BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Virginia Tech softball team dropped a pair of close games Saturday at the FAU Parents’ Weekend Tournament, falling 2-0 in eight innings to Western Kentucky before losing to Iowa 6-5 in the second game of the day.

After a rough first game, the Hokies played much better in the second contest against Iowa, but still fell short. The Hawkeyes jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, but a Kelsey Hensel double drove in Kristen Froehlich. Iowa got two more runs in the third inning and one more in the fourth to make it 6-1. In the fifth inning, Betty Rose scored when Richelle McGarva reached on an error and then the Hokies mounted a serious rally in the sixth stanza.

Froehlich tripled and scored on Hensel’s single up the middle. Rose walked and Bkaye Smith singled to load the bases. Ashton Ward plated a run with a single and McGarva drove in a run with a ground out, but Whitney Davis grounded out with runners on second and third to end the inning and the Hokies didn’t threaten in the seventh, falling 6-5.

Hensel led the way with two hits and two RBI while Smith and Froehlich both had a pair of hits. Ward got a hit and an RBI and Graham had a hit. Rose drew two walks.

Roark (L, 2-9) went 4.2 innings, allowing five runs (three earned) on six hits with three strikeouts. Ward tossed 1.1 innings, allowing an unearned run with three walks.

In the first game, Tech was held to just four hits, two from McGarva and one from both Courtney Liddle and Smith. WKU scored a pair of unearned runs in the top of the eighth inning on a controversial play that resulted in both head coach Scot Thomas and associate head coach Al Brauns being ejected from the game for arguing with the umpires.

Jasmin Harrell (L, 5-4) went the full eight innings, allowing two unearned runs on three hits with a strikeout.

The Hokies will be back in action today to wrap up their Spring Break trip, taking on Jacksonville at 9 a.m. and then Charleston Southern at 11 a.m.