Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 11 No. 6 | June 2019

inside.hokiesports.com 19 • The Hokies’ 47 wins were the fourth-most in program history—they won 24 more games than the previous season—and they made their first NCAA regional appearance since 2015, winning two games at the Lexington, Kentucky regional under first-year head coach Pete D’Amour. • Tech’s 20-4 record in ACC was the best among league teams. The Hokies won the ACC’s Coastal Division and were the top seed at the ACC Softball Championship. • Tech’s terrific season led to the Hokies earning three of the ACC’s top awards—D’Amour was named the Coach of the Year, while Carrie Eberle was the Pitcher of the Year and Kelsey Bennett earned Freshman of the Year honors. Eberle led the team with 25 victories (tied for second in the ACC), and she recorded a 1.84 ERA (fourth in the ACC), while Bennett hit .369, with a Tech freshman record 14 homers and 45 RBI. • Seniors Emma Strouth and Caitlyn Nolan enjoyed fantastic campaigns for Tech. Strouth set a school record with 68 RBI, and she finished in the top 10 in the ACC in RBI, hits (tied for second, 74), batting average (sixth, .404), runs (tied for sixth, 50), doubles (tied for sixth, 14), slugging percentage (eighth, .705) and home runs (tied for 10th, 13). Nolan set a school record for home runs (19), a number that ranked second in the ACC, and she also drove in 55, which was sixth in the league. • Tech loses Strouth and Nolan, but returns seven position players who started in the season finale against Kentucky, along with Keely Rochard, who went 22-3 in the circle this season, with a 1.81 ERA and 193 strikeouts in 162.2 innings. SEASON HIGHLIGHTS OVERALL RECORD: 47-11 CONFERENCE RECORD: 20-4 (1st in ACC’s Coastal Division) SOFTBALL ATHLETE OF THE YEAR EMMA STROUTH (Sr.; Julian, North Carolina)