Softball On SI

No. 11 Virginia Tech Edges No. 16 Stanford Behind Zoe Yaeger’s Three-Run Blast

The Hokies improved to 26-5 (6-1 ACC) with the victory, edging out the Cardinal in a the first all-time meeting between the two programs.
Maren Angus-Coombs|
Virginia Tech's Zoe Yaeger rounds third after hitting a three-run home run against Stanford.
Virginia Tech's Zoe Yaeger rounds third after hitting a three-run home run against Stanford. | Virginia Tech Athletics

The No. 11 Virginia Tech Hokies (26-5, 6-1 ACC) opened a three-game conference series Friday holding off the No. 16 Stanford Cardinal (24-4, 8-2 ACC) 4-3 at Tech Softball Park.

It was the first meeting all-time between the two programs and the Hokies improved to 6-4 against ranked opponents this season.

Virginia Tech ace Emma Lemley earned her 12th win of the season, scattering four hits and four walks across 6.1 innings of work. She struck out three and allowed two earned runs. Sophie Kleiman got the other two outs and allowed one earned run on three hits.

The Hokies exploded for three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Jordan Lynch singled up the middle, and Kylie Aldridge followed with a walk. With two runners on, Zoe Yaeger stepped up to the plate and a three-run shot out to left field to give VT a 3-2 lead.

The Hokies added some insurance in the bottom of the sixth when Annika Rohs drove in Lynch to extend the VT lead to 4-2.

Stanford jumped on the board first thanks to a solo home run off the bat of Taryn Kern in the top of the third inning,. It was her ninth of the season.

Kyra Chan made the score 2-0 when she drove in River Mahler.

Jade Berry brought the Cardinal within one, driving in a run with runners on the corners in the top of the seventh, but it was too late for Stanford. Caelan Koch rolled over on what proved to be the final pitch of the day, ending the two-out rally and securing the win for Virginia Tech.

The two teams return to action Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on the ACC Network.

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Maren Angus-Coombs
MAREN ANGUS-COOMBS

Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.

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