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These are four stories I wrote over a span of two weeks covering Virginia Tech baseball.
Game 1
Hokies fend off #16 Wake Forest in 11-8 victory
John Anderson - Mar 29, 2025
Virginia Tech’s baseball program has been off to a strong start in the 2025 season, and it
continued tonight as the Hokies knocked off their ACC rivals in the Demon Deacons 11-8 at
Winston-Salem, improving their overall record to 19-8 courtesy of their fourth straight win.
That doesn’t mean ranked Wake Forest was an easy out though, the Hokies seemed poised to win
in a blowout after building an 8-0 lead after the top of the third inning highlighted by a two-run
home run by outfielder Ben Watson.
However, the lead soon dissipated, as the Demon Deacons stormed back to cut the deficit to just
a single run after four home runs, three of which came in the bottom of the third. Virginia Tech
added some insurance with a combined three runs in innings five and six, and held Wake Forest
to only one run the rest of the way to win by a final score of 11-8. Despite the barrage of missiles
that were hit into the gloomy North Carolina sky, it was a defensive play that made for the
game’s highlight of the evening.
In the bottom of the eighth, Wake Forest’s Matt Scannell, who hit one of those aforementioned
home runs, was up to the plate. On a 3-2 count, he sent a Grant Manning breaking ball deep into
right field, which looked to clear the wall. Instead of cutting further into the deficit, however,
outfielder Sam Tackett made a spectacular leaping catch over said wall to deny Scannell his
second home run of the night. Wake Forest managed to tack on one more run in the eighth, but
Manning held down the fort from there, pitching a scoreless ninth and earning himself a save.
With the win, the Hokies will look to sweep the series against the Demon Deacons tomorrow at
5:00 in Winston-Salem. Virginia Tech will shoot for its fifth consecutive victory and stake its
claim on collegiate baseball.
Game 2
Hokies’ storm past Demon Deacons in ninth inning rally, sweep
series
John Anderson - Mar 30, 2025
After lighting up the once ranked Wake Forest for double digit runs in consecutive games, it
appeared that the clock had struck midnight on Virginia Tech’s white hot offensive attack after
being held to only five hits and two runs against Wake Forest’s Blake Morningstar. Going into
the ninth inning, the Hokies trailed 3-2 after surrendering the lead in the seventh inning.
However, against Wake Forest’s Zach Johnston, three outs away from defeat, the Hokies rallied.
It started with a pinch hitter, Ethan Gibson smoking a double to left center followed by freshman
Hudson Lutterman sending him home with a single.
With the game tied, Wake Forest’s defense began to crumble. A single from Tech’s David Lewis
following Lutterman’s hit should have had both runners still on base, but a Wake Forest throwing
error was able to send Lutterman home to give the Hokies the lead. They would score two more
runs in the ninth courtesy of a sacrifice fly from Jared Davis and a single from Ben Watson that
scored baserunner Clay Grady from second, who was there instead of first because of another
error.
The Demon Deacons still made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth, scoring two runs off
of a two out triple from Matt Scannell, who had a home run robbed from him last night.
Scannell’s clutch hit put him at third base, and now represented the tying run, just 90 feet away
from tying the game and sending it to extra innings at minimum.
Tech pitcher Cameron LeJeune’s back was against the wall as left fielder Javar Williams stepped
up to the plate with two outs. But on an 0-1 count, Williams flew out to left field to secure a
series sweep against the Demon Deacons, who have been kicked out of the NCAA Top 25. The
win is the Hokies’ fifth in a row to catapult them to a 20-8 record. They’ll return home on April
1 to take on Radford, who are currently teetering around the .500 line.
Game 3
Virginia Tech drops first game as ranked unit to Radford, 8-1
John Anderson - Apr 1, 2025
After pulling off a sweep of then-16th ranked Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, they were able to grab
the attention of Baseball America, who put the Hokies on the ranked ballot for the first time this season, at
#25. Before they could continue through the ACC gauntlet with a pivotal series against Notre Dame on
the horizon, they welcomed the Radford Highlanders to town for a Tuesday afternoon matchup.
It did not go how the Hokies anticipated.
The game looked to be a traditional pitcher’s duel at first, with the Hokies’ Chase Swift and the
Highlanders’ Breckin Nace dealing four shutout innings. However, when Swift would allow a walk to
Radford shortstop Hunter Keen, his night would end at 89 pitches. The Highlanders would break through
against Virginia Tech’s Marcel Kulik courtesy of third baseman James Ward, who ripped a two-run
double to right center.
Radford would not be done piling on offensively, as a seventh inning onslaught saw them score six more
runs, but it turns out that lone double that scored the first two runs would have been enough, as the
usually potent Virginia Tech offense hit a wall against Radford pitching, leaving the run column with a
donut in it until the ninth inning, where they were able to put together a single run thanks to a solo home
run from Anderson French. Virginia Tech tried to rally further and loaded the bases, but weren’t able to
capitalize and left English Field with a rough 8-1 loss, snapping their five game winning streak.
With the loss, Virginia Tech drops to 20-9 on the season, and will look to put this loss behind them as they
head to Frank Eck Baseball Stadium to begin a three game series against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish,
who sit at 14-12 on the season, and have dropped six of their last eight games.
Game 4
Virginia Tech stumbles in series opener against Notre Dame in 7-2
loss
John Anderson - Apr 4, 2025
After Virginia Tech dropped a Tuesday matinee against Radford, the team looked to bounce back against
ACC rival Notre Dame in the first of a three game series. Instead, the Hokies’ offensive woes continued
in a demoralizing 7-2 loss against the Fighting Irish.
Virginia Tech right fielder Jackson Cherry kicked off the scoring courtesy of a solo home run in the
second inning, and a sacrifice fly from Ben Watson scored Clay Grady from third base to tie the game
2-2. Other than that, the Hokie bats were anemic at Frank Eck Stadium, being held to only four hits all
game.
The Hokies’ pitching staff did their best to hold down the fort for as long as they could, but Notre Dame
broke through for two runs in both the sixth and seventh innings, catapulting their lead from 3-2 to 7-2 in
the blink of an eye. The star of the Notre Dame offense was first baseman Parker Brzustewicz, who
accumulated three hits and an RBI in the win.
Virginia Tech drops its second consecutive game to fall to 20-10 on the season and 7-6 against the ACC.
The offense, having only scored three runs in its last 18 innings of work, will look to recover tomorrow in
Game 2 of the series with pitcher Jake Marciano on the mound. The Hokies’ No. 25 ranking could be in
danger of falling out of view should things spiral out of control.
With the win, Notre Dame’s poor showing against the ACC this season gets a slight boost, as it moves to
3-10 on the season against the conference. The Fighting Irish will look to make a statement as they can
clinch a series against a conference foe if they can win just one of these next two games against Virginia
Tech.
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