Liberty University
18-32
Virginia Tech
37-18
Virginia Tech Silences Liberty's Bats in 9-0 Win
5/1/2012 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Virginia Tech posted a 9-0, five-inning victory over Liberty on Tuesday at Tech Softball Park, with pitcher Jasmin Harrell tossing a perfect game during game one of the doubleheader.
The Lady Flames fall to 18-32 on the season, while the Hokies are now 37-18. Virginia Tech broke the game open with a four-run fourth inning before Harrell closed out the win.
Harrell (26-13) pitched her first career complete game, striking out eight batters while facing the minimum number of batters in five innings.
Chandler Ball (10-12) drew the loss, allowing seven hits and nine runs in four innings.
The Hokies scored nine runs on seven hits, with Kat Banks and Bkaye Smith both hitting 2-for-2. Lauren Gaskill went 1-for-1 with three runs scored and four RBIs.
Harrell struck out two Lady Flames in retiring Liberty in order during the top of the first inning.
The Hokies took a 1-0 lead during the bottom of the first inning. Gaskill drew a leadoff walk and stole second, before Courtney Liddle drove her in with a single up the middle. Ball then got Kelsey Mericka to ground into a double play to end the inning.
Following a 1-2-3 Liberty second, Virginia Tech added two runs in the bottom half. With two on and two outs, Smith drove a two-run single to center to extend the hosts' lead to 3-0.
The hosts tacked on a pair of runs in the third frame, on an RBI double by Kylie McGoldrick and a sacrifice fly from Mericka.
Harrell registered her eighth strikeout of the game in the top of the fourth, posting her fourth straight three-batter inning.
During the bottom of the fourth, the Hokies loaded the bases with nobody out. Gaskill hit a 3-2 pitch over the center field fence, stretching the lead to 9-0. Ball retired the final three Hokies to bring the Lady Flames to the plate for the fifth time.
Liberty went in order in the fifth inning on two flyouts and a groundout, and the game ended via run-rule, 9-0 after five.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Jasmin Harrell (26-13)
L: Ball, Chandler (10-12)
Batting:
2B: Kylie McGoldrick 1
3B: Kat Banks 1
HR: Lauren Gaskill 1
RBI: Lauren Gaskill 4 ; Kylie McGoldrick 1 ; Courtney Liddle 1 ; Kelsey Mericka 1 ; Bkaye Smith 2
SF: Kelsey Mericka 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lauren Gaskill 3 ; Kylie McGoldrick 1 ; Marra Hvozdovic 1 ; Kat Banks 2 ; Nina Compton 1 ; Bkaye Smith 1
SB: Lauren Gaskill 2 ; Kat Banks 1
HBP: Isabella Corrao 1
