Virginia Softball Falls to No. 15 Virginia Tech 6-0 in Commonwealth Clash

The final home game of the regular season ended rather unceremoniously for the Virginia softball team, as the Cavaliers (28-14) were stymied by No. 15 Virginia Tech (32-9-1) in a 6-0 loss in the Commonwealth Clash on Tuesday night at Palmer Park.

Emma Lemley powered the Hokies to the victory, staying one step ahead of the UVA batters from start to finish as she went the distance, giving up just two hits and zero earned runs in a complete game shutout. Virginia managed only four baserunners and never advanced past second base in the game.

Virginia Tech jumped out to a big early lead with a four-run second inning sparked by a solo home run from cleanup batter Cori McMillan. A single, a walk, and a fielding error loaded the bases and then Kyle Aldridge hit an RBI single and Addy Greene blooped a hit into shallow left-center field to bring two more runs home.

The Hokies tacked on two more in the third on a solo homer from Bre Peck and an RBI double from Aldridge to make it 6-0.

That was plenty of run support for Lemley, who kept the UVA bats quiet through to the finish line to seal Virginia Tech's 6-0 win.

Since the game was scheduled outside of ACC play, it does not count towards either team's conference record. It does, however, award a half a point to the Hokies in the 2023-2024 Commonwealth Clash, which Virginia now leads 9.0-6.5. The other half-point will be contested next Tuesday (4/23), when UVA and Virginia Tech meet again in Blacksburg.

But first, Virginia will head down to Durham for another tough ranked challenge at No. 3 Duke. The three-game series will open on Friday at 6pm, with game 2 following on Saturday at 1pm, and the series concluding on Sunday at 12pm.