No. 11 Virginia Tech Softball Sweeps Wilmington Tournament

By: Chip Grubb |
Jayme Bailey and the Hokies started 5-0 and only allowed three runs. (Virginia Tech sports photography)

No. 11 Virginia Tech opened the 2023 season in Wilmington in dominating fashion, sweeping its opponents while outscoring them by a cumulative score of 32-3.

The Hokies went 5-0 during the three days. They beat host UNC Wilmington twice, 5-1 and 6-0, and East Carolina by scores of 8-0 (five innings) and 4-2. On top of that, they run-ruled Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday, 9-0.

Tech head coach Pete D’Amour experimented with various lineup combinations. Thirteen different players started throughout the weekend and all four pitchers saw action in the circle.

“It was good to get out and compete with outside competition this weekend,” D’Amour told Tech Sideline. “I always like to see how certain kids handle and react to the pressures of playing other teams and in front of an audience. Our pitching got better as the weekend went on and our hitting and fielding were steady too.”

Emma Lemley and the Hokies’ pitching staff had an impressive weekend to open the season. (Virginia Tech sports photography)

The pitching staff was lights out, allowing just one earned run in 31 innings (ERA of 0.23) and striking out 28 batters.

Sophomore Emma Lemley (2-0) threw two complete game shutouts, striking out 16 batters in 12 innings. As D’Amour had predicted, she had no issues with illegal pitches and was dominant. She added a very effective change-up to her arsenal that was measured at 50 mph after previous pitches were clocked between 63 and 68 mph. Against a different batter, she threw as hard as 71 mph.

Meanwhile, freshman Lyndsay Grein (2-0) made her college debut, picking up wins over UNCW and ECU while striking out 12 in 16 innings. She threw a one-hitter against the Pirates, though a defensive miscue allowed two unearned runs to score.

Grein effectively changed speeds and looked very comfortable, although she admitted afterwards to a few initial butterflies. While she was pleased with her performance, she was quick to add that “there’s more work to do.”

In her first opportunity in the circle, Bre Peck looked solid for the Hokies. (Virginia Tech sports photography)

Bre Peck got her first start in the circle on Saturday, combining with Molly Jacobson for a shutout of Purdue Fort Wayne.

At the plate, the Hokies hit .346 as a team, scored 32 runs and hit eight home runs. Jayme Bailey led VT by hitting a blistering .714 (10-of-14) that included a double, triple and this home run against UNCW.

Emma Ritter picked up where she left off last season by hitting .471 with two doubles, a triple and two home runs, including one that was inside the park. She batted leadoff in three of the games, indicating that D’Amour plans to get her to the plate as often as possible.

Peck hit cleanup in four games of the five games while alternating between third base, center field and pitcher. She handled her ten fielding chances flawlessly and showed good range in center. She hit .375 for the weekend, including this blast against ECU that opened the Hokies scoring.

Freshman Teagan Thrunk started four games at shortstop and hit three singles in three at bats in her collegiate debut vs. East Carolina. She ended the weekend with a .455 average.

Cameron Fagan was her usual steady self at second base, handling her 18 fielding chances flawlessly while hitting .357. She, Bailey and Addy Greene each batted in five runs over the course of the weekend.

Greene showed her versatility, starting games at right field, designated player and third base. She hit .333 with two monster home runs in Saturday’s finale, including this three-run shot that broke the game open.

Despite the success at the plate, D’Amour sees an opportunity for growth.

“One thing we need to improve on is our aggressiveness at the plate,” D’Amour said. “It seemed we got into periods of hesitancy while on offense and took a lot of good pitches. We can’t do that in the upcoming weekends.”

One area of concern was an injury to fifth-year senior Kelsey Bennett, who got her spikes caught in the batter box and injured her knee in Friday morning’s game vs. UNCW. It was the same knee that she injured in the final game of the 2022 season vs. Florida. She was walking gingerly on Saturday but was scheduled for x-rays when the team returned to Blacksburg.

Her injury potentially puts more pressure on freshman Kylie Aldridge at catcher. Bennett, who caught in high school, started the season-opener vs. ECU on Thursday. However, Aldridge looked very comfortable behind the plate, handling all 21 chances flawlessly. Offensively, she found a way to get on base, drawing five walks and doubling once in her 12 plate appearances.

Next up for the Hokies is a trip to the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational next weekend. They’re scheduled to play No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Oklahoma State, No. 12 Arizona, Nebraska and USF.

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10 Responses You are logged in as Test

  1. Chip, can’t tell you how much I appreciate the information you provide on our incredible softball team. Please keep up the great job and hopefully all future write-ups will detail similar results.

  2. Whupping inferior teams is a good sign, but we will find out what we really have in this team in the next tournament!

  7. I somehow found a way to stay involved with the games on Livestats. I “watched” every pitch of every game and cheered out loud when got the big hits. Hey, make the best of what’s available.

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