LOS ANGELES, Ca. – In the opening match up of the Los Angeles Regional s for the NCAA Tournament, No. 17 Virginia Tech defeated San Diego State 5-1 at Easton Stadium. The Hokies were led by the strong pitching of junior Emma Lemley who gave up only one hit in the first five innings. Lemley pitched a complete game, allowing just three hits with six strikeouts.
The win marked the 50th win in the circle for the Jefferson Forest High School graduate.
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“Emma threw really well today, got us seven innings, and didn’t look like she labored at all,” said Hokies head coach Pete D’Amour. “That’s good because it means she can come back tomorrow. We’ve got three or four other fresh pitchers because they didn’t throw. Yeah, I think just having a complete game and not being worn out at the end. We don’t know who we’ll have throwing tomorrow, but whoever it is will be ready.”
“Once you get to the postseason, everyone is good. You can’t take any batter lightly at this point,” said Lemley. “Just really sticking with our one-pitch-at-a-time mindset is really key at this point. You have to take it pitch by pitch, out by out, to put seven innings together. It’s really important.”
The Hokies bats turned up the heat in the bottom of the third with three straight hits to put the game’s first points on the board. Cameron Fagan earned an RBI following Addy Greene’s bunt, moving freshman Annika Rohs to third and setting up the team’s first run.
Virginia Tech will play No. 6 UCLA after the Bruins won in walk-off fashion over Grand Canyon 9-0.