Hokie ClubGREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – Miami junior third baseman David Thompson has been recognized as the Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Player of the Week, while Virginia Tech senior Sean Keselica earned ACC Pitcher of the Week honor.
Keselica improved to 2-0 in the ACC this season (both Friday night starts) after tossing the first nine-inning complete game of his career and outdueling Virginia All-American Nathan Kirby in a 2-1 walk-off win. Top-ranked Virginia’s lone run came in the first inning and was unearned. After that, no Cavalier reached second base as Keselica faced two batters over the minimum the rest of the way (three singles, with one runner erased on a double play). He tossed five perfect innings – retiring 11 straight at one point – and threw 102 pitches, 70 for strikes.
The Glen Gardner, New Jersey, native’s complete game started Tech’s first three-game sweep of a nationally-ranked opponent in its 10-plus seasons as an ACC member. He also played a flawless first base in the other two games versus the Cavaliers (23 putouts, one assist) and added a three-hit game on Sunday. Keselica has won his last three starts on the mound and owns a 1.67 ERA in his last four starts.
Keselica becomes just the third Tech pitcher to be selected as the ACC's Pitcher of the Week and the first since 2010 when Justin Wright earned a pair of them (March 29, April 5). In all, Wright received the honor three times, his first was April 27, 2009, while Ryan Kennedy (Feb. 21 and May 2, 2005) is the only other Hokie to earn the honor.
Thompson powered Miami to a perfect 5-0 week, connecting for three home runs and 13 RBIs while leading the team with a .524 batting average (11-for-21). He scored five runs over the course of the week, including a walk-off home run in extra innings on Friday night that keyed the Hurricanes to a three-game sweep of NC State. Thompson also homered and drove in a pair of runs in a 6-0 win on Sunday and closed with five RBIs in the three games against the Wolfpack.
Earlier in the week, Thompson delivered a career night at Florida Gulf Coast, when he registered career-high totals of four hits and six RBIs in last Tuesday’s 15-4 Hurricanes’ win. The Miami native went 3-for-3 with two RBIs in a 7-0 shutout of Stetson on Wednesday night.
The Hokies will be back action for two midweek games - Liberty (Tuesday) and Radford (Wednesday) - with both at English Field starting at 5:30 p.m., before Clemson comes to town for an ACC series.