BLACKSBURG -- The signature moment of the Virginia Tech softball season has been the Hokies' shocking upset of the U.S. national team.

That win in March had a lot to do with Angela Tincher's no-hitter, but Kelsey Hoffman also played a key role.

Hoffman is Tincher's batterymate and calls all of the All-American's pitches. Tincher trusts the senior catcher's judgment.

"She's called my game so much that I really don't even think about ... what she's calling, if it's right. I just throw it," Tincher said.

Hoffman, a second-team All-ACC pick, not only contributed behind the plate in that memorable upset but at the plate as well. In the second inning of the 1-0 win in Oklahoma City, Hoffman doubled to right field off Jennie Finch -- the most famous softball player in the country.

Hoffman stood on second base, grinning, before being lifted for pinch runner Anna Zitt, who soon scored the game's only run.

"It's something I'll definitely remember forever," Hoffman said. "Watching it again [on ESPN2 last week], you're like, 'Wow, that was a solid hit. That was for real.'

"Going up to bat in that game, I was just like, 'OK, let's not strike out. Let's get some contact and I'll be happy.' ... It was absolutely awesome to be out there [on second base] because Jennie Finch is getting the ball back and ... she did not have a happy face."

Unlike Hoffman.

"After that Olympic game, she was flying high," said Hoffman's boyfriend, former Tech punter Nic Schmitt.

Hoffman is one of only four Tech starters batting higher than .235. She is hitting .259 with 11 doubles and 22 RBIs. She batted .277 last season, when she had three doubles and 15 RBIs.

"She doesn't have the threat of [home-run] power, but she has great gap power," said Tech coach Scot Thomas, whose 44-15 team will face Louisville in the NCAA tournament Friday at the University of Tennessee. "She's going to find that gap with the ball."

Tincher is the winningest pitcher in ACC history and has the third-highest strikeout total in NCAA history, but being her catcher isn't the easiest job. Tincher's riseball has great movement, enabling her to baffle hitters. But Hoffman has to anticipate where her roommate's pitches are going to wind up.

"Angela's tough to catch," Thomas said. "She's got so much movement up and down, you have to have somebody that can handle her. We had a couple catchers in the past that couldn't."

"It's still tough because each day's different," said Hoffman, who has 10 passed balls this year. "One day the drop could be biting a little harder than it normally does, so you're in the dirt a lot more. Or a riseball may be jumping a little bit more than it normally would."

Hoffman has the best record for a starting catcher (105-40) in Tech history. She owns the Tech career record for fielding percentage at any position (.993), and has the 11th-most putouts (1,667) in NCAA history.

The coaching staff supplies Hoffman with scouting reports on each team's hitters, and Thomas trusts her to make the correct pitch calls.

"I think the game can be called better from behind the plate" than by a coach, said Thomas, a former catcher at East Tennessee State. "You get a better feel for what the pitcher's throwing and what's working.

"She's kind of like a coach on the field."

Hoffman grew up in Tequesta, Fla. When she was in high school, her father -- a Virginia graduate -- suggested the family check out Tech after Hoffman played in a summer tournament in Tennessee. Hoffman fell in love with the campus and expressed her interest to the Tech coaching staff.

Hoffman eventually was offered a half scholarship, which she grabbed after an offer from Auburn fell through. She was upgraded to a full grant after her sophomore year with the Hokies.

Hoffman has been dating Schmitt, a Salem native whose final Tech football season was in 2006, since she was a freshman. Schmitt now lives in Roanoke and recently underwent orientation for firefighter training.

They talk after every game Hoffman plays. As an ex-athlete, Schmitt understands her need to vent.

"It's definitely a huge advantage to the relationship," Hoffman said.

Hoffman graduated last weekend, although she and Tincher missed the ceremonies because the Hokies were busy at Maryland winning another ACC title.

"I'd much rather have a second ACC championship than walk across the stage," said Hoffman, a communications major.

Hoffman already has a job lined up. She will have a 10-month, paid internship in the marketing department of a cable sports channel in Florida. Hoffman was one of seven ACC athletes to reap an internship with a company through the conference's internship program.

But Hoffman's softball career isn't over yet. The Hokies have reached the NCAA tournament for the fourth straight year, but they have never made it to a regional final. Hoffman hopes this year will be different.

She and the Hokies want to advance all the way to the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City -- the site of that stunning upset in March.

"We know we can do it," Hoffman said. "We've been to Oklahoma City once. We want to go again."