The Virginia Tech softball team will play for an NCAA regional crown Sunday.
No. 15 overall seed Alabama beat the Hokies 4-3 in the winners bracket final of the double-elimination regional Saturday afternoon in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
But the Hokies bounced back to squash Belmont 11-1 in six innings in the losers bracket final Saturday night.
鈥淚 saw this fight 鈥 in our team after the (Alabama) game was over, 鈥 so we were able to regroup,鈥 Tech coach Pete D鈥橝mour said on a video conference after the win over Belmont.
鈥淲e were all up (after the loss). We knew it wasn鈥檛 over. We knew we had a dog fight,鈥 first baseman Emily LeGette said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e all dogs. We all knew we came here to play.鈥
So the Hokies (43-12) will get another crack at Alabama (39-21) in the finals at 2 p.m. Sunday. If Tech wins, the teams will play again at 4:30 p.m. Sunday.
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In Saturday night鈥檚 game, the Hokies once again beat Belmont ace Maya Johnson, who had entered Friday leading the nation with 355 strikeouts. After scoring five runs off Johnson on Friday, Tech scored another five runs off her on Saturday.
Johnson allowed five earned runs, five hits and two walks while striking out five in five innings Saturday.
鈥淔ive innings and five strikeouts, that鈥檚 pretty good against her,鈥 D鈥橝mour said.
Tech鈥檚 Jordan Lynch had three hits, including a two-run homer and a solo homer, in the win over Belmont (41-16).
Trinity Martin added two hits, including a three-run homer. Cori McMillan belted a two-run homer 鈥 her 32nd homer of the year. LeGette had a solo homer.
All-ACC first-team pick Michelle Chatfield, who had missed the past four games with a wrist injury, returned to action in a pinch-hitting role Saturday night.
The Hokies led 2-0 after the first inning, 3-0 after the second inning and 5-0 after the fifth inning.
Sophie Kleiman and Cassie Grizzard combined on a three-hitter for Tech. Kleiman pitched the first five innings, allowing one run, three hits and four walks while striking out two.
鈥淚 felt pretty good out there,鈥 Kleiman said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty nice to pitch with the lead.鈥
Tech starter Emma Mazzarone took the loss in Tech鈥檚 first game of the day. She allowed four runs (three earned), three hits and five walks while striking out six in 5 2/3 innings. She also threw a wild pitch that brought home a run.
鈥淢az threw a heck of a game,鈥 D鈥橝mour said.
The Hokies took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Bre Peck and LeGette each had an RBI single.
Kali Heivilin later belted a two-run homer to give Alabama a 3-2 lead in the third. Audrey Vandagriff had an RBI single to extend the lead to 4-2 in the fourth.
Kylie Aldridge homered to cut the lead to 4-3 in the fifth.
Tech had runners on first and second with two outs in the seventh, but Martin flied out to end the game.
