In the region: Virginia Tech tops Notre Dame in NCAA softball regional

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Virginia Tech scored three runs in the top of the fifth inning to erase a 3-1 deficit and give the Hokies a 4-3 win over Notre Dame on day one of the NCAA tournament.

Virginia Tech (35-19), the third seed in the Lexington Region, scored first as Kat Banks hit a solo home run in the top of the fourth inning.

Notre Dame (43-13), the second seed, answered with three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning as Lauren Stuhr singled to plate Monica Torres and a fielding error allowed Jackie Bowe to score.

Kylie McGoldrick was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Banks in the top of the fifth and the sophomore delivered two-run single to left field. A throwing error on the play allowed McGoldrick to score the eventual winning run.

Tech ran into trouble in the bottom of the seventh as Notre Dame tallied back-to-back singles with one out. Kelly Heinz induced a fly-out to center and struck out Laura Winter to end the game.

Heinz earned the win with 3 1⁄3 innings of relief, giving up just three hits and two walks.

Winter went seven innings for Notre Dame, scattering six hits and four walks.

Virginia Tech will play host Kentucky at 1 p.m. today.

BASEBALL

Virginia Tech 5, Wake Forest 3

BLACKSBURG - Andrew Rash crushed a towering three-run home run down the left-field line in the bottom of the eighth inning and Clark Labitan struck out Pat Blair with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth to preserve a comeback victory for the Hokies.

The victory gives Virginia Tech (35-19, 15-14) its fourth consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference series win for the first time since joining the league and its first 35-win season since 1999.

Tech opened the scoring in the fourth when Mark Zagunis singled home Chad Pinder. Wake Forest (28-27, 9-20) countered with three runs in the top of the sixth off Hokies starter Devin Burke with RBI hits from Charlie Morgan, Jack Carey and Conor Keniry.

Tech added a run in the bottom of the inning to reduce Wake's lead to 3-2 before the eighth-inning dramatics from Rash.

Tech releiver Jake Joyce (7-1) got the win pitching two innings of scoreless relief while Labitan notched his ninth save.

The series and regular season will conclude today at 2 p.m. on Senior Day at English Field.

North Carolina 8, Virginia 5

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - No. 2 North Carolina scored six runs in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Tar Heels clinched the ACC Coastal Division title with a comeback win over No. 7 Virginia.

The Cavaliers (44-9, 21-8) led 5-2 before the Tar Heels (47-7, 21-6) scored six runs on four hits, a walk and a hit batter.

Mike Zolk led Carolina with four RBIs on a double and a triple and Michael Russell tallied four hits on the day.

Derek Fisher led Virginia with four hits and Mike Papi and Brandon Downes each had a solo home run.

Chris McCue picked up the win with 2 1⁄3 innings of relief. Kyle Crockett was tagged with the loss, which was the first for the Cavaliers this season when leading after seven innings.

The regular season and series conclude today at 2 p.m.

Liberty 3, Radford 1

LYNCHBURG - The Flames scored two runs in the first inning and led throughout as they evened the series with the Highlanders.

Danny Grauer and Bryan Aanderud had an RBI-single each for Liberty (28-26, 12-11) in the first inning. Radford (29-23, 14-9) pulled to within one on a Josh Reavis single that scored Blake Sipe in the fifth inning. The Flames got that run back in the bottom of the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Cordell.

Brooks Roy earned the win for Liberty, giving up just five hits over seven innings. Michael Boyle was tagged with the loss, giving up three runs on five hits in five innings.

The two teams will close out the regular season today at 2 p.m.

High Point takes two from VMI

LEXINGTON - VMI dropped a pair of 6-2 decisions to High Point on Friday as the Panthers claimed the series.

In game one, High Point rallied from a 2-1 deficit with a five-run eighth inning that was highlighted by Kyle Brandenburg's two-run triple. Ray Lopez led VMI with three hits and an RBI. Sean Townsley picked up the win with 3 2⁄3 innings of relief.

Ryan Retz led High Point (28-27, 14-9) with three hits and two RBIs in game two as the Panthers tallied 15 hits. Rob Dickinson and Brandon Angus led VMI (20-34, 6-16) with two hits each. Jaime Schultz pitched seven innings for the win, striking out eight and giving up just three hits and three walks.

WOMEN'S TENNIS

Texas A&M 5, Virginia 0

URBANA, Ill. - No. 3 Texas A&M ended No. 14 Virginia's postseason run with a 5-0 win over the Cavaliers in the Round of 16 of the NCAA tournament.

The Aggies (24-3) picked up the doubles point and wins in the top four singles matches, clinched by Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar's 7-5, 6-2 win over Julia Elbaba in the No. 1 singles.

The Cavaliers finish the regular season at 19-10, though Elbaba will compete in the NCAA Singles Championship on May 22.

Maria Fuccillo, Hana Tomljanovic and Erin Vierra end their time in Charlottesville as the most successful class in program history, posting a 74-36 dual record and four NCAA tournaments berths.

MEN'S GOLF

Hokies in seventh in NCAA Regionals

PULLMAN, Wash. - Virginia Tech carded an even-par 288 on the second day of the NCAA Pullman Regional at the par-72 Palouse Ridge Golf Course to bring their two-round score to 11-under 565.

Virginia Tech is tied for seventh place with Ball State and sits two strokes back of fifth-place teams San Diego State and Pacific. In order for the Hokies to advance to the NCAA Championships in Atlanta, Tech needs to finish in the top five of the regional.

Bryce Chalkley leads the Hokies with back-to-back rounds of 3-under 69, giving him a total of 138. Chalkley is tied for eighth overall and is 12 strokes back of Southern California's Sam Smith for the lead.

California leads the overall team leaderboard at 541, with Southern California in second with 552.

Virginia moves to 10th in NCAA Regional

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Cavaliers shot a 10-over 294 to finish in 10th place after two rounds of the NCAA Columbus Regional at the par-71 Scarlet Course at the Ohio State Golf Club.

Virginia followed a 303 on Thursday to finish with a two-round score of 597. David Pastore led the Cavaliers for the second day in a row, carding a 1-over 72 to bring his two-round total to 145. Pastore is currently tied for 10th place.

Blacksburg graduate Jake Mondy fired a 1-under 70 to help Auburn to a 293 for the second day in a row. Mondy is tied for 10th with a two-day score of 145. Auburn is currently tied with Stanford for third place with a score of 586, two back of first place.

The top five teams from the regional advance to the NCAA Championships. Virginia is 10 strokes back of fifth place.

WOMEN'S GOLF

Hollins' Cheng finishes 12th at NCAA DII tournament

BAYTOWNE, Fla. - Hollins junior Elizabeth Cheng shot a final-round 79 at the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort on Friday and finished in a tie for 12th in the NCAA Division III golf championship.

It was the third straight round in the 70s for Cheng, who entered the day in 11th place after back-to-back 77s.

Cheng, the Old Dominion Athletic Conference women's golfer of the year, had the best showing ever for a Hollins golfer in the Division III tournament.

Mary Hardin-Baylor won the team championship by eight shots over the University of Texas-Tyler, which had the individual champion in Laura Lindsey.

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