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ON THE DIAMOND
The Virginia Tech softball team travels to Jacksonville, Florida, for a tournament hosted by the University of North Florida. The Hokies open the event on Friday at 10 a.m. against Jacksonville State and then take on in-state rival James Madison at 2:30 p.m. On Saturday, the Hokies play Maine at 10 a.m., and then take on the host Ospreys at 2:30 p.m. On Sunday, Tech plays Jacksonville State at 12:15 p.m.

FACILITY AND TICKET INFO
All of the games this weekend will take place at the UNF Softball Complex. To see the stadium on a map, click here. Admission is free and fans will be able to park in Lot 18 which is located behind the Baseball/Softball complex.

Here’s the tournament site.

IN THE SUNSHINE STATE
Virginia Tech has played 172 games in Florida since its inception as a varsity sport in 1996 and the Hokies sport a 102-70 all-time record in the Sunshine State. The last time Tech played in Florida was last year over Spring Break, posting a 3-4 record.

THE WEEKEND FORECAST
Here’s the early weekend forecast for Jacksonville, Florida. Be sure to follow Virginia Tech softball on Twitter (@VT_Softball) for any potential schedule changes this weekend due to the weather.

YEAR NO. 20
Scot Thomas is in his 20th season at the helm of the maroon and orange. He enters this weekend with a record of 694-453. In his career, he has led the Hokies to a berth in the Women’s College World Series (2008), two ACC titles (2007, 2008), seven NCAA bids (2005-2008, 2012-2014), eight conference championship games and a win over the U.S. National Team (2008) and the Dutch National Team (2012).

BOMBS AWAY
The Hokies broke out the big sticks in a big way last weekend, blasting 11 home runs in five games. That total is amongst the tops in the nation after one weekend. Four players - Breanna Davenport, Vanessa Gonzalez, Kylie McGoldrick and Kelsey Mericka all had two last weekend while Elizabeth Birle, Lauren Gaskill and Michelle Prong each had one.

SCOUTING JACKSONVILLE STATE
Jacksonville State is off to a 4-1 start, losing only to Mercer last weekend. Cadi Oliver and Melanie Steer are off to hot starts after one weekend of play for an offense that is hitting .309 with six home runs and seven stolen bases. Oliver is hitting .571 with two home runs while Steer is batting .545. Four pitchers each threw over seven innings last weekend. Taylor West started three of the five games, but only threw 8.2 innings. She is 1-0 with a 5.65 ERA and nine strikeouts.

The Hokies are 2-0 all-time against the Gamecocks, last playing in 2013, a 5-1 win in Kennesaw, Georgia.

JSU’s 2015 stats
JSU’s 2015 roster

SCOUTING JAMES MADISON
James Madison will be the Hokies’ toughest opponent in any of the early season tournaments as the Dukes are the two-time defending Colonial Athletic Association champions who advanced to the regional finals last year, going 45-10. The Dukes will open up this weekend, but return one of the best 1-2 punches in college softball. All-American Jailyn Ford went 24-7 with a 1.26 ERA and 233 in 228.2 innings while Heather Kiefer went 20-8 with a 2.04 ERA in 161.2 innings. The Dukes do lose their top hitter from a year ago, but return catcher Erica Field, who hit .306 last season. Ford hit nine home runs last year and Taylor Newton hit eight, both of whom return.

Tech leads the series with JMU 9-4, but the Dukes have won the past three games, including a sweep of Tech in Blacksburg last season. The two will also play a doubleheader in Harrisonburg on April 29.

JMU’s 2014 stats
JMU’s 2015 roster

SCOUTING MAINE
Maine kicks off its 2015 this weekend in Jacksonville and the Black Bears are coming off an 18-19 season. Jessica Burke and EmJ Fogel, both Virginia products, led Maine last year with .384 and .307 batting averages, respectively. Burk was a first-team selection to the all-conference team and Fogel earned all-region third-team honors. Erin Bogdanovich is the top returning pitcher. She went 4-9 as a freshman with a 2.96 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 85.0 innings.

Tech is just 1-4 all-time against the Black Bears. The two last met in 2009 with the Hokies winning 4-1 in Chattanooga, but falling 4-1 in nine innings later that season in Conway, South Carolina. The other three meetings came in 1998 and 1997, Tech’s first years as a program.

Maine’s 2014 stats
Maine’s 2015 roster

SCOUTING NORTH FLORIDA
UNF is off to a hot start at 5-0 and are coming off of a sweep of the Troy Invitational this past weekend. Senior Kayla Goff and junior Stacy McClelland earned the first pair of A-Sun Weekly Awards, with Goff being named Pitcher of the Week and McClelland earning Player of the Week. McClelland led the bats this weekend, hitting .409 with two home runs, two doubles, nine RBIs, and a slugging percentage of .773. Goff’s total stats for the weekend include three wins, two complete-game shutouts, 20 strikeouts, no earned runs and an opposing batting average of .190.

Tech is 2-0 all-time against the Ospreys, taking a pair of wins (3-1, 5-3) in 2013 in Troy, Alabama.

UNF’s 2015 stats
UNF’s 2015 roster

PRESEASON ACC POLL
The ACC coaches voted the Hokies fourth in the 2015 Preseason Coaches’ Poll, released in early February. Florida State is the preseason favorite, according to the coaches, followed by Notre Dame, NC State, Tech, Louisville, North Carolina, Syracuse, Georgia Tech, Boston College, Pitt and Virginia.

The ACC is an 11-team league with the addition of Louisville coming in for Maryland. Notre Dame, Pitt and Syracuse joined the conference last year. Only the top eight teams in the league standings will make the conference tournament at Virginia Tech in May.

TECH SOFTBALL PARK
Tech Softball Park, home of Virginia Tech softball since 1998, has been a tough place for opposing teams to play over the years. Nearly 800 permanent seats have been added, along with lights, two more press boxes, a video board and a new sound system, making the facility a fine one for the Hokies to play. Currently, the capacity is 1,024 for games. Over the years, Tech has posted a 204-85 record at home.

UP NEXT
Next weekend, the Hokies will head to Greenville, North Carolina, to participate in a tournament hosted by East Carolina University. Tech is schedule to take on Seton Hall, Lafayette and the host Pirates.

RANDOM STATS AND NOTES
Career Grand Slams (active)
K. Mericka vs. Wagner, 2/24/12
L. Gaskill vs. Liberty, 5/1/12
K. McGoldrick vs. Long Beach St., 3/7/13
K. Smith vs. Syracuse, 5/8/14

Career Walk-Off Home Runs (active)
Katey Smith vs. Ball State, 2/18/14 - solo home run in B7 to win 5-4
Elizabeth Birle vs. North Carolina, 3/1/14 - solo home run in B7 to win 4-3

Career Games Started - by position (active)
L. Gaskill: 189 total - 122 CF; 67 SS
K. McGoldrick: 180 total - 180 2B
L. Spaw: 123 total - 123 DP
B. Liddle: 102 total - 72 1B; 20 P; 4 RF; 5 DP
K. Mericka: 90 total - 79 3B; 8 C; 5 DP
K. Smith: 69 total - 64 C; 4 DP, 1 1B
V. Gonzalez: 65 total - 64 LF, 1 CF
K. Heinz: 55 total - 55 P
M. Tyler: 41 total - 41 P
E. Birle: 22 total - 14 1B; 8 DP
M. Prong: 22 total - 9 DP; 11 RF; 1 3B; 1 LF
B. Davenport: 5 total - 4 CF, 1 LF
K. Ota: 4 total - 3 LF; 1 DP
C. Schoenewald: 2 total - 2 RF
M. Aiken: 2 total - 1 P, 1 DP

Hokies by States (21)
Virginia: 7
New Jersey: 3
California: 2
Florida: 2
Pennsylvania: 2
Georgia: 1
Michigan: 1
Missouri: 1
New York: 1
North Carolina: 1

Hokies by Class (21)
Seniors: 5 (1 redshirt)
Juniors: 5 (2 redshirt)
Sophomores: 3
Freshmen: 8

Walk-Off Home Runs in Program History (14)
Bronwyn Blair vs. Charlotte, 3/25/98 - two-run home run in B8 to win 8-6
Tiffany Hurt vs. Radford, 2/21/01 - two-run home run in B7 to win 2-0
Amy Voorhees vs. Connecticut, 3/31/01 - solo home run in B10 to win 3-2
Megan Evans vs. Seton Hall, 5/5/02 - solo home run in B9 to win 1-0
Megan Evans vs. Virginia, 4/27/04 - grand slam in B8 to win 6-3
Stephanie Savre vs. Georgia Tech, 4/23/05 - grand slam in B7 to win 9-5
Caroline Stolle vs. Winthrop, 5/5/05 - solo home in B7 to win 2-1
Stephanie Savre vs. Radford, 3/1/06 - two-run home run in B9 to win 3-2
Beth Walker vs. North Carolina, 4/26/08 - three-run home run in B10 to win 5-2
Misty Hall vs. Louisville, 5/16/08 (NCAA Regionals) - solo home run in B7 to win 1-0
Jessica Everhart vs. Appalachian State, 2/21/09 - three-run home run in B8 to win 5-4
Misty Hall vs. Florida State, 4/17/10 - solo home run in B7 to win 5-4
Marra Hvozdovic vs. Western Michigan, 3/8/09 - solo home run in B7 to win 1-0
Betty Rose vs. Cornell, 3/20/12 - grand slam in B7 to win 8-4
Katey Smith vs. Ball State, 2/18/14 - solo home run in B7 to win 5-4
Elizabeth Birle vs. North Carolina, 3/1/14 - solo home run in B7 to win 4-3

Pinch-Hit Home Runs (8)
April Ellenberger vs. LaSalle, 4/29/00 - three-run home run
Heather Todd vs. St. Bonaventure, 5/7/00 - two-run home run
Beth Walker vs. Minnesota, 2/25/06 - two-run home run
Beth Walker at Radford, 2/28/07 - two-run home run
Stephanie Kujawa at Virginia, 4/15/11 - two-run home run
Jessica McNamara at Radford, 4/23/13 - solo home run
Jessica McNamara at UNC Greensboro, 2/18/14 - two-run home run
Michelle Prong at Coastal Carolina, 2/7/15 - two-run home run

Tech’s official record book, which includes game, season and career records, along with all of the no-hitters and perfect games in program history, can be found here.

For updates on Virginia Tech softball, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_Softball