22 Inside Hokie Sports After yielding impressive freshman seasons, sophomore pitchers Emma Lemley and Drue Hackenberg are ready to take on all the challenges that 2023 presents to Hokie softball and baseball. At this time a year ago, Lemley had the talent, and was ready to gain experience in the circle at the collegiate level. After a fantastic freshman season, her comfortability and experience level have developed ten-fold which led Lemley to establish herself as one of the faces of the program. “I’m way more comfortable. As a freshman you don’t know how anything works until you get into the season and establish a routine,” Lemley said. “Now after playing some of the best teams in the country I’m in a better position with my confidence of knowing the process.” Hackenberg also felt the tremendous growth both physically and mentally that comes from an offseason following established early success. “I definitely feel more comfortable as a leader and the new class of freshman pitchers will look up to me,” Hackenberg said. “I’m ready to show those guys how we uphold our standards, what the culture is here and instill that mentality into them.” Lemley underwent the process of adjusting to the college level like any freshman. An All-American pitcher out of Jefferson Forest High School, Lemley came in with loads of accomplishments and accolades, but just as many expectations. “I know my coaches had high expectations for me and so did I but at the same time I was a freshman and nobody knew who I was. I used that to my advantage by going out there and doing what I know how to do.” Lemley said. The young pitcher lived up to those lofty expectations. Lemley went 16-6 over her 23 starts, while recording a stellar 2.12 ERA. She limited opponents to a .186 BA, and fanned 212 batters across the 139 innings she pitched in her 30 appearances. In a similar way, Hackenberg too was a pitcher with plenty of pedigree. Hackenberg authored an incredible opening season to his college career, going 10-2 on the year and registering a 3.30 ERA with 87 strikeouts over 92.2 innings pitched. The headliner of his season was the second game vs No. 2 Miami, where Hackenberg pitched through a season-best eight innings, surrendering one earned run and punching out seven batters. “The Miami series was amazing because that was my first time I’ve pitched in front of that big of a crowd and it was the farthest game going through eight innings with so many pitches thrown” Hackenberg said. “We wanted to stick with the approach of Griffin on Friday and me on Saturday because the whole team was excited about that,” Hackenberg said. “Griffin would usually do his job and get a win so the next day we all felt confident in sending myself out there to win the series.” Certainly the series win Tech earned over the then second ranked Hurricanes was the biggest statement in the 2022 campaign. The Hokies relied on their veteran pitcher in the clubhouse, Griffin Green, in game one to set up Hackenberg to clinch the series win. Having a couple years under his belt already in Blacksburg, Green offered a model of success for Hackenberg to follow, which helped him get used to the program and find his path early. “Picking from Griffin Green as an older guy who’s been around and understands how the rotation goes and the weekly schedule is ,” Hackenberg said. “Picking the minds of other guys on our staff but our hitters as well was a huge benefit all of last season.” To that end, Lemley had a source of guidance her freshman season in former ACC Pitcher of the Year Keely Rochard paving the way forward. Rochard’s calm demeanor under pressure was a trait Lemley wanted to emulate. “Keely shows no emotion when she’s out there, nothing bothers her,” Lemley said. “I took that mentality myself and matured a lot this past year coming into this season.” That focus on maturity truly has been a focal point for Lemley. “I’m trying to become a more mature player by growing my own confidence this past offseason. Keeping my emotions in check and staying in the present moment so I can be a better teammate,” Lemley said. BACKon theRubber
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Mjk2NjE5