No. 5 Florida State Sweeps No. 22 Virginia Tech at Home

No. 22 Virginia Tech fell to No. 5 Florida State on Saturday, closing out the home series with three consecutive losses.

The Seminoles were absolutely relentless throughout the series, but especially in the finale on Saturday, putting a frightening 16 runs on the scoreboard in just five innings. The Hokies just couldn’t keep up with the visiting team, who dropped 12 hits during the game.

Virginia Tech has struggled recently with its bullpen, as Emma Lemley hasn’t been the lights-out pitcher that stepped into the circle earlier in the season. Lemley, still firmly cemented with the second-highest season strikeout total in the NCAA, gave up seven hits for seven runs before Molly Jacobson came in to relieve.

Jacobson finished up the second inning efficiently but struggled in the third, ultimately getting pulled for Lyndsey Grein. Grein looked good from within the circle all weekend, it’s clear the freshman will be a strong player for the Hokies for the next few years as she continues to develop her pitching.

The onslaught of runs from Florida State started with a two-out rally in the first inning, bringing in three runs to take the early lead. The Seminoles then followed with four runs in the second, five in the third, and four in the fourth inning.

Tech showed some promise in the bottom of the third inning, placing six runs on the board. Jayme Bailey had a three-run homer just barely fair down the left field line, followed by Bre Peck with a triple, and Emma Ritter with a home run almost identical to Bailey’s. The six runs from the trio brought the team and crowd back into the game, but it wouldn’t be enough to come home with the win.

Virginia Tech will head to Marshall (38-7) on Tuesday, followed by another difficult ACC opponent with No. 6 Clemson (44-5). Clemson, second in the ACC, is just one spot behind FSU, so be on the lookout for a difficult series next week in Blacksburg.