DELAND, Fla. – A total of six Virginia Tech Baseball players registered a multi-hit game led by Carson Taylor's game-high five to go along with four runs scored, and Luke Horanski set a career-high with five RBI as the Hokies made it two-in-a-row to start the season with their 15-3 win over Manhattan on Saturday afternoon at Melching Field.
For Taylor, four of his five hits were doubles, which tied a single-game school record done just twice before. Bryan Thomas first set the mark with four versus Savannah State on Feb. 21, 2005 and matched by Chad Pinder versus Bradley on Feb. 18, 2012. Taylor also added three RBI to his totals.
Tech (2-0) jumped out to a 7-0 lead through the four frames, scoring four times in the first and single runs in the second, third and fourth. Sparking the offense in the first was Taylor's first double of the day, which scored Nick Owens and was followed by a Horanski two-run home run, his first of the season. The Hokies pushed six runs across the plate in the seventh and two in the eighth.
That was more than enough run support the Tech pitching staff would need as Luke Scherzer (6.0 innings, four strikeouts), Jaison Heard (1.0, two) and Nic Enright (1.0, three) held the Jaspers scoreless through eight frames and combing for nine strikeouts.
Manhattan (0-2), however, pushed three runs across the board in the ninth frame to end the Hokies scoreless streak at 17 innings – the longest stretch in program history to start a season.
Kevin Madden, with three hits, Kerry Carpenter, Nick Owens and Nick Holesa also notched multi-hit games against the Jaspers, while Carpenter, Horanski and Owens also crossed the plate twice.
Tech Notes
- Turned two double plays in the game, has three this season.
- Improved to 53-99 in the Sunshine State and are now 38-34 in neutral site games.
- Won its fifth straight game in the state of Florida (dating back to last season).
- Improved to 2-0 all-time against Manhattan, winning a 12-7 game back in 2016.
- Has allowed just three runs through its first two games, the fewest since 1991, when the team lost its opener 1-0 and won its second game 7-2. The fewest runs allowed in two wins to start the year is one, twice, 1985 and 1915. The three runs are the fewest in a pair of wins to start the season since 1987, when that team allowed single runs in each of its first two victories.
Up Next
Tech returns to action on Sunday morning with an early 10:30 a.m. game against Sam Houston State. The Bearkats won Friday 12-7 over Manhattan and are taking on the host Stetson Hatters tonight at 7 p.m.