Virginia Tech softball adds another set of awards following the 2022 season. The Hokies swept all four major awards on the 2022 VaSID All-State University Division Softball team. The listing was announced by the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID), earlier today.
The Hokies’ Emma Ritter was named VaSID Player of the Year, the first Hokie since Jenna Rhodes in 2009 to earn the honor. Keely Rochard was named VaSID Pitcher of the Year, picking up her second state pitcher of the year honor and first since 2020. Pete D’Amour was voted VaSID Softball Coach of the Year, while Hokies’ pitcher Emma Lemley was named VaSID Rookie of the Year. The Hokies have had the VaSID Rookie of the Year three out of the last four years, beginning with Kelsey Bennett in 2019, Kaylee Hewitt in 2020 and Lemley this season.
This year saw Virginia Tech rise to as high as No. 2 in the national polls this season, before hosting Regionals and Super Regionals for the first time in program history while earning the No. 3 national seed. This is the third time that one school has swept all four major awards in the VaSID All-State University Division Softball Team, as James Madison also did so in 2015 and 2021.
Ritter was named an NFCA All-America Third Team selection while also earning First Team NFCA All-Region and First Team ACC honors. She batted .400 on the season, leading the team with a .661 slugging percentage and .474 on base percentage. The sophomore also contributed four triples, 11 doubles, eight home runs and 40 RBI. Striking out six times, she led the ACC and ranked 12th in the nation as toughest to strikeout. She ranked second in the ACC in batting average (.400) and third in stolen bases (23).
For the second year in a row, Rochard was named both ACC Pitcher of the Year and a First Team NFCA All-American. She was a USA Softball Player of the Year Top-10 Finalist, finishing the season with a 26-4 record, 1.89 ERA, 328 strikeouts, six saves, six shutouts and a .174 opponents’ batting average. Rochard ranked fourth nationally in strikeouts, fifth in both saves and strikeouts per seven innings (11.3) and ninth in victories. She concluded her career with the highest career winning percentage in program history (.802) while finishing second all-time at Virginia Tech in career strikeouts (1,120), strikeouts per seven innings (9.8), opponents’ batting average (.170) and saves (9).
Lemley caps an impressive freshman season of honors with the VaSID Rookie of the Year. Her honors this season include: ACC Freshman of the Year, First Team All-ACC, First Team NFCA All-Region, ACC All-Freshman Team and NFCA/Schutt Sports Division I Freshman of the Year Top-3 Finalist. She helped provide a dominant 1-2 punch in the circle, as Lemley went 16-6 with a 2.12 ERA, six shutouts, three saves, 212 strikeouts and a .186 opponent batting average. Lemley finished the season ranked ninth nationally in strikeouts per seven innings (10.7). The freshman went 6-2 with two saves and three shutouts in ACC play.
D’Amour and his staff guided the Hokies to a 46-10 overall record, including 14 wins over Top 25 programs. The Hokies went 21-2 in conference play, earning their second ACC regular-season title in the last four years. Virginia Tech advance to the Super Regionals for the second year in a row, serving as the No. 3 national seed and hosting both the Regional and Super Regional rounds. For the second year in a row, Virginia Tech earned NFCA Mid-Atlantic Regional Coaching Staff of the Year, while D’Amour was named ACC Coach of the Year.
Along with the four major awards, Cameron Fagan, Bre Peck and Meredith Slaw also made the All-State First Team. Fagan made 55 starts at second base, recording 65 hits on the season with a .351 batting average and five doubles. At DP, Slaw posted an OPS of 1.005 with nine home runs and a .621 slugging. Rounding out the First Team at third base, Peck led the Hokies with 11 home runs, finishing her rookie season with 34 RBI and eight doubles.
