Hokie ClubCHARLESTON, W.Va. – The game was over. Virginia Tech's Tom Stoffel struck out for the final out of the night, but the pitch was in the dirt and the throw to first was misplayed, allowing Sam Fragale to race home and score the tying run extending the game. The play starting a three-run ninth and the Hokies escaped Appalachian Power Park with an 11-9 victory over Marshall in nonconference action Wednesday night.
Luke Horanski followed the game-tying play with an RBI double to put the Hokies in front and crossed the plate on Joe Freiday, Jr.'s single to pad their lead to 11-9 as Tech was looking for its third straight nonconference win and the sixth in its last seven tries.
Graham Seitz tossed a scoreless bottom of the ninth to earn his second save of the season for Joey Sullivan, who improved to 1-3 after throwing a scoreless eighth inning – the first back-to-back scoreless frames for Tech pitching in the game.
The Hokies (15-17) put two on the board in the first on RBI singles from Horanski and Nick Menken and Stevie Mangrum made is a 3-1 Tech advantage when he hit the first pitch he saw for a home run to lead off the second.
However, Marshall responded with a three spot in both the second and third innings – using a three-run home run by Andrew Zban in the second and a Tucker Linder two-RBI double capped the three-run third – to give the home team a four-run lead. An RBI triple by Linder in the fifth made it 8-3 in favor of Marshall.
The Hokies battled back to tie the game in the top of the seventh as they finally got a couple key two-out hits – the night before they had 10 two-out RBI in the win over the Herd.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Fragale cleared them with a double and, a batter later, Jack Owens made it a one-run game with an RBI double of his own. Mangrum, who singled in between the pair of Tech doubles, scampered home on a wild pitch to knot the game at 8-8.
Marshall (14-15) used a Dakota Robbins RBI single in the seventh to break the tie, which appeared to be the game winner before the Hokies comeback effort in the ninth.
Inside the Box
- Fragale – double, ninth of the year, 38th of his career; three RBI, ninth multi-RBI game of season, 40th of his career, third game this year and 18th of his career with at least three RBI, two hits, ninth multi-hit game of season, 47th of his career; two runs, sixth multi-run scoring game of season, 25th of his career.
- Freiday, Jr. – two hits, eighth multi-hit game of the year, 25th of his career.
- Horanski – double, team-leading 10th of the season; three hits, ninth multi-hit game of the season/Tech career, second three-hit game of the year; two RBI, seventh multi-RBI game of the season/Tech career.
- Mangrum – home run, second of the year, fifth of his career; two hits, third multi-hit game of the season, eighth of his career; two runs, second multi-run scoring game of season, seventh of his career.
- Nick Menken – career-high three hits, sixth multi-hit game of the season/Tech career.
- Owens – double, fourth of the season, 20th of his career.
- Stoffel – two runs, fifth multi-run scoring game of the year, 21st of his career.
Additional Notes
- Tech turned a double play in the game and now has 27 this season.
- All-time, Tech is now 26-9 against Marshall, but is just 7-5 on the road including a 1-1 mark in Charleston.
Up Next
- Tech will finish its busy week – five games in six days – with a three-game ACC series in Blacksburg against Louisville which begins Friday with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday's game is set for a 7 p.m. start and will be the Grand Opening of English Field at Union Park – stay tuned for more details.
Tickets
- For fans looking to attend any of the three games in the ACC series against Louisville – or any of Tech's upcoming ACC contests, please be aware tickets are required for all ACC games at English Field at Union Park. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets in advance. Of note, admission is $10 for adults, $5 for those under 18 and is free for Tech students with a valid ID and children two and younger.