Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG, Va. – Mathew Price pitched his second complete game of the season and redshirt freshman Andrew Rash provided the go-ahead runs as Virginia Tech assured itself another Atlantic Coast Conference series win with a 3-1 victory over Boston College at English Field on Saturday afternoon.
Tech, which won game one of the series 9-4 Friday night, improved its overall record to 31-14. The Hokies now stand 13-10 in ACC action. The 13 league wins are a new record for Tech, surpassing the previous mark of 12 established last season. Boston College fell to 24-19 overall and 12-11 in league play with the loss.
Price (6-3) won a pitchers’ duel with Boston College left-hander Pat Dean, who suffered his first loss of the season after posting a 5-0 mark. Price scattered six hits and struck out nine over his nine innings on the hill. He gave up his lone run on a lead-off homer in the second inning. The junior right-hander stranded BC runners in scoring position in the third, fourth and fifth innings before limiting the visitors to just one hit and two base runners over the final four innings. Price retired 11 of the last 12 men he faced, including seven by strikeouts. His only walk of the game came in the ninth inning and that runner was promptly erased by a double play.
Tech loaded the bases with nobody out in the first inning, but managed just one run against Dean. Center fielder Sean Ryan led off the inning with a sharply-hit infield single. Dean then hit designated hitter Anthony Sosnoskie and catcher Steve Domecus in back-to-back at bats to load the sacks. Ryan scored as the Eagles turned a double play, and Dean then coaxed first baseman Ronnie Shaban to ground out for the final out of the inning.
It took just one swing from BC right fielder John Spatola to even the score at 1-1. Spatola led off the second inning with his 11th homer of the season.
Tech used a long-ball of its own to break the tie in the bottom of the fourth. Shaban reached on a single to open the inning, and with two outs, Rash blasted a homer to left center field to give the Hokies a 3-1 edge. It was the third home run of the season for Rash, a redshirt-freshman who tripled in his first at bat.
Both teams finished with six hits. Rash was 2-for-3, while Spatola and second baseman Matt Hamlet both went 2-for-4 for Boston College.
The Hokies and Eagles are scheduled to finish out their three-game series with a 1 p.m., game on Sunday.