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.”
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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.
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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.”
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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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A new West Virginia law aims to boost the state’s coal and natural gas sectors while more than tripling its electricity generation capacity to 50 gigawatts by 2050.
The measure, signed Thursday by Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey, is designed to turn West Virginia into an energy hub for the data center industry. By sending more electricity to the regional grid and leveraging his state’s relatively lax regulations, Morrisey and his allies are looking to lure data centers to the state, as well as power those beyond its borders.
“We know there’s virtually unlimited need for energy in our country,” Morrisey said at a bill signing of H.B. 5381. “PJM and our grid operators, they’re starving for states to step up and take the lead. And that’s what West Virginia is doing.”
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The new law calls for the state’s Office of Energy to produce rolling five-year plans to keep the state’s existing coal-fired power plants operating through 2050, while also developing new “baseload” energy powered by gas, nuclear, geothermal and hydrogen.
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — No. 23 Boston College Baseball will host Virginia Tech in a three-game series from April 10-12. On Friday and Sunday, the two teams will compete at Harrington Athletics Village with first pitch at 3:00 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively, and both games will be streamed on ACCNX. On Saturday, the game will be played at Fenway Park for the 14th annual ALS Awareness Game. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and broadcast on ACC Network.
The 2026 ALS Awareness Game
The 14th annual Boston College ALS Awareness Game is coming to Fenway Park on Saturday, April 11, at 2 p.m., when the Eagles will face Virginia Tech in the second of a three-game series. The game has been played annually in honor of former BC baseball captain Pete Frates since his ALS diagnosis in 2012. This year marks the seventh time it has been played at Fenway Park. Frates passed away in 2019 at the age of 34.
Record vs Virginia Tech
Boston College is 26-35 all-time against Virginia Tech, including a 14-13 record at home. The Eagles were swept when the two teams last met in 2024. Six current players saw action in that series, with Nick Wang, Kyle Wolff, and Owen DeShazo seeing at-bats. Wolff was a combined 4-11 with five RBI, a home run, two doubles, and a triple in the series. Kyle Kipp, A.J. Colarusso, and Tyler Mudd all pitched, with Colarusso starting and going six innings with six strikeouts.
Scouting the Hokies
Virginia Tech is 15-16 this season and 6-9 in conference so far. The Hokies dropped their lone midweek contest, 11-4, to Liberty and lost two of three over the weekend to Miami. They won the finale against the Hurricanes, 6-3. Virginia Tech is hitting .256 as a team this season, but has three hitters above .300, led by Ethan Ball at .310. Ball leads the Hokies in hits and home runs with 35 and six, respectively. Hudson Lutterman is the team RBI leader with 23. The Virginia Tech pitching staff has four arms with over 20 innings, including Griffin Stieg, who has thrown 37 innings with 33 strikeouts. Brett Renfrow is the Hokies’ strikeout leader with 49 so far this season. The staff has an ERA of 7.68, but two arms with sub-5.00 ERAs: Luke Craytor and Chase Swift, with 3.77 and 4.24 ERAs, respectively.
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The Matchups
The first game of the series will feature A.J. Colarusso against Logan Eisenreich. Colarusso is 3-1 on the year with a 2.88 ERA in 40.2 innings of work to go with 37 strikeouts. In his last outing, Colarusso went six innings against No. 6 North Carolina, allowing just one unearned run while matching his season high of seven strikeouts. Eisenreich is 0-1 this season with a 6.60 ERA in 15 innings of work to go with 18 strikeouts. His last appearance was three innings in relief against Miami, where he allowed an earned run while striking out two.
On Saturday, Brady Miller and Brett Renfrow will face off. Miller has yet to earn a decision this season in 27 innings of work. He has posted a 2.33 ERA to go with 27 strikeouts. His last outing saw him throw five innings against No. 6 North Carolina, where he gave up five earned runs with two strikeouts. Renfrow is 1-4 this season in 34.1 innings with 49 strikeouts and a 6.82 ERA. His last start came against Miami, where he allowed seven earned runs in five innings of work while striking out six.
Sunday’s starters are still to be determined.
Last Time Out
Boston College won both of its midweek contests, defeating UMass 11-1 in the Beanpot semifinals before beating Dartmouth 13-3. Against the Minutemen, Cesar Gonzalez, Luke Gallo, and Carter Hendrickson all had two RBI, while four guys had two hits each. On Wednesday, Wang paced the offense with three RBI. Julio Solier, Ty Mainolfi, and Jack Toomey all had three hits in the win. Jacob Burnham earned the win against UMass, while Peter Schaefer won against Dartmouth.
Up Next
The Eagles will host two midweeks next week, beginning on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. with the championship game against Northeastern, followed by UConn at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday. They will then host Duke for an ACC series.
ASHLAND, Va. — Eighth-grade students from Richmond Public Schools are getting a hands-on look at the stars at the Keeble Observatory at Randolph-Macon College.
The observatory, located on the campus in Ashland, is a research, outreach, and teaching telescope for the college’s Department of Physics, Engineering, and Astrophysics.
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It is the largest telescope of its kind between Washington, D.C., and the Blue Ridge Mountains.
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Earth Science teacher Chloe Tremper brought her class from Boushall Middle School to the observatory to learn about celestial objects.
“I think more people should know about it, especially when they have public nights on Thursdays. I’ll definitely be coming back with some folks,” Tremper said.
Randolph-Macon engineering and astrophysics students Brielle Baughman and Kamaya Wilson helped guide the middle schoolers during their visit.
“It never gets old. It’s beautiful looking at it every time. And then seeing others see how beautiful it is, and their reactions, it’s amazing,” Baughman said.
“We usually have something already up. Something cool, shocking. Typically, a planet. We can look at Saturn. That’s a really popular one. I personally think Saturn’s my favorite,” Wilson said.
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Randolph-Macon engineering and astrophysics students Brielle Baughman and Kamaya Wilson
The telescope and lab provide hands-on learning for students of all ages.
The campus hosts weekly public stargazing sessions on Thursdays during the academic semester, weather permitting.
Visitors can even play a form of cosmic bingo, marking off cards with everything they see.
Physics professor Michael Rodruck knows not all the middle school students will become astrophysicists, but he hopes they all find an interest in discovering new things.
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“I hope they just get amazed by the night sky. Usually when kids look through that telescope, it’s always ‘Wow, that’s so cool!’ And seeing that spark of curiosity. Seeing that spark of interest, that really is making it worth it,” Rodruck said.
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