Next week, the calendar changes to mid-May, and that can only mean one thing: It's time for the softball season to move on to the postseason. Virginia Tech opens the ACC Tournament on Thursday night at Duke University's campus in Durham, North Carolina.
The third-seeded Hokies will play sixth-seeded Georgia Tech at 7:30 p.m. If the top seeds make it to the quarterfinals, Virginia Tech and second-seeded Florida State could face off in the semifinals Friday afternoon.
After starting conference play 9-0, the Hokies found things getting tougher as the schedule got tougher, starting with a sweep by Duke in March. They finished 18-6 in conference play, including a 29-10 victory over the Yellow Jackets in Blacksburg in April.
If the Hokies take the field, their last game after an eight-day layoff will be a 4-1 win over Liberty on May 1. They enter the conference tournament with a 39-11-1 record after their weekend home doubleheader against Robert Morris was postponed.
This season, the Hokies have hit 112 home runs while opposing teams have hit just 35. Their order doesn't allow for many breaks and they tend to struggle against slower pitchers.
Losing 2 of 3 games to Syracuse in the last ACC series greatly diminished the Hokies' chances of hosting the NCAA Regional next weekend, but they have no choice but to win the ACC tournament or make it to Saturday's championship game. If he can participate in the tournament, he will be talked about again. It will be held as a national seed. The ACC is at the top of the standings and should be an interesting tournament over the next four days.
