SOUTH BEND, Ind. (theACC.com) – Virginia Tech defeated Louisville, 10-8, in Thursday’s second quarterfinal of the 2023 Atlantic Coast Conference Softball Championship at Melissa Cook Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. The fifth-seeded Hokies advance to the semifinals to face top-seeded Florida State on Friday at 11 a.m.

Two tournament records were broken on Thursday. The 18 combined runs scored marked a new ACC Softball Championship record for most runs in a game. The previous record was 17 runs on two occasions, between Maryland (9 runs) and North Carolina (8) in 2003 and Florida State (12) and Virginia (5) in 2011. The 26 hits between Louisville and Virginia Tech, who tallied 13 apiece, broke the record of 24, set in 1992 between Florida State (19 hits) and Virginia (5).

ACC Freshman of the Year Sarah Gordon drove in a run for Louisville to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.

The Hokies went on to score six in a row with Cameron Fagan’s three-run homer followed by Addy Greene’s solo shot in the third inning. Bre Peck and Kelsey Bennett extended Virginia Tech’s lead to 6-1 in the top of the fourth with consecutive solo home runs. 

The Cardinals chipped away at the lead in the bottom of the fourth when Hannah File hit the Cards’ first homer of the day – a two-run dinger - to make it 6-3.

Virginia Tech tacked on three more runs to push their lead to 9-3 before a five-run Louisville rally. Makayla Hurst pinch hit for the Cards and hit a two-run moon shot to left field before three consecutive RBI singles brought Louisville within one run, 9-8.

Peck doubled down the left field line and scored off a Bennett RBI single to push the Hokies’ lead back to two, 10-8.

Due to forecasted storms in the South Bend area, tomorrow's semifinal between Florida State and Virginia Tech has been moved up to 11 a.m. 
 
2023 ACC Softball Championship Schedule
Wednesday, May 10
Game 1: #9 Syracuse 8, #8 Virginia 2
Game 2: #10 Georgia Tech 8, #7 Notre Dame 1

Thursday, May 11
Game 3: #1 Florida State 4, #9 Syracuse 1
Game 4: #4 Louisville 10, #5 Virginia Tech 8
Game 5: #2 Duke vs. #10 Georgia Tech, 5 p.m., ACCN
Game 6: #3 Clemson vs. #6 North Carolina, 7:30 p.m., ACCN

Friday, May 12
Game 7: #1 Florida State vs. #5 Virginia Tech, 11 a.m., ACCN
Game 8: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 1:30 p.m., ACCN

Saturday, May 13
Game 9: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 1 p.m., ESPN2