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Virginia Tech Softball: Meet the Hokies’ Opponents in the 2025 Tuscaloosa Regional
The Hokies earned their spot in the tournament with an at-large ACC conference bid to take on the competition in the Tuscaloosa Regional.
Filling out the rest of the region are the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Jackson State Tigers, and the Belmont Bruins.
Tech is now a perfect six-for-six in making the NCAA tournament under the tenure of head coach Pete D’Amour, with the 2020 season not having a tournament. D’Amour has a regional tournament record of 12-7 in his six trips.
The Hokies dropped to an at-large placement with a loss in the ACC semifinals against the ultimate champions, the Clemson Tigers.
The Hokies are no strangers to Tuscaloosa, picking up a win against the Crimson Tide during the last week of February.
Headlining the Hokies’ offense is ACC Player of the Year Cori McMillan, who, alongside her teammate Emma Lemley, was selected in the first round of the Inaugural AUSL Draft.
Tech and Belmont open the Tuscaloosa Regional with a 3:30 p.m. EST matchup in Rhoads Stadium. Coverage will be available on ESPN+ as the Hokies look to return to the Supers for the third time in four seasons.
The Bruins earned their bid by winning the Missouri Valley Conference tournament–getting the automatic bid for doing so.
Following the matchup between the two-and-three seeds, the Tigers will step into the jungle of Bama at 6 p.m. EST.
Competition in the regionals can be cutthroat, with one team advancing out of a double-elimination pool of four top national programs.
Get to know the Hokies’ opponents:
Record: 37-21 (12-12 SEC)
Head Coach: Patrick Murphy
Notable Wins: Washington (5-1 on February 7, 7-3 on February 8), Virginia Tech (9-1 on February 23), Mississippi State (7-4 on March 14), Texas A&M (2-1 on March 22), Georgia (5-4 on March 29, 8-5 on March 30), LSU (8-5 on April 6), Oklahoma (6-1 on April 13, 2-1 on April 14), Florida (7-4 on April 17), South Carolina (13-1 on May 1).
Ace in the Circle: Jocelyn Briski
Alabama packs a tough 1-2 punch in the circle, but the sophomore Briski takes the ace role over the two-way Ole Miss transfer Catelyn Riley. Both have impressive pitching lines themselves, but where Briski shines is the strikeouts, nearly doubling Riley’s count with 110 K’s on the season. With a K rate of 18.5% and an opponent batting average of just .239–Briski is a good arm to sit behind in a regional.
Standout Slugger: Kali Heivilin
Heivilin, the senior, leads the Crimson Tide in most of the major slugging categories. First in team OPS (1.183), home runs (13), RBIs (42), and slugging percentage (.724). When Heivilin’s teammates reach base successfully in front of her, she looks to increase Alabama’s score with one swing of her scorching bat.
Record: 29-23 (15-9 SWAC)
Head Coach: Kevin Montgomery
Notable Wins: Bethune-Cookman (4-1 on March 7, 6-1 on April 26, 4-2 on May 4, and 8-0 on May 7), Alabama State (9-4 on March 21, 9-8 on March 22, 10-2 on April 12, and 2-1 on May 8), Florida A&M (5-4 on April 4, and 3-1 on May 11)
Ace in the Circle: Brooklyn Morris
Another solid duo in the circle puts another sophomore ahead as the ace. Morris leads the Tigers’ pitching squad in almost every category: ERA (3.53), WHIP (1.41), complete games (15), K’s (49), and opponent batting average (.286).
Standout Slugger: Jace Jackson
On the opposite side of the action for the Tigers, Jackson and her sophomore teammate Ka’Liyah Gipson square up evenly in all but one statistic, slugging. Where Gipson slaps around singles to get herself aboard, Jackson has more than double the home runs hit by any of her teammates. Showing her true slugging prowess, along with cracking triple digits for total bases on the year, a perfect 100 for a .671 slugging percentage.
Record: 40-14 (20-7 MVC)
Head Coach: Laura Matthews
Notable Wins: Arizona State (5-1 on February 15), Maryland (3-0 on February 28, and 9-1 on March 1), Southern Illinois (5-0 on March 28, and 6-2 on May 10), Bradley (8-3 on May 8), Northern Iowa (7-5 on March 9)
Ace in the Circle: Maya Johnson
The truest ace in the regional comes from the Bruins in the redshirt junior Johnson. Almost quadrupling the workload of the other arms besides her, it is clear why she leads Belmont in every pitching statistic. ERA (1.24), WHP (.62), complete games (23), K’s (355), and opponent batting average (.149).
Standout Slugger: Nicole Hughes
Being with the Bruins for three seasons now, Hughes offers the most balanced approach in the lineup. Leading the team in batting average (.359) and OPS (.947) while also notching a dozen doubles with a few home runs.
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In this world of college football, with the transfer portal and recruiting battles, bad blood is present more than ever before between head coaches.
That’s not the case between the Virginia Tech head coach and Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, however. In fact, Franklin revealed at ACC Kickoff on Thursday that the two are actually close friends, dating back to their time at the Nike trip that various coaches take over the summer.
“Dabo’s my guy,” Franklin said on Thursday. “We go way back. We’ve been on the Nike trip for a long time. His wife and my wife are friends.”
The long-time Penn State head coach is making the move to the ACC after being fired from the Nittany Lions in October. 12 seasons of being with the program had Franklin hold a 44-21 record against top 10 opponents, an impressive record for a new conference foe of Swinney’s.
But when that trip comes around, there’s a camaraderie between Swinney and Franklin and both of their wives. In fact, the two hang out with each other instead of the other coaches at times. It simply comes to an “edgy” time in college athletics that raises tempers.
“I’m going to be honest, I wouldn’t say we’re necessarily like the type of people that love a lot of other coaches and a lot of other programs,” Franklin said. “It’s hard when you just compete year-round.”
On Swinney’s end, there are a few who could immediately come to mind among Clemson fans. Perhaps the most recent would be Ole Miss coach Pete Golding, who played the most significant role in the tampering of former linebacker Luke Ferrelli.
It’s a select list of coaches who make the good side of the Tigers’ head coach, and Franklin is certainly on that list. On the other hand, Hokies’ head coach has Swinney on his own shortlist.
“Obviously, tremendous respect for what he has built at Clemson and what he’s done at Clemson, and what he’s done for the ACC,” he said.
The two will see that close relationship face off at Memorial Stadium this upcoming season. Clemson will host the Hokies on Oct. 24 in what could be a potential title-eliminator for the ACC Championship.
Of course, the last game that we’ve seen the Tigers play in was against Franklin’s former team in Penn State at the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl. That game ended in a 22-10 contest that saw a foundation of Franklin players end Clemson’s season in disappointment.
Swinney will see many of those players once again in October, including starting quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer, in that contest. The anticipated Hokie starter recorded 260 yards and two passing touchdowns on the Tigers in the Bronx that day.
Although friends become foes, another ACC coach has given Swinney his flowers for what he’s been able to do for the conference. In the upcoming moments, Franklin will look to prepare his team to prove itself on one of the biggest stages in the ACC, while Swinney looks to put his team back at the top of a conference he’s dominated for over 15 years.
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MARTINSVILLE, Va. (WSET) — Extreme drought conditions in parts of Virginia have prompted an emergency drought warning for a wide swath of the region, including Bedford, Campbell, Charlotte, Franklin, Halifax, Henry, Mecklenburg, Patrick, Pittsylvania and Roanoke counties, along with the cities of Danville, Roanoke, Salem and Martinsville.
The governor has warned that if conditions worsen, she will activate mandatory nonessential water-use restrictions.
In Martinsville, city leaders have issued a voluntary water conservation notice and are urging residents and businesses to cut back where they can. The request comes as local businesses that rely heavily on water say the drought is already affecting day-to-day operations.
SEE ALSO: Botetourt County residents adjust daily routines as voluntary water restriction continues
John Hughes, owner of John’s Car Wash, said the dry conditions have hit his business hard in recent weeks. “For the last 3 weeks, it’s been hitting pretty hard. We done three yesterday and haven’t done anything today with the drought and hot weather. Yeah, I’m really concerned about it,” Hughes said.
Restaurants are also feeling the strain. David Kitzmiller, an owner of Be Wiched, said water is essential for routine tasks such as washing dishes and preparing some menu items.
“We use a lot of water for washing dishes and some of our recipes if they limit us in anyway defiently can’t produce and its a scary aspect,” Kitzmiller said.
Kitzmiller added that cutting back is not always realistic for businesses that must meet sanitation needs. “Not really feasible for a business that depends solely relies on water to wash their dishes, so that can’t definitely be an impact there,” he said.
City leaders emphasized that the conservation request is voluntary for now, but they are encouraging everyone to do their part by taking shorter showers, turning off the faucet when it is not in use, washing only full loads of laundry, and limiting outdoor watering whenever possible.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Five people were charged after Virginia Beach Police conducted a two-day human trafficking and vice operation on July 3, according to the Virginia Beach Police Department.
The department’s Special Investigations Bureau conducted the operation, which was aimed at identifiying human trafficking victims, reducing the demand for commercial sex and targeting individuals seeking to exploit or recruit children for prostitution.
Detectives used many investigative techniques to proactively identify individuals involved in criminal activity related to prostitution, human trafficking and offenses against children. The operation was conducted in Virginia Beach, involving personnel from all of the bureau’s squads.
As a result of the operation, five people were identified and charged with offenses ranging from solicitation of prostitution to sex trafficking and crimes involving minors. Two vehicles and U.S. currency were seized during the operation. Other people were connected to victim services through Samaritan House.
The operation led to the following people being charged:
- Shane Carter, 28, of Norfolk, was charged with solicitation of prostitution.
- Robert Harris, 64, of Virginia Beach, was charged with solicitation of prostitution and assault and battery.
- Larry Pittman, 53, of Portsmouth, was charged with sex trafficking and use of electronic devices to facilitaate certain offenses involving minors.
- Kenric Frazier, 46, of Portsmouth, was charged with sex trafficking, use of electronic devices to facilitate certain offenses involving minors and solicitation of child pornography.
- Cameron Lewis, 24, of Norfolk, was charged with solicitation of prostitution.
Investigators also developed leads about people who are suspected of trafficking and exploiting others for commercial sex. Those are now active and ongoing investigations. There may be more charges and arrests pending further investigation and consultation with the Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.
If you’re a human trafficking victim or know someone who is, you can report it to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
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