Softball Stays Hot, Tussle with Tide

Back in SEC Country for another weekend, the Hokies faced perennial power, Alabama, in the Bama Bash. On the weekend the Hokies escaped with a 4-1 record, moving them to 12-3 on the season. 

The Tide may not be their normal top-5 selves, but a road win against a for sure tourney team is another notch in the belt for a Hokies team that continues to stack wins and has avoided any poor losses. Pitchers Emma Lemley and Emma Mazzarone continue to be stellar in the circle, which has elevated the Hokies to a top 15 team in the country.

The Hokies kicked off their weekend against the Drake Bulldogs, winning 8-0 in just six innings of play. True Freshman Sophie Kleiman got the nod in the circle and pitched 6 scoreless innings with 7 strikeouts. The Hokies had a 6 run 4th inning as well, aided by extra base hits of Layla Blackwell, Jayden Jones, and Cori McMillian. 

On Friday’s second game, the Hokies scored a 2-1 win against Alabama. It's a second signature win of the young season for the Hokies, joining their shutout, perfect game win against Northwestern in Baton Rouge. Just like that game against the Wildcats, Emma Lemely got the start. She pitched all seven innings and surrendering just 1 run all day. The big run that gave the Hokies the win was on an RBI double in the 6th inning by Cori McMillan. That big hit gave the Hokies a 2 run lead, providing insurance for the single run that the Tide scored.

On Saturday, the Hokies faced off against Southern Utah twice, winning 4-0 in the first game. Emma Mazzarone got her first start of the weekend, pitching 7 scoreless innings and striking out 10 batters. At the plate, the Hokies scored 3 in the first inning and never faltered the lead. Michele Chatfield was instrumental in the offense going ⅔ with a walk, double, home run, and 3 RBIs.

In the second game against Southern Utah, the Hokies walked away with a 6-3 win. Cassie Grizzard got the start in this game, pitching 2.2 innings and giving up 3 runs. She was then relieved by Sophie Kleiman, who pitched 1.2 scoreless innings before handing the ball to Emma Lemely. Lemely pitched 2.2 perfect innings while striking out 5 of the 8 batters she faced. All of the Hokies run support came in the 4th and 5th innings, where they scored 3 in each of them. Bre Peck had another great game, batting 1.000 at the plate and adding in a homer.

The second game against Bama didn't go as well as the first matchup. The Hokies fell 9-1, and for the first time all season it looked like Lemely didn't have her best stuff. Lemley found her first trouble of the year, starting and going just 2.2 innings and surrendering 5 runs. Mazzarone relieved her, not finding much success either, pitching 1.2 innings and giving up 4 runs. Alabama has had a tough start to the year by their lofty standards, but the Tide will certain be a force in the always stacked SEC. These games, along with previous true road games vs top 5 LSU, will only bolster this Hokies team as they move onto ACC play.

On Wednesday, the Hokies travel to Lynchburg to face off against Liberty. The Flames are a decent team, holding a win over Alabama just 2 weekends ago. Following that game, the Hokie Invite is happening in Salem over the weekend, where Radford, Bucknell, Robert Morris, Penn State, JMU, and Villanova will travel to Salem. The Hokies face off against Villanova twice, Penn State once, JMU once, and Radford once.