The Hokies' shallow one-hit game results in a 7-1 loss to Duke

By Josh Collier

Staff Writer

April 1, 2023

BLACKSBURG — It’d be nice if we could follow up the title of this article by making an April Fools’ joke out of it, but sadly it was the cold truth. 

No. 12 Virginia Tech (26-7, 8-2 ACC) suffered a 7-1 loss on Saturday against No. 13 Duke (27-7, 9-4 ACC), in the first game of their three-game series this weekend.

It was an exceptionally windy day in Blacksburg, and the balls were flying everywhere. Despite the swirling conditions, Tech Softball Park seemed to be the most crowded it has been all season today for the inner-conference matchup. 

The Blue Devils struck early in the top of the first inning with an unearned run from batter Deja Davis. The next run didn’t come until the top of the fourth, when Aminah Vega blasted a homerun to put Duke up 2-0. Virginia Tech batter Jayme Bailey quickly responded with a homer of her own in the bottom of the fourth to make it 2-1, but from then on, there was no sunlight left for the Hokies. 

Duke’s Deja Davis hit an RBI to bat in Francesca Frelick in the top of the seventh. Later in the inning, Ana Gold knocked iced the game for the Blue Devils with a grand slam to cap the ballgame’s score off at 7-1. 

“We didn’t hit,” Tech head coach Pete D’Amour said. “We just didn’t hit.” 

The Hokies finished the game with only one hit — Bailey’s home run in the fourth inning. The Blue Devils knocked eight balls in play on the day.

One positive takeaway for the Hokies, sophomore pitcher Emma Lemley surpassed 400 career strikeouts in the game. She recorded six total in the contest.

VT will get a chance to redeem itself on Sunday as the Hokies finish out the three-game series against Duke in a double-header. First pitch of game one is at noon.