Virginia Tech Softball: No. 12 Hokies Head to the Golden State for a Golden Bear Contest

No.14 Virginia Tech Hokies (37-7, 15-3 ACC) will take their talents across the US to take on the California Golden Bears (31-16, 7-11) in a three-game weekend set.

A week ago, the Hokies rode a 17-game win streak into their series with Pitt. Now, after dropping two of three to the Panthers, Tech will need to brush that off and enter the Cal series with a fresh slate in their minds and look forward to the end of the season.

The entire series, from top to bottom, had weird written all over it. Each game in the series had already been moved to a day earlier to accommodate Easter Sunday, and then a rainy Saturday forecast set up a doubleheader on Friday.

The streak ended in game one with an extra-inning loss, when Emma Lemley allowed six earned runs in her start, the worst of her season. Lemley has been lights out for the Hokies in her senior campaign. A bounce-back start in California should be expected from the ace.

The first set of Friday's doubleheader was a record-breaking affair for the Hokies, winning 21-0 and sending 11 balls over the fence. An ACC record and the second most in an NCAA game all-time (Oklahoma launched 13 in a win over UTEP in 2021).

Tech would lose the momentum from its monstrous win and drop the second doubleheader game; ultimately, losing its first ACC series of the season.

The Golden Bears enter the contest with a minor win streak. Back-to-back in-state victories over ranked Stanford and Santa Clara allow Cal to enter their first ACC series against the Hokies with confidence.

Cal has made back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances and is looking to spark a late-season surge to keep that streak rolling.

Head coach Chelsea Spencer is in her fifth season with the Golden Bears, and they have improved every season under her tenure. Last season, they notched 37 wins (the most since 2015) along with hitting 79 home runs for their second-best in school history.

The Hokies love to hit the long ball as well, leading the ACC with 91 home runs hit. Outfielder Cori McMillan leads the nation herself with 23--sending a ball over once every two games on average. McMillan has already broken her single-season record of 21, which she set last year. D1 Softball has her currently ranked as the second-best outfielder in the nation.

The series starts Friday with the first pitch at 6 p.m. and coverage available on the ACC Network.

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