Emma Lemley & Virginia Tech softball rolls over Liberty to complete season sweep

When the Virginia Tech softball team traveled to Liberty back in February, it was one of Emma Lemley's four no-hitters this season in a 9-0 victory. On Wednesday night at Tech Softball Park, Lemley got another shot against the Flames and this time, the visitors wasted little time in erasing any thoughts Hokies fans had of another no-no.

Lead-off hitter Savannah Woodard took the second pitch of the game and lined a double to left-center. Liberty would load the bases with one out after two walks, but Lemley got out of the jam, and the Hokies offense gave her a lead as the 11th-ranked Hokies improved to 29-5 with the non-conference win over No. 24 Liberty (31-7) for their 10th straight victory.

Cori McMillan, who walked off Stanford on Sunday to complete a three-game sweep with a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh, led off the bottom of the first with a solo homer, and Bre Peck added an RBI single for a 2-0 lead.

Lemley settled down in the circle, and the Hokies' offense gave her a bigger lead in the bottom of the third. With a pair of runners on and two outs, Jordan Lynch launched a three-run home run over the right field fence for a 5-0 lead. Tech had a chance to end the game in the bottom of the fifth inning with the bases loaded and one out, but they had to settle for one run on a Lynch RBI single.

Lynch led the Hokies with three hits and four RBIs, while McMillan and Kylie Aldridge each had two. Lemley finished giving up three hits and striking out nine while walking four in her complete-game shutout. Virginia Tech heads to North Carolina State for an ACC series this weekend, beginning Friday in Raleigh.