge, Elly Gosby, and Misty Hall have looked very good at the plate. Misty hit a machine ball onto the Spring Road sidewalk which is very tough to do with a regular ball, let alone a machine ball. ... Amber Walker has been looking good handling our pitchers and Elly and Kenzie Roark are working hard to get their pitching into game shape.

As most of you know by now Angela is getting ready for the US Olympic tryout camp. I have had many people ask me about this process and how it affects us, but basically nothing changes until she happens top make the roster of 15. If she is one of the three alternates, she will still be able to play with us throughout this year. If she makes the 15-player roster, then she will be granted a redshirt year and we will need our pitching staff to step it up big time.

If she doesn't make the team, she will still have a great experience and will bring that back to our program. Also, she has become a tremendous ambassador for our university and I am very proud of her for that characteristic.

Be sure to watch out for our fall schedule to come out on the web soon. We have two great tournaments lined up for the first two weekends in October. In closing I would like to invite anyone who wants to come out and watch practice to do so this fall. .... Go Hokies!

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Season Wrap-Up
I haven't written much since the shootings and at that time what I wrote didn't seem to be quite that important or earth shattering, so you get busy, get out of the habit of writing and the next thing you know... you are weeks behind in writing in the dugout....

It is Monday afternoon, about the time we would normally be in the middle of practice and I can't help but feel a little lost. This great urge to be out on the field practicing is not being fulfilled. This sense of missing something inside the gut that I can't expalin, but knowing full well that I am thinking that we should be playing this next weekend.

It was a great year, ACC CHAMPIONS! We overcame adversity through a tradgedy and became a shining light for our university community in a very dark hour. We challenged ourselves to win a conference title and accomplished that feat both during the grueling regular season ACC schedule and at the ACC tournament.

I am very proud of this team and I look forward to the challenges of next year. The disappointing finish will serve as motivation for next year. Can we take that next big step to win back to back ACC titles? Can we take that next big step to Oklahoma City? It is going to take some work, but it has to be next years focus and one that I think we are looking forward to taking on.

I want to thank my team, my coaching staff and all my support staff for a job well done. This year will go down in Hokie Softball history as one of the best ever and we will celebrate the achievement in the fall at our annual banquet.

I will try to give updates throughout the summer. Until then.. GO HOKIES!

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April 16, 2007
I know I haven't written anything on the UNC, Maryland and Furman games and I will try to catch up very soon, but I wanted to send out this note that will be published in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association newsletter, the "Fastpitch Delivery", in their next publication......

On the morning April 16th our Virginia Tech community suffered one of the most unimaginable acts in US history. The shootings on our campus brought us to our knees as we tried to gain an understanding of what happened and why. Unfortunately, we will never get solid answers for such an insane act of violence. Time will help heal some of the pain, but this day will never be forgotten.

As the morning unfolded, we went from what seemed to be an isolated case of domestic violence to scrambling to find all of our players to check on their safety. How did we ever communicate before cell phones? On this day cell phones became our tool for safety and comfort. Although we didn't really know what we were going to find and one player had left her cell phone at home that particular morning, she eventually called out on a classmates cell and by 11:30 we had everyone accounted for on the current team.

We met as a team at my house that afternoon just to see everyone's face and spend some time praying. It was at that time that I found out that Theresa Walsh, a former player and current roommate of our players, was on the 2nd floor of Norris Hall when the shootings happened. Although she was not harmed physically, she did have a confrontation with the gunman. But she and her classmates were able to block the classroom door to avoid any serious physical harm. We ask that you continue to pray for her healing process as she continues to deal with emotional and mental trauma.

As the week progressed we kept everyone close together by having team meals, tailgating at the baseball game Friday night and getting back into practice as we prepared for the weekends series versus the University of Maryland. Wednesday's practice was tough, but as the girls accepted their role in the healing process our practices on Thursday and Friday were much better and I have been so proud of how my players have handled the media!!

I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know a little of what transpired for us, but the main reason is to thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers and acts of kindness and caring. Around lunchtime on the 16th I began to get phone calls and emails of concern and many of those calls came from my friends in the softball community. Coaches, alumni, parents, fans, summer coaches/teams, recruits and many other friends called to check on our team.

I have received many emails with pictures of teams wearing the orange and maroon, fields with VT logos and teams wearing the Virginia Tech ribbons. It was so neat to see teams on television doing the same. Our players and staff have been so moved by all of these acts of kindness and support. You have all been truly awesome and it has been appreciated more than you know!!

We ask that you continue to pray for the families of the victims, the ones that are continuing the physical healing process, the ones continuing the mental healing, the first responders who will have lasting visions of proportions that I can't fathom and our university community as a whole.

Once again, thanks so much for all that everyone has done to support us in this time of need. Go Hokies!

Scot Thomas and the Virginia Tech Softball Team

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Campbell Double Header
It was a team effort day as we took on the Camels yesterday, but first of all, let me talk about what a class team Campbell has.... Drew Peterson is truly one of the good guys in collegiate coaching. Drew is a leader in sportsmanship and it is obvious that it is handed down to his players.

Campbell came in with one of their top pitchers hurt and I was impressed at the demeanor of the kids who threw against us. Although I thought we had a great day at the plate, the Campbell pitching staff hung in there knowing they were playing short.

Angela was solid with great movement on her pitchers and I sort of thought that Campbell might be playing for a split by holding their top pitcher for the second game. While that may or may not be the case I felt it was important to get Angela out of any uneccesary innings and save her for the second game in case we needed her for a close.

It happened to work that way as Heather threw 4 1/3 solid innings. Unfortunately, Heather didn't help her own cause in the first inning of the second game with a throwing error after a great pitch, but she settled down and threw well before giving up back to back hits to the meat of Campbell's line up, but that was the scenario that I prepared for by pulling Angela in the first game with a no hitter with maximum strike outs going.

Offensively I couldn't be more pleased. We hit up and down the order and we were able to get at bats/starts for some of our reserve players. Jenna Rhodes lead the way with this effort going 3 for 3 in the first game as I had her lead off in place of her sister. Although Callie has stabilized herself as a main lead off and think that Jenna benefited from the start and as the next couple of years roll along Jenna could take over that spot.

Several players had some great at bats if not big hits: Erin, Charisse, Jess, Beth, Dori, Whitney, Rokey, Hoffman, Steph and certainly Caroline came up very big.

I really felt good during the pregame and thought our level of focus combined with a confident presense was really good.

Big, big weekend ahead in Chapel Hill. UNC is a great ball club and we are going to have to rise to the occasion to get the job done. Should be some of the best softball of the year to this point. Hope all the Carolina Hokies can show up for us!!... GO HOKIES!!

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UVA Series
What awesome fans we have!! We consistantly draw a solid crowd at home, but many times we outdraw the home team as well. This weekend in Hooville was no different as it felt like a home game, from the perspective of cheering from the fans at least and doing it in the cold on top of it all.

The weather can always be an equalizer, but we have handled it very well this year. On Thursday we went outside to practice even though it was quite chilly, because I had seen the forecast for Friday and Saturday. Only one way to get ready to play in the cold and that is to practice in the cold

On Friday, Angela threw very well, but the story was the explosion of Steph Savre at the plate. A three run bomb and a solo shot from Steph provided our scoring and we were able to hang on with solid defense. We left a lot of runners on, but we hit the ball hard for the most part. Unfortunately too many "at'em balls" hurt our scoring opportunities. The 4-0 win certainly helped in setting a tone for the weekend.

On Saturday we awoke to see a dusting of snow on the ground... We had already made arrangements to visit Justin Harris, who is an 11 year old cancer patient and huge Hokie fan, at the UVA Hospital. There are certain circumstances and situations that you run into in life when the Lord brings a little reality to life and reminds of just how short life is for any of us. The visit with Justin reminded us of the importance family, to realize that we are blessed to play a game that we love both physically and mentally, and that we should count our blessings on a daily basis.

We went out and played the day for Justin and took back to him the game ball from the first game. It was a special visit for the entire team and should keep

us grounded in our own thoughts and preparation for the rest of the season.

We hit the ball hard in the first game, but "at'em balls" and some poor baserunning kept us from scoring again and we settled for the 2-1 win and solidified our end of the Commonwealth Challenge. Steph once again hit a home run and Kelsey Rokey came up with a big baseloaded pinch hit.

In the third came our bats came alive and we made good on a few Wahoo errors to take the 10-0, six inning win. The big story of this game was the pitching effort by Heather Lowry, a six inning shut out with 7 K's. If we can continue to get that kind of effort the results will show favorable deep in the post season.

A solid Campbell team comes to the 'Burg on Tuesday.... GO HOKIES!!!

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Longwood Double Header
Our first trip to Farmville was a little bitter sweet. I had told the team on Tuesday that going into to play Longwood was going to be a tough chore. As it turned out I was correct and the target that is placed on your back when you are given the status of a Top 25 team certainly was very visible.

In the first came we played with little purpose, going through the motions for the first 6 1/2 innings. On the other hand Longwood was playing well hanging right in there to keep the game close.... and then it happened, with two outs and two strikes on the batter Tinch gave up a home run, then a double, then we intentionally walked their top hitter, then we fell asleep allowing the runner at second to get to third and then we had a wild pitch.

For the biggest part of the year we have had no trouble with this situation, but every now and then you aren't going to end up on the favorable side of things. First of all I think we should had more scoring opportunities, but most of our at bats were very poor and secondly, we should have finished the game better in the bottom of the seventh. You have to play the game until the last out and in this case we didn't get the job done.

After a tough between game session in which I challenged our team to take care of business, I thought we were much better. Our at bats had more purpose, we scored runs and hit the ball with runners in scoring position. We will take the win, but must be much better this weekend.

I was really proud of several players Erin spoke between games and backed up her sentiments with solid play. Some players that have been having a tough year stepped up like Jess and Charisse, but maybe the highlight was Dori's first home run. Dori came to us as a walk on from Pittsburgh and we red-shirted her last year to give her a years maturity and if things didn't work out we didn't want to burn a year of eligibility for her for nothing. Anyway, Dori has been working very hard getting a lot of extra cuts in and it was fun to see her have a positive opportunity in the second game.

On to play the Hoos..... GO HOKIES!!!!

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NC State Series
If someone were to have asked me three weeks ago that after the first three weekend's of ACC play would you be okay with a 6-3 record and in second place in the league, I would have responded that "I would rather be undefeated and in first place." However, I realize that we started out with three great programs and that at this point although not completely satisified, I am okay with it to some extent.

NC State is a great team with a lot of experience and some really big non-conference wins. I knew we would be in for a battle and I certainly predicted that correctly especially on Saturday. Neither team wanted to give an inch on Saturday and I was pleased with our effort for the most part. We came up with two big runs in the first game to give us a little comfort, but after only striking out twice I was a little dissappointed with offensive numbers. We did hit the ball very hard right at them on a couple of occasions and that is what tends to happen when you face a drop ball pitcher like Ervin.

In the second game I thought Simms threw very well against, but I was a little dissappointed with our discipline at the plate. After being no hit for the biggest part of the game we busted out in the 7th, but it wasn't enough leaving the bases juiced with one out. Tough way to end it, but we didn't give up. Karie gave us 4 quality innings in the second game which was great to see and Angela, although not in her top form threw very well.

Finally on Sunday we erupted for some big innings and two freshman provided big hits in Whitney's double down the line to score the first two and Anna three run walk off homer. I told Anna she had notheing to lose stay back and rip it. Erin had a big RBI triple and Jess had a nice opposite field single to drive in two runs.

It was a big win and a team effort.... This week is going to be a big week with games versus two in state foes. Longwood is up next and they have played a tough schedule over the past couple of weeks. I can guarantee that they will be ready for us!! See you in Farmville tomorrow night and GO HOKIES!!

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Florida State Series
The weather in Tallahassee was beautiful this weekend as we took on the Seminoles for our three-game series. It was also a great for our players to get a feel for the surroundings, given that we will be back down there in a little over a month for the ACC tournament.

Winning the first game of the series was really huge and I was really impressed with our demeanor and purpose for the first game. Angela was tremendous with the 8-inning perfect game, sometimes I watch her at work and just shake my head. I also like to give credit to the catcher, Kelsey Hoffman, when no hitters are thrown. Hoffman has done a great job of handling Angela and they have a great chemistry working together.

Offensively, Callie was unbelievable all day and we came up with the big hit when we needed it and Caroline provided the game winner once again. Which brings me to a little bit of coaching strategy... when Callie led off the 8th with a single, some may wonder why I didn't SAC bunt Callie to 2nd with Erin (one of our top bunters) at the plate. Well, first of all if you have seen us play before, I don't always play by the book. I originally thought sac bunt and Erin pulled off the first pitch that was a ball. Erin has great bat control and many times pitchers will let up a little assuming sac bunt leave the pitch in a good spot to hit. So I let her swing away and she got the hit. With runners now on first and second, I am going to let my top hitter swing away which Caroline came thorough with the game winner.

If you have ever read the book "Moneyball", you will read about sabermetrics and their belief that giving up outs on the bases paths such as sacrifice bunts is detrimental to scoring runs. Although I am not sure that this is always true, and we certainly use the sacrifice bunt, in this case the sabermetric philosophy worked.

In game two, Callie stayed hot at the plate and I think we had pretty good focus, but are still struggling to get hits with runners in scoring position. We played pretty sloppy and our pitching struggled again. I am hoping to see our other pitchers step up with the type of innings I know they are capable of over the next couple of weeks.

Game three was another great game that saw the Florida State team try to utilize the bunt to attempt to get runners on and avoid the number of strikeouts. Angela struck out 11 this time and we played the ball well behind her, especially taking care of the bunt. Offensively both teams struggled to make adjustments to the strike zone, but we made good use of a walk to Caroline and Stephanie hit a big triple in the first as we hung on to the 1-run lead for the duration of the game. I challenged Stephanie prior to the game that she needed to step it up as a clean up hitter (on Saturday she left runners in scoring position three or four times and two of those times with runners on second and third) or I was going to drop her in the line up and she responded with the big hit.

Still working on getting a couple of players out of their slumps. We are going to try a different strategy this week. We shall see... BIG, BIG weekend coming up with the defending ACC champions coming to town. I want to see the stands and the hill full with excited Hokies to help pull us through, these girls deserve it!! GO HOKIES!!

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Georgia Tech Series
The ACC has become one of the top softball conferences in the country. Top to bottom we probably have as much parity of any conference. So, when you start the ACC schedule with a ranked conference opponent, you certainly get a feel for where you are and what the rest of this season's weekends are going to be like.

Georgia Tech has one of the top hitting teams in the nation and we knew this was going to be a big match up for Angela and the rest of the pitching staff. Due to cold weather we made a schedule change that turned out to be the right decision and played the single game first on Saturday. Despite wind chills in the teens Angela threw a tremendous game and our bats got hot for the long ball. With Ga Tech's offense I really didn't make any bets that we could shut them out and the fact that we were able to have a big 3rd inning with two three runs bombs by Charisse and Caroline really made my day.

Because of the cold, Angela struggled with some control problems, but worked through it and we were able to play solid defensively behind her for the win. It was great to get the first win of the series. It allowed us to settle in with some confidence for Sunday. Certainly a complete team effort.

On Sunday with the weather a little better, we came out with a purpose in the second game of the series. We didn't get the shutout, but we did come up with the runs we needed to win and I was pleased with the 3-1 win. I think it showed that we could put two solid games together against a quality opponent. It probably also solidified some Top 25 votes. ... the third game was a disaster, but I hope that we have learned a few things. One, we can't be satisfied with just taking the series and then cruising. Two, teams will drill you if you let them and try to make up for the series loss. Three, always be ready when your number is called, it may be one of the last opportunities you get especially this time of year. I am sure there are other less obvious lessons to be learned, but I do think Heather was nervous playing against the Yellow Jackets and being from the Atlanta Metro area. She will learn from the experience and be more confident in the future. Remember it was Heather that got the win against South Carolina, so she has the ability to throw quality innings against quality opponents.

Angela has just been awesome and her two outings against a team like Ga Tech just further proves the point. You always hear that good pitching beats good hitting and this past weekend was certainly a tribute to that point. On the other hand, we are finding ways to scores runs in most games to win and with several players not hitting up to their potential, that is a big statement.

For what ever reason many players seem to struggle in their sophomore years and we have several sophomores trying to work their way back to their potential. I really think we are getting ready to have a coming out party with our bats and this weekend we were much better. If we can continue regain some confidence in our sticks we could finish well with a tough schedule ahead of us.

On to Florida State and another tough series. I'll be back at the beginning of the week with hopefully positive things to talk about. GO HOKIES!!!

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Spring Break til Today
I have to say that I am writing today to get caught up still, but we did crack the Top 25 yesterday and that is always exciting for our program. I think we deserve the ranking, but we are going to have to earn the right to stay ranked!

Spring Break started out well with our tournament win at Central Florida. Rain changed the schedule a little and we missed some opportunities to play some games that potentially would have allowed more reserves some playing time, but getting the championship win over a quality Stetson program was very positive.

At the end of the week we played in Clearwater at USF's adidas Invitational. As it turned out, we played in the toughest pool, losing to Central Michigan and Ohio State in pool play, but beat Robert Morris, a very tough Fordham team and one of the top programs of the northeast in Hofstra. Hofstra went on to the championship game by knocking off Georgia Tech and NC State, only to lose to UNC in that championship game. We, on the other hand, ended up winning the silver championship by knocking off Villanova, Western Michigan and eventually getting back at Ohio State.

Spring Break is a time to get some games in and try to give kids opportunities that are deserving. I think we accomplished that this year. I felt really good when we left Florida from a team development standpoint. It can get tough being on the road for that length of time, but we survived and improved at the same time.

Mid-week, we went down to Columbia, SC to take on the Gamecocks. In the first game we squandered a couple of scoring chances in the first couple of innings and ended up on the short end 2-1. I loved our determination in the second game though as we got a solid pitching performance from Heather and Angela, and our offense picked it up for a solid 5-1 SEC win.

I will talk about the Georgia Tech series tomorrow, but I would like to finish with a word on Caroline Stolle who is our leading hitter. Caroline had a disappointing sophomore year, but has really picked it up this year. Her pitch selection has improved and she is really seeing the ball well. We have struggled to hit with runners on early, but Caroline has been a big bright spot in that category.

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CATCHING UP!
Sorry that it has been awhile since my last update, but let's get started catching up ...

I left off with us headed to the Leadoff Classic where we know we are always going to see great competition. After a stumble against Coastal Carolina in which I thought our focus was just horrible we turned it around and had a really good tournament knocking off Georgia, Illinois State, and last years NCAA giant killers Lehigh.

After beating Lehigh with Angela's perfect game. We had to huge wins against ranked opponents Georgia and Illinois State. I had told the team that we would pretend that the Saturday games were like a Regional trying to get to the Super Regional and we responded with two great wins and the opportunity to play 2005 National Champions, Michigan. The game didn't disappoint either as it was a tough match up of two great pitchers in Angela and Lorilynn Wilson of Michigan. We lost 1-0, but the experience was huge.

Offensively, we had a lot of different people step up at different times to find ways to win games and that has been a critical theme as we have keep ourselves out of extra inning games.

The next week we went over to Radford to take on a very veteran Highlander squad. We used to dominate this series, but Radford has become one of the quality programs of the south. We took the doubleheader with game winning pinch hits in both games by Kelsey Hoffman and Beth. We had solid pitching performances by Angela and Heather, getting two wins over there was huge and we will look back at the end of the season understanding the quality of those wins.

I will recap Spring Break later this week and talk about our hottest hitter, Caroline Stolle.

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Auburn Trip
It was a good overall weekend for our team down in Auburn, Alabama. The weather only partly cooperated with Friday nights wind chills at 19 degrees, but the Auburn staff provided heaters in the dugouts and the rain stayed away for the most part. Saturday night the air was compared to the mist of Niagara Falls, but not enough precipitation to cause a fuss.

On Friday we started out with Tennessee Tech for the tird time in a week. Have to admit that I was a little worried because TTU is a very good program, but we came ready to play and found ways to score runs. Bonnie Bynum threw a great game against us, but our kids continued to make adjustments at the plate and Angela was on with 19 K's.

Friday night was a little brutal in our game with Tulsa, but again we found a way to score runs for the win. Heather Lowry started off shakey, but settled down nicely for her first complete game win against Conference USA's 2006 Champion.

Saturday was our showdown with Auburn and I was really pleased with our effort. Auburn threw Holly Curie who is a very talented P/1B. We scrapped around for a couple of runs and got another big effort from Angela. SEC win's are big in any sport and going to Auburn to steal one was great for our program.

Saturday night UAB took advantage of our mistakes and we took advantage of their mistakes in a 10-9 loss. I was really proud of our adjustments at the plate to a tune of 13 hits and 9 runs versus last weeks effort. We didn't take care of the ball in the second inning behind Ashley and it cost us in the long run. Up 9-5 we did a poor job of protecting the lead from a pitching standpoint. Dissappointing, but it will be even more dissappointing if we don't learn from that game.

Notre Dame has always been a tough run for us, but Sunday we got a very good total effort to win the tournament. Angela once again through well and we had several opportunities to score more runs, but were not able to finish.

I will take the wins, but I think we still have a long way to go with regards to improving to be what we want to be this year and that is a good thing. I think we have peaked to early at times in the past. Right now I like our progress.

Caroline, Steph Savre, Callie, Charisse, Jess and Kelsey Hoffman all had big weekends at the plate with some big hits. Several others including Anna and Jenna also made some noise with big hits.

Our ability to make adjustments compared to the first weekend was very good, but we have a way to go before we can be pleased with our effort. We had to face everybody elses #1 pitcher, so that can slow run production, but we are leaving to many runners on base. We are going to work on that part of our game this week and hopefully we will see more run production.

Big weekend at the Leadoff Classic. Tough competition at one of the premiere tournaments of the year. Hope to see a lot of Hokies in Columbus!!

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First Weekend
The first weekend out was quite interesting to say the least.... On Saturday, we got a great pitching performance from Angela and Heather, but offensively we did not look good as a team. Charisse, Caroline and Callie all came up with some big hits and we found a way to win against a very solid Tennessee Tech and then followed that up with a ugly loss to UAB. UAB had a lefty pitcher that pitched a great game, but we failed to make any adjustments as a group and looked terrible at the plate.

Our inability to make adjustments really disturbed me and usually we come out stroking the ball, mainly because we can't do but so much in the fieldhouse, but we get plenty of cuts. This prompted us to study our game films Saturday night which really told us everything we needed to know.

On Sunday morning at breakfast I met with the team and went through each batter from the UAB game, they were certainly surprised at what they saw and we talked about the adjustments we needed to make. Like I tell the girls all the time "this is a game of adjustments.", and adjust they did. I was very happy with the effort they made on Sunday as we started spraying the ball around and had much better focus at the plate.

In the Georgis State game I was very proud of Ashley Thatcher who was making her first start of the year. Ashley had a disappointing year in '06 and this was a game for her to start proving her worth. I love it when players step up to the challenge and get the job done, as did Ashley. Heather Lowry did a great job in finishing the Ga. State game and seemed to be much more focused in her second outing in two days. Callie scored twice and Erin had a much better gameCaroline hit her second bomb of the game and Destiny delivered from both sides of the plate.

In the championship game Angela was one pitch away from throwing a near perfect game. One hanging change was hit long, but that was the only hard hit ball the whole game and otherwise she was awesome with 19 K's. Offensively we really looked much better as we continued to make our adjustments. Erin, Charisse, Jess and Caroline all came up with big hits/home runs(Caroline with three, Charisse with one and Jess with the opposite field GRAND SLAM!) in another real good win over Tennessee Tech for the championship.

Other players had some solid playing time Steph Savre had a couple of solid hits and Anna looked really good at shortstop. Both Kelseys' were solid behind the dish and had a knack for the walk this weekend. Hoffman has a current 6 walk streak going which means she is doing a great job of not chasing and finding a way to get on base.

Thanks to everyone that supported us this weekend family, alumni and recruit; especially Ali and my good friends Larry and Vicki, as well as Mary and Beth.

Hope to see everyone in Auburn!!

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OPENING GAME WEEK
Well it is finally here and not a moment to soon! I have always said that practice is a great thing until you get too much of it. Without competition practice doesn't become a complete effort, because you very rarely can pick out your weaknesses in practice. Games and the game speed is where you find out what you are made of and we are at that point.

Other than having to practice inside quite a bit I think we are ready to get after it. We better be ready because our schedule is very tough over the first three weeks. Tennessee Tech is a tough test right out of the box.

It is time to put the orange and maroon on and play ball!!

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Fall Wrap Up
I know that it has been a long time since I last updated the notebook, but I am planning on making a come back!... The end of last year was tough and I really felt that we didn't do ourselves justice. Although we finished the ACC fairly strong we didn't play well against Liberty to close the season and we didn't play up to our ability at the ACC tournament. However, I did think we were very prepared/focused for the NCAA Regional and after a great win against Louisville, some things out of our control hurt and to our demise ended our run to Oklahoma City.

Since then we have dealt with many things that make our lives a little stressful and tough to focus. Many of those issues are still in our thoughts and lay heavy on our hearts, but I think we are learning how to cope and we have even gotten past some issues.

Softball wise I thought our Fall went very well and according to plan. The only dissappointment was losing our Fall tournament in Salem due to inclement weather for the first time. In our other tournament and the Longwood scrimmage I thought we accomplished our goals well. We got our first look at the freshman and we got to see how our team is going to blend together. Personally, I think it is very exciting to think of what we can become in the Spring.

As we set our sights on winning an ACC title, our real focus has to be on getting better on a daily basis. We have some great tools in place and the girls have worked hard throughout the semester, including our 3.14 team grade point average. I truly believe that our ability to take care of business off the field is a direct reflection of how we are going to take care of business on the field.

As we get closer to the season opener I will give you some other thoughts, but until then it is the Holiday/Bowl season and I hope to see everyone in Atlanta!

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ETSU, Florida State, and UNC-G
Well, after a successful mid-week trip to Bristol for the Stateline Classic against ETSU we headed back into conference play.

This was FSU's first trip to Blacksburg and it is always exciting to bring the storied programs into town. I really felt like the way we played from a focus standpoint in the UNC series carried over to the ETSU game and the FSU series. Coming away with two out of three wins in the FSU series was a big accomplishment, although I certainly have to take some of the credit for the lone loss in the series.

On Friday, we took care of business and found a way to win. Angela pitched great game 13 K's and only two hits. She also set the ACC record for strikouts in a season which is now up to 428.... we manufactured a run in the third and Jess hit a homer in the sixth to seal the game.

On Saturday, I really challenged our hitters to step it up a notch, because I believed we had the ability to score more runs. What a great job of accepting the challenge!! 10 runs on 10 hits in just 5 innings!! Now that is the way I like it! Although we had three errors, we had another solid pitching performance and won the shortened game.

In game two, we again scored plenty of runs to win, but a 4 run 1st and a 3 run 5th, sunk us. I should have made some chages quicker than I did and it probably cost us the game. I was very proud of the effort of our team and the never say die attitude all the way through the 7th.

Tuesday we traveled to UNC-Greensboro, and in the first game Angela pitched a great game twirling the no-hitter, 18K's and only two walks shy of a perfect game. Offensively we were lackluster in the first game, but came up with two important runs late. In the second game, we came up with 5 runs on 12 hits, but they came late and made for a little more excitement than I needed. Charisse came up with another game winning homer to put the finishing touches on offensively and Katie and Angela combined for a solid effort in the circle.

Next up Georgia Tech.... very solid team and the games should be very exciting.

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Last Couple of Weeks
It has been a while since I last wrote and I apologize. It has been a very busy couple of weeks and with members of my family being sick as well as myself, I need to catch up a little.

The Boston College weekend went very well and it was the first ACC sweep in our history. This year in particular has been very tough for anyone to sweep. I was very proud of our effort in the second game, because we fell behind but didn't give up and came back to win the game. That is tough to do on the road, but we got the job done. Angela had a great weekend and Charisse stepped up with another game winning home run.

The next weekend we went to Maryland and sat in the hotel for the first day as it rained non-stop. This was a tough weekend, because we had several people sick and I personally was as sick as I have been in my 11 years at Tech during the season. Unfortunately I think I passed it around and we stayed sick the entire week... anyway we did get in a double header on Sunday and we just didn't play well at all. Our bats were sluggish and we have fell into a team slump. Maryland on the other hand, has a good team and played very well.

Dropping the double header in Maryland was certainly not what we had planned on and we sort of limped into the midweek double header at Ohio. In the first game we jumped out to a 4-0 lead then almost gave that lead up, but held on for the win. In the second game the bats fell silent again and we struggled as a team. The first game was a team win and the second was a team loss and individually we were terrible in the second game. It was a good win for Katie in her home return and I must say that I was very impressed with Athens, OH as a whole, very nice.

The North Carolina series was tough and I have to say that while I am not pleased at all with the two losses, I am very pleased with our effort. For the first time in several games I felt we played hard. Unfortunately, we had a tough time scoring runs in the first and third game and in both games we had opportunities to score, but didn't come up with a clutch hit. Certainly Angela pitched well enough for us to win and I can't fault the effort of the rest of the team, we just didn't come through.

Some of that had to do with UNC's top pitcher, Crystal Cox, but we were able to cut down on the strike outs the second game and found some runs to win. Katie threw a gutsy second game and got out of some big jams for the win.

If we can play with the same intensity and focus for the rest of the season I think we will be fine. The key right now is to get our bats going again and find those critical runs to win ball games. We have two huge ACC series' ahead of us and we need to continue to step up our game. The exciting part is that we are still very much in control of our own destiny, so we nee to take advantage of that control.

Right now according to Warren Nolan (a power ratings guru and website) we are 27th in the country as far as the RPI goes. The ACC is the fourth most powerful conference and we have 5 teams in the top 30. That is really strong! Also, Georgia Tech and Florida State are ahead of us, so that means we have a chance to make considerable strides over the next couple of weeks.

Big game tonight in Tennessee as we take on ETSU in the Stateline. Hope to see alot of people down there. Go Hokies!!

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BIG SEC WINS!!!
Like I said yesterday, the SEC schools don't come our way everyday other than big track meets and so forth, so having South Carolina into Blacksburg is a big deal. Coach Compton is a Hall of Famer and someone that I truly admire and respect. I am very glad that she wants to keep the series going.

In the first game, Angela threw very well again, but as I predicted the strike outs came a little tougher. I believe Angela fielded the ball more this game than any other and had no problems. We took advantage of a walk and an error to win the game. Sometimes all you do is find a way to win and that is exactly what we did.

In the second game, Katie came out and threw the ball well with several K's and only two hits. We also played the ball very well behind her. At one point erly in the game we were making some poor baserunning decisions and made some poor judgements on the field. After a little encouragement I thought we settled down and played very well. Jess came up with the big home run and we were able to get the weather/darkness shortened game.

Two GREAT WINS!!

Up next Boston College... I will guarantee they will be tough and excited to play a weekend series at home!! We need to take our "A" game with us...GO HOKIES!!

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UVA, Marshall, and NC State
It is hard to complain when you have won 6 of the last 8 and I was very pleased with the way we started our post Spring Break effort.

We really did a good job of making adjustment hitting wise in the UVA series. I really thought that was a good sign that we were maturing. Angela gave us another solid effort abd I am really pleased with the progress our catchers are making in handling Angela. We have really cut down on the passed balls and doing a much better job. In the second game against UVA we had our chances to get out of innings, but just did finish the job. Sunday we did a much better job and I really liked our killer instinct.

One of the best hitting teams that we seen all year came to town on Wednesday. Marshall is very solid up and down the order, but our bats were hot as firecrackers and I was impressed with our overall offensive output. Those are two solid midweek wins.

This past weekend we went down to Raleigh to play the Wolfpack and I have to admit that I was very disappointed with our effort on Saturday. We started out with a bang as Steph hit a three run bomb in the 1st inning and then we put it in cruise control. We lacked focus at the plate and settled for the three runs which fortunately was enough to win. Sometimes I think we get to comfortable playing behind Angela and we need to fix that!

In the second game we had what I would call a team loss. We didn't catch, throw or hit the ball. Lack of focus... we made no adjustments at the plate and played sloppy in the field. NC State has a very good team and they took advantage of the opportunity and made us pay!!

After challanging the team after Saturday's game and again on Sunday before the game, I was very pleased with our effort. Although we had trouble coming up with the big hit for the first 6 innings, we did find a way to push a run in the top of the 7th. With State tieing it up in the bottom half of the 7th with the home run, the game played out just like I said it would. It was one of those early season big games that doesn't come every year.

The intensity picked up as the ganme went along and all of a sudden it had an ACC championship tournament feel. Angela continued to finish strong and we made the plays behind her, but I really thought the story was the qualilty at bats of Charisse and the catching performence of Kelsey Hoffman. Callie and Kelly also had some very clutch at bats and it was good to have Erin back in the line up. The at bat that doesn't show up in the stats was the pinch hit at bat with Caitlin. Although she didn't get the hit, she did hit a solid liner to rightfield, unfortunately she hit it to hard and right at the right fielder.

In the end, it was the clutch home run by Charisse. The first pitch was high and tight and I detected a little smirk of gamesmanship on the part of Abbie Sims, but in the end the freshman stood in without intimidation for the big home run.

Angela still had to work the top of State's line up in the bottom of the 9th, but she and Kelsey finished strong.

Tough game today with South Carolina. Always good to see and SEC school on our campus. Doesn't happen very often. GO HOKIES!!

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UVA Series
Well...we would have rather won all three, but we will have to take the 2 out of three scenario and challenge ourselves a little more throughout the rest of the season.

Game 1 - Classic Angela dominated game, although she did have a few more walks than usual. Can't complain about a no-hit, 18 K performance though. Callie came up big as she found her way on base every at bat and Beth Walker's base clearing double was huge.

Game 2 - Katie threw well and had two outs with only a runner on second when we fell apart and gave up the lead. I was happy that we didn't give up and rallied for a run in the sixth with a big pinch hit double by Kelsey Rokey. In the top half of the sixth we had a tailored made double play ball go errant and the lead runner in that scenario eventually scored for the 4th and deciding run. We had a good part of our order coming up and was unable to score a another run, so the loss was certainly disappointing.

Game 3 - Angela pitched well again and although she gave up an uncharacteristic two run homer, we gave her plenty of run support. I was very pleased at the adjustments that we made at the plate from the first two pitchers. Two very different styles, but we made some great adjustments and put UVA away. I liked the killer instinct at the end and I hope to see more of that throughout the rest of the year!!

WHAT A GREAT CROWD!! I REALLY WANT TO THANK EVERYONE FOR COMING OUT!! Hopefully we will see some of the same types of crowds the rest of the year!!

See you on Wed. Marshall is a talented team that plays with a lot of emotion.

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Spring Break '06
After 10 days on the road, we are certainly glad to be back in Blacksburg and sleeping in our own beds! But what a great week for the Hokies!

I mean we took a small slide at the end of the week, but overall I was pleased. When you take into account the big win over then undefeated Arizona State and the tournament win at Vegas, that made for a great start. Then we lost a couple of 1 run ball games which are very dissapointing, however when you look at the big picture you have to feel good about our preparation for the rest of the season and the ACC in particular.

In Vegas I will have to admit that I was a little concerned with our focus, given the environment. However, I thought the team was very business like and did a great job of mental preparation. The ASU game was huge, but the overall tournament focus was an even bigger story to me and certainly lead us to the tournament win.

Angela being named National Player of the Week by the NFCA was a huge accolade for her and tremendous recognition for our program. Angela has been awesome and I have been very proud of the way the girls have played behind her. As they say, "Offense wins games and Defense wins championships", I hope that rings true for us this year.

At the end of the week, we flew back to Clearwater for the big USF tournament and I will have to admit that I was a little disappointed in the way we playd the first day. Although we played hard the first game I felt we lacked a little killer instinct. Then we have Angela's injury in the Illinois game and what a scary time for Angela and the whole team. Angela thought it was strike three and that we were throwing the ball "around the horn", but it was just strike two on the batter and Kelsey H. hit her in the head with the throw back....WOW!!... just one of those freak things and we are glad that Angela is alright now, but it certainly had an effect on our Florida outcome. Katie had to step up for us in the games on Saturday and got the wins, but I was very pleased with the innings Karie gave us against a very tough hitting Fordham team. (Man has that program improved!!)

Also, we had Callie and Caroline out with a stomach virus, so we virtually played Friday without 3 primary starters. Then we got Callie and Caroline back, but didn't have Angela until Sunday. So, people had to step up and take care of business and that happened for the most part.

Angela had a great overall week, with the exception of the injury, and several players really stepped it up. Erin was phenominal!! She lead us in hitting and was a major spark plug. Callie has been a tremendous lead off and has cut down her strikeouts over the course of the week. Kelly is doing a great job in the 3 hole and Jessica and Charisse have been awesome as well.

Steph was great at the beginning of the week and fell off at the end, but hitting in the clean up role does not allow her to see to many pitches. Kelsy H. had a big week, Caitlin and Beth have stepped up in their roles as utility/ pinch hitters. Beth hit a big homer against the Illini and was forced to play outfield in a pinch because of our sick players. Caitlin had a key pinch hit and a key pinch bases loaded walk.

With everybody back healthy we are getting prepared for our ACC opener with UVA. I really think we have played the type of schedule worthy of ACC preparation. You have to remember that we are playing a very young line up, against ASU we started 5 freshmen and two sophomores, but now we are 23 games in and they no longer as green as they were a few weeks ago.

We look forward to seeing everybody out this weekend. It may be a little chilly so bring a coat, but be in the STANDS!! GO HOKIES!!!

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Myrtle Beach Trip
So far, so good! I thought we were very sound defensively all weekend both from a fielding and pitching perspective. Katie and Angela have pitched extremely well and we have done a very good job of taking care of the ball behind them.

In the Pittsburgh game I wasn't very pleased with the adjustments at the plate, but we found a way to win. Otherwise, I thought we did a great job at the plate for the weekend.

Jess, Steph, Beth, Kelly, Callie, Charisse and Murph all came up with big hits. It is very exciting to see us hitting so well from the top of the order to the bottom of the order.

We are playing pretty well, but no rest for the weary this week! Radford has really improved over the past couple of years and will be tough. And then it is off to Vegas, where we will play several teams that have played a very tough schedule thus far and Arizona State is still undefeated.

We also play China on Monday which will be a great experience!

As far as the alumni weekend goes and the alumni link set up goes... well, I am at the mercy of the webmaster and hope fully it will be up very soon. If not I am going to have to personally call everyone, but if you have questions please give me a call.

Hope to see you tomorrow at Tech Softball Park. GO HOKIES!!

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Charlotte Weekend
Well, so far so good! ... I am really pleased with two components of our game thus far. One, our pitchers ability to get the jod done in adverse weather conditions. I mean, pitching that well in good weather is one thing, but to do so in the cold is quite another. So, cudos to Angela and Katie for a job well done.

I am also very impressed at how the freshmen have stepped it up as a group. We have missed a couple signals and are having to talk game concepts a little, but that is to be expected.

Only negative is that we have lost three games to weather and that has made it tough to spread innings to the rest of the pitching staff in particular.

Overall, I am pleased and the veterans are doing a great job as well.

New weekend! Tough competition at Coastal Carolina this weekend. Coastal is always at the top of the Big South, Pittsburgh has been improving in the Big East and were tough last year, and Minnesota is a team that we haven't played yet, but coming from the Big 10 we know they will be tough.

Look forward to seeing everyone this weekend!!

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First Weekend and Alumni Stuff
Great first outing for our team. Everyone got some playing time and for the most part we played very solidly. Angela was very sharp for her opening start and I was pleased with Katie after sitting out the fall with an injury. Karie came in and did a very good job as well. We were going to let Karie finish the first game, but with Angela's no-hitter going it was tough to substitute at that time.

I was very pleased with the offensive side of the ball and several freshman stepped it up. Charisse hit it well and played solid defense, Jess had her first HR and Beth had a solid day.

Many of the veterans had great days as well including Callie, Kelly and Alisia. It was amazing though to look out and see just how many freshman and sophomores were contributing Caroline, both Kelsey's behind the plate, Erin and so on. Certainly a team effort!

Next up will be UNC-Greensboro, Charlotte, and Radford. If you live in the Charlotte area please stop by the Charlotte campus for our games this weekend.

Alumni we are still gathering information and I am hoping to have a link up very soon on our web page. Please reserve the April 21st-23rd weekend as we take on the Seminoles in a very important ACC weekend. I am hoping to have completed information and the web page link up by the end of the week!

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GAME WEEK!!!
Well, the first game is almost here and unlike most years we have been practicing outside more than we have been inside to this point. What does this mean? Hopefully, it means that we will be a little better prepared and comfortable on the defensive side of the ball when we face the Camels in the opener.

I really think things have gone pretty well up to this point. The girls seem very focused and ready to get things started. Our main focus this week is to to put some practice finishing touches on our pre-season work and totally focus on the task at hand. Namely Campbell and Furman!!

Nothing real exciting to report at this time other than the great weather. I will try to be diligent in keeping up with the coaches corner this year and hopefully I will be able to talk about a lot of positive things. Be sure to keep up with us on HokieTV this year!! GO HOKIES!!!

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Happy New Year!
I know that it has been a while, but the Spring semester is almost here and that means FASTPITCH SOFTBALL, Hokie Style!!!

We are really looking forward to the 2006 season with the return of several valuable players from last years squad, the return of our pitching staff, and the exciting addition of our newcomers. We will be young in several spots, but I am confident that youth has the ability to serve our needs in combination with our outstanding veterans as we seek out an ACC title....

Coach Hornak has been spearing heading a project that I am very excited about, where our current players are doing research on the players who wore their number in the past. This is an ongoing project and at this point we feel we have contacted only half of our softball alumni. We are going to continue to work on this project with the hopes that we can get in touch with all of our former players.

In the next week or so you should be hearing about information regarding an alumni weekend April 21-23. We are still working on the details, but I would like to bring back the "1996 ORIGINAL HOKIES" for their 10th year reunion. This is a big ACC weekend for our team as we take on Florida State and a great weekend to celebrate our past teams.

On Saturday between the doubleheader games we will recognize the 1996 team and that night we are planning a dinner with baseball alumni to be held in the South Endzone, East Stadium Club overlooking the softball field.

Although, we want to recognize the 1996 team, this is an event for all softball alumni, so please keep this weekend open. Also, check the website for an alumni link with a questionaire to submit current information....

We start practice as a team on Monday the 23rd, so stop by practice and say "Hello!" Until then ... GO HOKIES!!!!

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