No. 24 Virginia Tech Loses Fourth Straight Game Against Marshall
No. 24 Virginia Tech dropped its fourth straight game to Marshall 2-1 on Tuesday, falling to 33-16 on the season.
The Hokies have struggled recently, winning two of their last nine games. To make matters even worse, five of those same nine games were at home, and only one was a win.
Emma Lemley stepped into the circle for Virginia Tech again, somewhat returning to form despite the loss. Lemley tallied nine Ks while allowing five hits and two runs over five innings — a much better stat line than her last few appearances against No. 4 Florida State over the weekend.
Lemley, although only totaling eight strikeouts over her last three appearances, still holds the second-highest strikeout total in the NCAA this season at 246. The sophomore was an absolute stud early on, with nine double-digit strikeout games on the season, and looks to be headed in the right direction after her recent slump.
Marshall took an early lead on Tuesday in the first, when the catcher Autumn Owen sent a moon shot to right-center, bringing in the leadoff hitter Alex Coleman alongside her. The Hokies followed up with a home run of their own in the fifth inning courtesy of their own catcher, Kylie Aldridge, but failed to bring in any more runs, ultimately losing 2-1.
Virginia Tech will look to come out of its slump with a three-game series against No. 6 Clemson beginning on Friday. The Tigers are 44-5 on the season and 17-4 in the ACC; three spots ahead of the Hokies. It’ll be a difficult matchup in Blacksburg this weekend; the Hokies need a win badly to stay in the top five in the ACC.
