In the region: Virginia Tech falls to N.C. State 3-1 in ACC softball semifinal

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Caitlin Dent hit a two-run homer to lead second-seeded North Carolina State to a 3-1 win over sixth-seeded Virginia Tech in an ACC softball semifinal Friday.

Tech's Dani Anderson hit an RBI single in the fifth to tie the score at 1, but Dent homered in the bottom of the inning.

The Hokies loaded the bases in the seventh, but Kylie McGoldrick lined out to left field and Bailey Liddle struck out to end the game.

Emily Weiman pitched a six-hitter for State (32-18-1).

The Hokies (35-19) might get an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament Sunday night.

BASEBALL

Virginia 6, Duke 5

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Nick Howard scored on an RBI-single by Nate Irving to cap No. 7 Virginia's three-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning.

The Cavaliers (40-8, 18-7) scored first as Joe McCarthy hit a two-run single in the first inning. Andy Perez and Kenny Koplove each hit a two-run home run for Duke (25-24, 9-16), with Koplove's giving Duke a 4-2 lead

Virginia trailed 5-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning, but Brandon Downes tripled and scored on a wild pitch to start the rally. Derek Fisher singled before the game was put on hold for a rain delay. After a single by Howard, Reed Gragnani singled to bring in the tying run.

Nathan Kirby earned the win with 2⁄ 3 of an inning of relief, allowing one hit. Andrew Istler was tagged with the loss after giving up five hits in 1⁄ 3 of an inning in relief.

Virginia starter Brandon Waddell pitched 6 1⁄ 3 innings, striking out six and giving up four runs on five hits. Trent Swart went eight innings for Duke, giving up five hits and striking out six.

Virginia was without starting shortstop Branden Cogswell, who will miss two weeks with a fractured middle finger on his right hand. Cogswell injured the finger on his throwing hand during practice. SOFTBALL

Coastal Carolina 3, Radford 2

ROCK HILL, S.C. - Ashley Bagwell pitched a six-hitter as the top-seeded Chanticleers (35-21) eliminated the fourth-seeded Highlanders (20-36) from the Big South tournament.

Radford went 0-2 in the tournament.

Becky Mantel hit a two-run homer to give Radford a 2-1 lead in the third. But Coastal answered with two runs in the fifth on Cacia Pierre's sacrifice fly and Jazmin Diagle's RBI single.

Radford had two runners on base in the seventh, but Megan Honaker grounded out to end the game.

WOMEN'S LACROSSE

Virginia 12, Penn 6

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Casey Bocklet's four goals led 12th-seeded Virginia to a win over 14th-seeded Penn in a first-round game of the NCAA Tournament at Georgetown University.

Penn (11-6) tied Virginia (10-9) 4-4 with 3:12 remaining in the first half, but the Cavaliers went on to score the next seven goals to take a commanding lead.

Liza Blue added three goals for Virginia and Caroline McTiernan added two. The Cavaliers out-shot the Quakers 30-20 in the game.

Nina Corcoran and Caroline Bunting led Penn with two goals and two assists each.

With the win, Virginia will face six-seed Georgetown at 1 p.m. Sunday.

MEN'S TENNIS

UVa 4, Fairleigh Dickinson 0

CHARLOTTESVILLE - The Cavaliers (25-0) needed less than two hours to beat the Knights (9-8) in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Alex Domijan and Mac Styslinger won in both singles and doubles.

Virginia Tech 4, Michigan 2

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Hokies (16-9) beat the 22nd-ranked Wolverines (16-10) in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Tech freshman Joao Monteiro won 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 to tie the match at 2. Freshman Andreas Bjerrehus won 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-4 to give Tech a 3-2 lead. Lucas Oliveira won 6-1, 6-4 to clinch the team's victory.

WOMEN'S TENNIS

Washington and Lee 5, Methodist 1

ATLANTA - The 16th-ranked Generals (19-7) beat the Monarchs (20-3) in the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament.

Sonja Meighan and Chelsea Mixon recorded wins in both singles and doubles.

WOMEN'S GOLF

Virginia in 13th at NCAA East Regional

AUBURN, Ala. - No. 13 Virginia's women's golf team finished in 13th place in the second round of the NCAA East Regional Championship.

Virginia followed an opening round score of 300 with a 298, led by Brittany Altomare's 71. Altomare is tied for 15th with a two-day score of 143.

To advance to the NCAA Championships, the Cavaliers must finish in the top eight and need to make up a 12-stroke deficit to finish in the top eight.

Blacksburg grad competes in NCAA

NORMAN, Okla. - Blacksburg graduate Courtney Ellenbogen carded a three-over-par 75 on day two of the NCAA Central Regional to help Duke to a second-place finish after two rounds.

Ellenbogen is tied for 30th with a 148 and Duke has a team score of 575, six strokes back of first-place host Oklahoma.

GOLF

Virginia Beach tandem leads VSGA Four-Ball

NEWPORT NEWS - Virginia Beach residents Wes Smith and Matt Hopkins combined for an 8-under-par 62 on Friday to take the first-round lead in the 48th VSGA Four-Ball Championship at James River Country Club.

Two teams, including 2008 winners Roger Newsom and Robert Bradshaw are tied for second, two shots back. Martinsville's Keith Decker and partner Scott Shingler of Haymarket are among four teams tied for fourth at 65. Included in the quartet is the team of former Martinsville pro Jerry Wood and Larry Loving Jr. of Richmond.

TRACK & FIELD

Host Cavaliers open strongly

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Virginia's Jordan Lavender, Moira Cronin and Abbey Karin each earned first-place finishes in the first day of the Virginia Challenge.

Lavender finished first in the 200 meters with a time of 23.96 seconds, Cronin finished first in the high jump at 6 feet, and Abbey Karin took the javelin with a distance of 172-07.

Also for Virginia, Peyton Chaney finished second in the 200 m at 24.02 and Pearl Bickersteth finished third in the high jump at 5-8 ¾.

Radford's Curtis Hodge took first in the men's hammer throw with a distance of 190-07.

Schultze breaks Tech record

Virginia Tech's Martina Schultze broke her own school record in the pole vault Thursday night at the Roanoke/Virginia Tech Twilight meet at Roanoke College.

She had a vault of 14 feet, 4 inches.

The Hokies won 10 events, with Elizabeth Powell winning the 200 and the long jump.

Lord Botetourt graduate Alexis Janney of Roanoke College broke the meet record in the 100 (12.42 seconds). W&L's Dillon Myers broke the meet record in the men's javelin (193-8).

Radford's Wyatt qualifies

ATLANTA - Radford's Vincent Wyatt qualified for today's 110-meter hurdles finals with a time of 13.99 seconds in Friday's preliminaries at the Georgia Tech Invitational.

ETC.

W&L sweeps ODAC awards

W&L wound up with the ODAC's best overall athletic program in the 2012-13 school year, winning all three ODAC Commissioner's Cups after finishing atop the men's, women's and overall points standings.

Points were awarded based on the ODAC regular-season standings in sports such as football and based on the ODAC team championships for sports such as tennis. W&L won the overall title for the 11th straight year and the women's title for the 10th straight year.

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