BLACKSBURG – For the second time this season against a nationally-ranked opponent, a Virginia Tech starting pitcher was flirting with a no-hitter after six frames. Ian Seymour was two outs away from the Hokies' first no-hitter in more than 15 seasons, but an infield single broke it up.
However, Seymour and the Hokies opened their ACC three-game series against No. 8 North Carolina with a 4-1 victory on Friday afternoon at English Field at Union Park which gave the team its fifth win in its last six ACC home openers.
Also, with the win, Seymour improves to 4-0 on the season and picked up his first collegiate complete game with the effort. The Hokies are now 10-games over .500 after 22 games for the first time since the 2013 season (they were 17-5), as the team has won three in a row and seven-of-eight.
Tech (16-6, 4-3 ACC) gave Seymour a two-run lead in the second inning, as the Hokies loaded the bases with one out on a Tanner Thomas single, and back-to-back walks by Nick Biddison and Kevin Madden. With two outs, Jack Owens singled home a pair with his second of three hits on the day.
In the fifth, Luke Horanski hit his seventh home run of the season, a two-run shot that first appeared to be caught by UNC center fielder Dylan Harris. It even caused a close call on the base path as Horanski and Carson Taylor almost passed each other (as Taylor thought the ball was caught and was heading back to first).
The umpire then singled home run and both Hokies trotted around and increased the Tech lead to 4-0.
Seymour was perfect through two and faced the minimum until the ninth inning thanks to a double play turn by Tech that erased the only UNC batter to reach base, by way of walk in the third. At one point, he retired 19 straight.
Just four balls left the infield, which included a pop up into shallow center field. Nick Menken came charging and made a diving catch that preserved the no-hitter almost exactly halfway through the game – second out of the fifth inning.
North Carolina (16-7, 2-5 ACC) even tried to break up the no-hitter in the seventh with a Harris bunt attempt, but third baseman Kevin Madden scooped it up and tossed to first in time.
It was Madden, as well, who almost got the second out of the ninth. On a ball in the hole, he dove and came up firing to first and almost got Danny Serretti. The play was so close that the umpires even went to replay for verification.
Unfortunately, with two outs, Harris singled home Serretti to break up the complete game shutout attempt, but a liner caught by Nick Holesa at first ended the game.
Tech notes
- The Hokies are now 13-28 versus North Carolina in Blacksburg, 27-76-2 overall.
- The win was the 499th win at English Field at Union Park, where the program has posted an overall mark of 499-285-3.
- Tech turned its 20th double play of the season.
- The last known no-hitter was thrown by Jon Hartness, a nine-inning no-hitter versus Utica College on March 18, 1984 in a 1-0 victory.
- Chris Gerard had a no-hitter broken up in the seventh inning at then-No. 1 Florida State back on March 9.
Inside the box
- Horanski – home run, seventh of the season, 11th of his Tech career; two RBI, seventh multi-RBI game of the year, 16th at Tech.
- J. Owens – three hits, fifth multi-hit game of the season, 40th of his Tech career; fourth three-hit game of the season and 20th at Tech (three or more); two RBI, first multi-RBI game of the year, 12th of his career.
- Seymour – career-high 9.0 innings tossed, first complete game; six strikeouts, 12th career game with at least six strikeouts, fifth this season; 19 straight batters retired, a career-high surpassing previous high of 15.
- Thomas – two hits, fifth multi-hit game of the year.
Up Next
The Hokies continue their ACC series with No. 8 North Carolina on Saturday at English Field at Union Park with a 3 p.m. start time.
A reminder to fans looking to attend any of this weekend's games against the Tar Heels (or any other ACC weekend contests in 2019), tickets are required for ACC home games this season. CLICK HERE to purchase in advance.
Gallery: (3/22/2019) 2019 BASEBALL vs. UNC GAME ONE