Virginia Tech made some key plays to come from behind and beat Virginia on Friday in Blacksburg. (Jon Fleming)

Though the game was posed for a pitcher’s duel, neither No. 18 Virginia Tech nor No. 23 Virginia dominated in the circle during the Hokies’ 8-4 win at Tech Softball Park on Friday.

The Cavaliers (16-6, 0-1 ACC) started Eden Bigham, whose last appearance culminated in a perfect game on Sunday. The 2024 All-ACC First Team selection lasted three innings and allowed four runs and four hits. She struck out four batters and walked two.

Bigham’s counterpart, Hokies ace Emma Lemley, entered their home opener having thrown two perfect games and another no hitter already this season. She tossed four innings and surrendered four runs — three earned — and nine hits, while striking out two and walking one.

Still, the Hokies (18-4, 1-0 ACC) converted hits when they needed them most. Tech went 7-for-19 with runners on base, including 6-for-16 with them in scoring position. After struggling to move runners over last weekend in Salem, Friday’s performance marked a shift.

Virginia jumped out to an early lead. In the top of the first, right fielder M.C. Eaton singled to score shortstop Jade Hylton. The next pitch, Eaton stole second base and forced a throw down, creating a path for center fielder Kelly Ayer to score. In the second, Hylton singled to bring around catcher Sydney Hartgrove. All of a sudden, the Cavaliers were ahead 3-0.

Tech, however, pushed back, jolting to a lead in the third frame, then reinforcing it in the fourth and fifth. It utilized small ball and station-to-station, rather than relying on home runs as it has in the past. 

To start, first baseman Michelle Chatfield first singled, scoring shortstop Annika Rohs. Center fielder Bre Peck singled again to plate right fielder Cori McMillan. Third baseman Jordan Lynch then grounded out and scored Chatfield. Designated player Kylie Aldridge singled for good measure to score Peck, giving Tech a 4-3 lead.

In the fourth, after the Cavaliers tied the game at four runs apiece, Peck cranked a fly ball to the warning track, sacrificing an out to score Rohs and granting Tech a lead it did not relinquish. Lynch hit a two-run double for insurance, then Rohs singled around second baseman Rachel Castine.

The Virginia Tech defense stepped up time and time again in clutch situations against UVa. (Jon Fleming)

“I liked the fight we showed tonight,” Virginia Tech head coach Pete D’Amour said. “Virginia punched us in the nose early and we kept coming at them. We had some nerves early, I think that comes with being the first home game of the year. We need to keep that aggressiveness up from the start tomorrow.”

The Hokies’ defense saved multiple runs. In the second inning with runners on first and second, left fielder Lyla Blackwell fielded a line drive, then hurled the ball across the infield to catcher Zoe Yaeger, whose dive with the ball beat Cavaliers left fielder Kailyn Jones to the plate.

Then Peck picked up a blooper — still trailing 3-0 — and chucked the ball to Lynch to end the third inning.

With Tech up, 4-3, in the fourth, Virginia second baseman Bella Carbal singled to left field, scoring Jones to tie the game. With the go-ahead run sprinting towards home plate, Blackwell gunned the ball to Rohs from the left field corner, who relayed to Yaeger and beat the runner.

Virginia Tech arm Sophie Kleiman relieved Lemley for the last three innings, allowing no hits while striking out six. As the Cavaliers began to decode Lemley during her second and third times through the batting order, Kleiman’s drop ball provided the Hokies a fresh look.

“I felt good,” Kleiman said. “I was just trusting my spin. I knew that I could get them and was just doing my thing out there.”

Friday’s game marked the 79th matchup between the two in-state rivals, but the first time both teams were ranked. The Hokies have won the last four against Virginia.

The two teams will play each other twice more, with the first rematch on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.

Box Score: No. 18 Virginia Tech 8, No. 23 Virginia 4