Continuing their string of Irish futility, No. 14 Virginia Tech lost to Notre Dame 6-1 on Friday evening. It was the Hokies’ 19th defeat in their last 21 meetings against the Irish.
The first inning was a preview of what was to come for the ladies from Blacksburg. After singles by Kelsey Brown and Addy Greene put runners on the corners with one out, it looked like the Hokies (31-11, 11-5 ACC) were ready to strike early. But Greene was thrown out trying to steal second and Emma Ritter flew out to left field to end the threat.
In the bottom of the inning, Lexi Orozco blasted her 11th home run of the year off of Tech starter Emma Lemley (19-5) to give Notre Dame (26-11-1, 8-7-1 ACC) a 2-0 lead that it didn’t relinquish.
Virginia Tech got on the board in the second when Rachel Castine tripled to drive in Jayme Bailey. But that was the only time a Hokie crossed home plate. Tech left the bases loaded in the fifth and failed to score in the sixth despite Ritter leading off the inning with a single and Bailey reaching on a hit by pitch, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Irish hit another two-run bomb in the third inning — this one by Joley Mitchell. That increased the margin to 4-1 before Notre Dame added more runs in the third and fifth to seal the game.
The Friday outing was the latest struggle for Lemley, who has allowed more earned runs in her last 45 â…“ innings (38) than she did in her first 111 innings of the year (27). She did strike out seven batters to increase her ACC-leading total to 222, which was significant considering Notre Dame entered the game averaging just three strikeouts per game.
The Virginia Tech outfield helped Lemley keep Notre Dame within striking distance as both Ritter and Brown made spectacular catches.
Offensively, the Hokies were held to a total of seven hits, three of them by Brown. Virginia Tech never struck out against Irish starter Payton Tidd (15-6), but many of its 14 flyouts never made it deep into the outfield.
The teams continue the series with a Saturday doubleheader at 2 p.m. ET (ACC Network Extra) and 5 p.m. ET (ACC Network).
Box Score: Notre Dame 6, No. 14 Virginia Tech 1
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As frustrating this is for the fans, it has to be more so for the players. Hopefully they’ll get back on track today.