Emma Lemley knew she was chasing perfection.
With a 1-2 count, she leaned back, circled her arm and fired the softball past College of Charleston first baseman Sierra Paradis, whose swing was too late. The strikeout — Lemley’s eighth of the day — clinched a 10-0 run-rule victory in five innings for No. 18 Virginia Tech. At the same time, it secured Lemley’s first perfect game at the collegiate level.
If Lemley approaching perfection sounds familiar, that’s because it is. Sunday marked her second career no-hitter, following one against Longwood in 2022. In her season debut on Friday against Fordham, she surrendered just one hit — a bunt single — in the last inning, along with two walks.
“Going into the last inning, I knew I had a perfect game going,” Lemley told Tech Sideline after the game, “and I was not about to lose it the same way I lost the last one.”
Through 11 innings across two starts, Lemley has allowed just the aforementioned bunt single and two walks. In the process, she struck out 22 of the 36 batters she faced. In the new season, she said everything is working for her.
“I’m still heavy on the rise and curve, but I got a few [misses] on off-speeds and drops, so I’ll take it,” Lemley said.
Lemley’s effort was the eighth perfect game in program history and 52nd no-hitter. She is the sixth Hokies pitcher to notch more than one career no-hitter, joining Angela Tincher (14), Keely Rochard (nine), Ashlee Dobbe (eight), Clarisa Crowell (four), Kelly Heinz (three) and Katie Maynard (two).
Lost in the shuffle: the Hokies (5-0) played offense. They jumped on the board in the first when second baseman Jordan Lynch hit an RBI double, which third baseman Bre Peck followed with a three-run home run.
They tacked on five more runs in the third — first baseman Emily LeGette hit a two-RBI single before designated player Emma Mazzarone scored one on a groundout. Then pinch hitter Nora Abromavage hit an RBI single. For good measure, shortstop Annika Rohs added an RBI single in the fifth.
Following the opening weekend, seven Virginia Tech players have batting averages at or above .400. Michelle Chatfield leads the team with a .588 average and 10 hits, adding on four RBI. Peck and Cori McMillan each hit two home runs across the five games, while Peck has a team-high 12 RBI.
Tech has scored at least nine runs in all of its games this season — all run-rule victories. Across 26 innings, the Hokies have outscored their opponents 50-0 and out-hit them 57-6.
“We came down here and learned some things about our team,” Virginia Tech head coach Pete D’Amour said. “Our pitchers were really impressive and culminated with Lem’s perfect game today. I think our offense got better as the weekend went on. The atmosphere on the field and on the bench was exactly how it should have been. The players were loose and intense. It was a fun weekend.”
Though the start of the season can be wonky, Virginia Tech handled the opening weekend in stride. Still, its three opponents — Charleston, Fordham and North Dakota State — combined for a 52-105-1 record in 2024. Any win in college softball is an accomplishment, but the Hokies will face more challenging tests next week against No. 9 LSU and No. 20 Northwestern.
In the meantime, they’ll play their first midweek game of the season in North Carolina against Elon on Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.
Box Score: Virginia Tech 10, College of Charleston 0 (5 innings)