Emma Lemley Strikes Out 15 as No. 12 Virginia Tech Defeats Abilene Christian

No. 12 Virginia Tech defeated Abilene Christain 4-1 on Sunday to close out the Lone Star State Invitational with a 4-1 record. This was Virginia Tech’s second matchup against Abilene Christian, the first being an 11-0 shutout Friday afternoon.

The Hokies are now 11-4 on the season with 88 total runs and a +12 run differential through their first 15 games. Abilene Christian falls to 4-11 on the season, with its only win of the tournament coming from a 6-1 win over Texas Southern on Saturday.

Sophomore Emma Lemley had herself another fantastic game, getting her sixth win of the season pitching. Lemley threw for 15 strikeouts and two hits in the game, bringing her to 75 strikeouts on the year. This is Lemley’s third game of the season with at least 15 strikeouts.

Abilene Christian struggled in the box with Lemley, with at least two outs per inning coming from strikeouts. The Wildcats team is batting .299 cumulatively on the season.

The Hokies' high-powered offense was quiet today with four hits. Addy Greene got the Hokies off to a great start with a two-run shot over the right field wall, driving in Teagan Thrunk in the second inning. The rest of Tech’s runs came later in the game from Jayme Bailey with a sac fly in the fourth, and Kelsey Brown scoring off a catcher’s error in the fifth.

Virginia Tech will begin a five-game home stint on Friday, March 3rd with a series against 5-9 NC State, followed by two games against Mount St. Mary’s.