Hokies Cap Off Series Sweep of Stanford with McMIllan Walk-Off Homer

By Kyle Marchak

McMillan trots home after walk-off home run in game three versus No. 16 Stanford (Photo courtesy of Virginia Tech Athletics)

BLACKSBURG, Va -- Radford transfer Cori McMillan joined the Virginia Tech Hokies' core of sluggers in 2024 as a premier power hitter out of the Big South. She proceeded to hit a single-season record 21 home runs.

Now in her second season in a Virginia Tech uniform, McMillan hit her 35th in a Hokie uniform, and her first walk-off dinger in her career - a monumental dead-center blast to clinch the series sweep in No. 12 Virginia Tech Softball's (24-6, 8-4 ACC) first ever meeting in softball against No. 16 Stanford (28-5, 8-4 ACC).

2025 is the first NCAA softball season with a new-look ACC. Alongside SMU and Cal, the ACC added historic softball powerhouse Stanford. A program led by Head Coach Jessica Allister, the Cardinal have been to back-to-back Women's College World Series.

And they looked poised to make a similar run, not losing to a ranked team in 2025... Until they paid a visit to Blacksburg.

Virginia tech managed one-run victories in games one and two, spearheaded by a three different multi-run innings by the Hokies' offense in their series-opening triumphs. They had a three-run fourth inning in their game one 4-3 win, and a five-run and two-run explosion in the third and fifths frames of game two.

McMillan, on the other hand, had been unusually quiet until game three. The All-ACC outfielder has a knack for hitting on the first pitch, but Stanford's expert pitchers Kylie Chung and Alyssa Houston induced four different first-pitch pop outs from McMillans in the first two contests.

Going down 2-0 to Stanford through three innings in game three, it looked like McMillan and the Hokie bats would finally quiet down.

"There's never any quit - ever," Virginia Tech Head Coach Pete D'Amour said.

Junior catcher Kylie Aldridge sparked the offense first with a two-run jack in the bottom of the fourth.

McMillan continued the carousel with a two-run single to cap off a four-run fourth inning.

Stanford - like they had all series - fought back. They counterpunched with a three-run top of the fifth on a five-hit inning.

Virginia Tech mustered one run in the fifth, and the newfound ACC foes entered the bottom of the seventh knotted up at 5-5.

McMillan stepped up to the dish, not having a vintage first-pitch hit to her credit on the series, nor a home run to her name in the past two weeks.

That all changed with one monstrous swing:

“They had kept me quiet for too long,” McMillan said postgame. “I was tired of being kept quiet. They held me to one hit in the first two games, and I was tired of that.”

Virginia Tech now leads the ACC in extra-base hits, and look to continue to make noise as they host No. 24 Liberty for mid-week meeting on Wednesday, April 2.