RU’s Fisher Big South softball player of week
Radford University junior outfielder Sydney Fisher was named the Big South Conference softball player of the week, the conference announced Wednesday.
Fisher went 9-for-15 (.600) at the plate last week with a double and two runs driven in through five games. She helped carry Radford to a 5-0 record including a pair of wins over Delaware, which entered with a 12-3 record.
She scored six runs and had a .667 slugging percentage. She drew four walks and stole five bases, both team highs for the week. The Appling, Ga., native tallied three multi-hit games and continued her now 10-game hit streak. She got a good start to the weekend with a 3-for-3 in the opener against Delaware.
It’s Fisher’s second conference weekly honor of her career and first for any Highlander this season.
Tech spring game on ACC Network
The Virginia Tech Athletics Department confirmed on Thursday that Tech’s 2020 spring game will be televised exclusively on ACC Network on a tape-delayed basis at 10:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 18. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. earlier that day. Further details about the 2020 spring game and other events on the Virginia Tech campus that weekend will be announced once finalized.
The ACC Network will televise a total of 10 spring games beginning with a triple-header on Saturday, April 4. Tech’s contest on April 18 will also close out a triple-header of ACC spring games being broadcast on that date.
Head coach Justin Fuente is expected to return 20 of 22 offensive and defensive starters for the 2020 campaign. Tech’s 2020 schedule features seven home games at Lane Stadium, kicking off with Liberty on Sept. 5 followed by Penn State on Sept. 12. The Hokies will play host to ACC foes Boston College, Georgia Tech, Miami and Virginia in 2020, as well as non-conference foe, North Alabama. Virginia Tech will seek to extend the nation’s longest active bowl streak to 28 consecutive seasons in 2020.
Hokies All-Academic
The starting five of Virginia Tech’s women’s basketball team — Taja Cole, Dara Mabrey, Aisha Sheppard, Lydia Rivers and Elizabeth Kitley all earned ACC Academic Team honors as announced Tuesday by the league. It was Mabry’s second consecutive inclusion on the academic team. The honor was the first for the rest of the Hokies,
Kozolova represents Ukraine
Virginia Tech women’s soccer player Nicole Kozlova is now in Murcia, Spain, with the Ukraine Women’s National team to take part in the Pinatar Cup.
The Pinatar Cup will run through March 11 with four teams participating. Each team is guaranteed to play three matches in the competition. Ukraine will return to action on Saturday, March 7, to face Northern Ireland. The team will wrap up the tournament against No. 18 Iceland on Tuesday, March 10.
Three out of the four teams in the cup find themselves ranked in the top 30 of the FIFA World Rankings: No. 27 Ukraine, No. 18 Iceland and No. 22 Scotland. The matches will serve as a warm-up for Ukraine before the team plays more qualifying matches in April for the 2021 Euros.
VT softball ranked 19
After a 4-1 weekend at the JU/UNF Spring Break Challenge, Virginia Tech softball remains No. 19 in the country in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll and falls one spot in the ESPN.com/USA Softball to No. 21.
No. 19/21 Tech (16-4) defeated Purdue twice, Jacksonville and Stony Brook in Jacksonville, Fla., this past weekend.