In the second game of the season for these two in-state foes, the No.11 Virginia Tech Hokies (29-5, 8-1 ACC) did not allow a run in their 6-0 win over the No. 24 Liberty Flames (31-7, 11-0).

In the last contest, Emma Lemley, the Lynchburg area native, no-hit the Flames in a five-inning contest that was called due to run rule. She would once again be getting the start for Tech in the circle today.

The thought of Lemley riding her previous no-hitter into this game was nullified on the second pitch of the game, when Liberty infielder Savannah Woodard lined a soft double into left-center to start the game. Two walks drawn from Rachel Roupe and Brynn McManus would load the bases for Liberty. Lemley would extinguish the Flames’ attack, retiring the next two batters in succession to get out of the jam.

“I really think I just had trouble finding the umpire’s zone in the first inning. I usually never walk two people in the first inning of a game… I thought after the first inning it was going to be another 130-140 pitch game,” Lemley said. “I was just able to make adjustments, and re-focus, and center in, and just trying to spin the ball and get them out the rest of the game.”

Tech would ambush Liberty pitcher Elena Escobar early, with right fielder Cori McMillan leading off the bottom of the first with a no-doubt moonshot over the left field wall.

A double from infielder Rachel Castine would continue the rally for the Hokies before Bre Peck would ultimately cash in Castine with a warning track RBI single that would extend the Hokies’ lead, 2-0.

Catcher Zoe Yaeger would strike out, signaling the end for Escobar’s day, lasting just one inning. Similar to the last start against the Hokies, Liberty’s gameplan was to use Escobar as an opener and bring in Paige Bachman to do the heavy lifting in the circle today.

A lone single from Flames catcher Savannah Jessee was the only action until the bottom of the third. With two outs, Tech would bring a two-out rally into fruition—A single from Kylie Aldridge followed up by a four-pitch walk to Peck brought freshman Jordan Lynch up to the plate. After falling back 0-1 in the count, Lynch turned on her pitch, sending the ball soaring over the right field fence for a three-run home run.

“I was just seeing the ball very well… I knew I had to change up a little bit because they had just brought in a drop ball pitcher, so I really need to get under the ball… I swung and missed on the first, so I was like ok, let me reset, get the next one and then I hit it and it felt really good,” Lynch said.

Liberty would have its next scoring chance at the top of the fifth. A full-count sharply hit ball to Annika Rohs at shortstop caused some trouble in field, allowing Rachel Craine to reach base on an error. Woodard would wear a pitch to move Craine up 60 feet into scoring position. Lemley once again, in a jam with two outs, found her final two outs of the inning to escape unscathed.

The Hokies needed three runs to end the game early in the fifth due to run rule against the Flames once more. Another double from Aldridge and a passed ball that followed placed her at third with no outs. Peck would draw a walk to put runners on the corners, and Liberty head coach Dot Richardson decided Bachman’s day was done, making her last pitching change to sophomore Kaylan Yoder.

Lynch would tally her fourth RBI of the game, on Yoder’s first pitch, sending the ball blasting right back up the middle. With no outs, it looked like Tech could end this game early, but Yoder didn’t allow another hit in the inning.

Lemley would pitch herself into one more debacle, when it seemed like the Flames would amass their own two-out rally. A single from Paige Doerr would put runners on the corners for Liberty. Lemley, who focused in, would not let this attack rattle her, striking out Jessee to end the frame.

“We try to kind of preach pitch-to-pitch, just win this next pitch, and I think last weekend prepared me for those moments, because there were a lot of big moments… So when I have people on first and third like that, I’m just trying to keep that pitch-to-pitch mindset.”

Lemley would close out the game for the Hokies en route to a nine-strikeout performance, her fifth of the sort this season. Almost doubling her strikeout count from the five she picked up in Lynchburg.

Tech will now travel down to face the N.C. State Wolfpack in an ACC conference matchup in Raleigh, NC. The series will start Friday at 6 p.m. with coverage available on the ACC Network.

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With one year of eligibility left, Connor Serven enters the transfer portal in search of a new home. The 6-8, 225-pound forward appeared in 16 games for the Hokies this season. In his 41 minutes played, Serven averaged 0.3 points and 0.6 rebounds.

Serven began his college ball career at Illinois as a walk-on. At Illinois, the Prairie City native averaged 14 minutes of play. In search of more playing time, Serven entered the transfer portal for the first time, and found a home at Eastern Michigan.

As an Eastern Michigan Eagle, Serven’s playing time jumped significantly from 19 minutes in his junior year at Illinois, to 555 minutes. Serven flourished in his new role, averaging 3.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. As an Eagle, Serven shot 43 percent from the field, sank 25 percent of his three’s, and made 48.3 percent of his free throws. While Serven had found a lot of success at Eastern Michigan, he was still hopeful for the opportunity to play at a high-major program. This desire landed him in the transfer portal once again where he found a home as Hokie.

For his final year of college ball, Serven will enter the transfer portal once again to find a new home and make the most of his last season.

Virginia Tech has seen five other players enter the transfer portal this month. Guards Brandon Rechsteiner, Jaydon Young, Rodney Brown Jr, center Ryan Jones, and center Patrick Wessler all announced that they would be moving on from the program.

Rechsteiner played at Virginia Tech for two seasons, including 32 games this year which included 15 starts. He averaged 7.0 PPG on 37% shooting from the field and 30% from three. He led the Hokies in assists this season with 2.8 and is a former four-star recruit who chose the Hokies over LSU, Xavier, and Tennessee.

Jaydon Young had some big moments this season, scoring 26 points in a win over Syracuse and 27 points in a win over Miami. They were the only games in which he scored more than 14 points. He has announced he will transfer to High Point.

Rodney Brown Jr decided to enter the portal after spending one year with the program after transferring in from Cal. Brown played in 18 games this season, averaging 15.2 minutes per game and 4.1 PPG. During his lone season with the Golden Bears in 2023-2024, Brown played in 32 games, averaging 3.5 PPG in 14 minutes per game.

This is going to be a big offseason for head coach Mike Young and his program. After the ACC Tournament loss to Cal, Young talked about how the big thing that was missing from this year’s team was talent and how it had to get fixed quickly:

“A lot was missing. A lot was missing, just call it what it is. They are great kids and a pleasure to work with. We have to get more talented and we are going to quick, all right?”

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