Virginia
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.
Related Links
Virginia Tech Softball: Hokies Earn The No. 2 Seed In The Tuscaloosa Region
NCAA Softball Tournament: Bracket Setup for Round of 64
ACC Quarterback Rankings: Where is Virginia Tech QB Kyron Drones in the New 247Sports Rankings?
BRISTOL, Va. (WCYB) — Crews put out a house fire in Bristol, Virginia, on Wednesday morning, according to officials.
The Bristol, Virginia Fire Department was dispatched at 3:09 a.m. for the fire in the 900 block of Vermont Avenue. The house was unoccupied at the time fire crews arrived on the scene.
Firefighters encountered heavy smoke and flames in the front of the house. They were able to quickly extinguish the fire under challenging conditions. The fire scene remains active and an investigation is underway. No injuries have been reported.
Powerball, Mega Millions jackpots: What to know in case you win
Here’s what to know in case you win the Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot.
Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
The Virginia Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at June 2, 2026, results for each game:
Mega Millions
Mega Millions drawings take place every week on Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m.
15-26-43-48-60, Mega Ball: 12
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 3
DAY drawing at 1:59 p.m. NIGHT drawing at 11 p.m. each day.
Night: 4-5-7, FB: 9
Day: 8-7-6, FB: 5
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 4
DAY drawing at 1:59 p.m. NIGHT drawing at 11 p.m. each day.
Night: 7-0-6-5, FB: 8
Day: 1-1-9-0, FB: 1
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 5
DAY drawing at 1:59 p.m. NIGHT drawing at 11 p.m. each day.
Night: 2-9-1-0-4, FB: 0
Day: 5-9-4-1-7, FB: 0
Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Cash Pop
Drawing times: Coffee Break 9 a.m.; Lunch Break 12 p.m.; Rush Hour 5 p.m.; Prime Time 9 p.m.; After Hours 11:59 p.m.
Coffee Break: 10
After Hours: 14
Prime Time: 04
Rush Hour: 13
Lunch Break: 06
Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.
Millionaire for Life
Drawing everyday at 11:15 p.m.
16-33-41-50-52, Bonus: 01
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Center for Community Journalism (CCJ) editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Virginia
First boat to Bermuda wins — Virginia man prepares for 753-mile voyage from Annapolis – WTOP News
Kevin Sherwood’s boat is one of 21 in this year’s Annapolis to Bermuda Oceans Race, or A2B, which dates back to 1979.
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DC-area man hopes to race from Annapolis to Bermuda by boat
The boat that Kevin Sherwood of Springfield, Virginia, bought is still in dry dock as he makes final repairs and preparations ahead of the whole reason he bought the “Bay Retriever” in the first place.
If all goes as planned, he’ll get it in the water Wednesday, and starting at noon on Friday, he’ll be heading south down the Chesapeake Bay on a 753-mile voyage to Bermuda.
Sherwood’s boat is one of 21 in this year’s Annapolis to Bermuda Oceans Race, or A2B, which dates back to 1979. He’ll be joined by a crew of four others in a race he said is among the most challenging on the East Coast.
“I bought this boat in 2022 specifically for the Bermuda race,” Sherwood said. “Since I bought this, everything we’ve done has been prepping for it.
“Plenty of sailors never leave the Chesapeake. It’s very different when we’re dealing with ocean waves, ocean weather, all kinds of different conditions. So, the boat really needs to be set up for it.”
The bay, being both relatively shallow and surrounded by land, can make for ideal sailing; if something still goes wrong, help isn’t far away.
Heading out in the blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean to an island more than 600 miles off the coast can present more difficult circumstances. Yet, if you go on the race’s website, you’ll see a long list of people hoping to get picked up by a boat to help take part.
“We’re out of rescue range for a portion of the trip. They’ll ask a passing freighter to come help you if you have a problem,” Sherwood said. “We are on our own out there.”
Some boats will have full galleys available to help cook meals for the crew. But Sherwood’s vessel, being smaller, has been stocking up on food and water from the grocery store.
He and the crew will take turns sailing and resting in the cabin down below. A “leak loss” — imagine a hammock, more or less — will catch anyone if the boat leans one way while they’re sleeping, lest they fall to the floor.
Of course, that assumes they’ll have strong winds and waves. Sherwood, who has done this race twice before, said that’s not always the case.
“My first Bermuda race, we had plenty of nothing going on,” he said. For two days, the winds were so calm Sherwood’s team was “barely making two knots.”
Two years ago, he saw more clouds than stars and sun, and waves were running 12-15 feet high.
“The last couple of races we haven’t seen many sunsets because of clouds, fog, rain, that sort of thing,” Sherwood said. “But when you are out there all alone and just the stars, it’s incredibly detached. There’s really nowhere left in the country to get this isolated.”
Of course, having access to Starlink means there is some connection out on the water — though, if you’re on duty, you’re too focused to care. If you’re not, you’re probably resting.
“There’s definitely parts I’m going to hate,” he said. “There’s parts I’m going to be asking myself, ‘Why am I doing this? Why am I here?’ But it’s just such an awesome team sport. When I go off watch, I’m trusting the other guys to keep sailing, keep racing, to keep us safe, to keep the boat moving fast. We get to detach from the world.”
(WTOP/John Domen)
WTOP/John Domen
(WTOP/John Domen)
WTOP/John Domen
For how long is anyone’s guess. Weather and winds will determine the time it takes to get there.
“If conditions are amazing, we’ll get in on Tuesday,” he said. “If conditions are great, Wednesday. If they’re average, Thursday, and if they’re terrible, Friday.”
Those following from home can track Sherwood and everyone else in the race online. Whenever he arrives, he said workers on the docks will have a “Dark n’ Stormy” — one of Bermuda’s national drinks — waiting for them.
He’ll also be hoping to be handed a trophy he can sail back with, but that’s not the most important thing right now.
“There’s a point of pride just for completing this; 753 miles of ocean sailing is a big deal,” he said.
“So, yeah, I mean, I want to do well, but my first goal is just to make it back here safely in two and a half weeks. My next goal is to make it to Bermuda safely. Then my third goal is to finish well and get a podium finish again.”
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