NO. 12 HOKIES TAKE GAME ONE OVER NO. 16 STANFORD

BLACKSBURG – The No. 12 Virginia Tech Hokies (26-5, 6-1 ACC) were able to fend off a late surge from the No. 16 Stanford Cardinal (24-4, 8-2) to win game one of the series, 4-3.

This was the first ever matchup for these two historic softball programs. Stanford joined the ACC in July of 2024, setting up this first of many matchups across the next few years to come. 

“They’ve raised the entire bar for the league which is good for everybody,” Tech head coach Pete D’Amour said. 

Emma Lemley got the start for the Hokies while the Cardinal turned to Zoe Prystajko to open the ballgame. Both pitchers bolster absurdly impressive stat lines on the season. 

Prystajko has thrown herself to a 2.94 ERA with a 1.06 WHIP in 20 appearances. Lemley offers an even more impressive 1.97 ERA with a 0.82 WHIP in 17 appearances. 

“We knew this was going to be a fight from inning one to inning seven,” Tech catcher Zoe Yaeger said. 

That was exactly the case for the first two innings of this contest. A battle in the circle from two elite ACC arms. 

Neither team was able to amass more than a few base runners until the third inning when Taryn Kern, the leadoff bat, crushed a moonshot over the right field fence—opening the scoring in the contest and giving the Cardinal a 1-0 lead. 

Stanford was not done there, sending a total of six more bats up to the plate after the home run. A sharply hit RBI single from Kyra Chan cashed in another for the Cardinal offense before heading to the bottom of the third with a 2-0 lead.

Prystajko was still dealing in the circle for Stanford, leaving Tech hitless through the first three frames. 

The Hokies stayed confident because of the mental toughness D’Amour has instilled in them throughout the season. 

“We were having fun,” D’Amour said. “I thought we had good at-bats all game.”

The Hokies could have slipped away from this contest after going down 2-0 and being hitless against a top 20 team in the nation. 

When the Hokies needed her most to subdue the Cardinal attack, Lemley delivered a quick frame in the top of the fourth. Striking a match of momentum for the offense. 

Jordan Lynch was able to get Tech’s first hit of the game in the bottom of the fourth—a single lined up the middle. A full count worked for Kylie Aldridge and set the stage for Yaeger to take her at-bat. Falling into a hitter friendly 2-0 count, Yaeger got the pitch she was looking for, sending the ball soaring high above the left field pole to give the Hokies a 3-2 lead. 

Yaeger was able to adjust from her first at-bat to strike damage against Stanford. 

“The first at-bat she got me inside to pop up,” Yaeger said. “If she throws me that again I need to be on it.” 

This signaled the end of the day for Prystajko—3.1 innings pitched and 3 earned runs set her in line for the loss.

Kylie Chung would take over in the circle—and she was dominant. A short outing only facing three Hokies and 14 pitches is all she needed to get her three outs. 

Alyssa Houston would close out the remainder of the game for the Cardinal. 

Riding off of the newfound momentum the Hokies now had, Lemley shut down the Cardinal attack in 1-2-3 fashion. The first frame being shut down without a base runner for either squad in this matchup.

Houston fired back with a scoreless frame of her own to keep the game in reach for her offense. Whereas Tech was looking for any insurance runs they could muster. 

This came in the bottom of the sixth when Lynch once again got a rally started for the Hokies. A leadoff double that rode the chalk all the way down the line set her up in scoring position with no outs. The Hokies were not going to let an opportunity like this slip through their fingertips. 

Lynch was only able to advance 60 feet after a hard hit single up the middle. With one out and runners on the corners, Annika Rohs grounded out softly to short. On contact, Lynch made a break for home and scored without a throw home. 

Tech held a two-run cushion up 4-2 going into the top of the seventh. 

Through six innings, Lemley had thrown 118 pitches. Sophie Kleiman came in to close out the game for the Hokies. 

The resilient Cardinal offense started the inning hot, a single up the middle from Emily Jones on the second pitch of the inning set the tone for the half inning to come. Back-to-back singles now put runners on the corners for Stanford, eager to steal one from the Hokies.

Jade Berry inched her squad that much closer to doing so with a first pitch single that scored Jones to separate the contest by just a sole run.

With the bases loaded and two outs, needing one single out to take game one of the series, D’Amour, being the veteran and strategic coach that he is, turned back to Lemley to get the final out for the Hokies. 

“When Sophie went in it was some lefty down-swingers,” Lemley said. “I knew I needed to be warm.” 

Caelan Koch was the batter due up for the Cardinal, and she had no intention of making this an easy out for Lemley. Stretching her at-bat to a full count before grounding out to Rohs at short who was able to apply the force tag at second to end the game and secure the win for the Hokies. 

Tech keeps its now seven-game win streak intact and snaps Stanford’s 12 game win streak. 

Game two of this weekend series will be Saturday, March 29, at Tech Softball Park with first pitch being at 4 p.m. Coverage for the game will be available on the ACC Network.