BLACKSBURG – Early solo home runs by Nick Biddison and Kerry Carpenter and a quality start from Virginia Tech starter Chris Gerard would not hold up as visiting Virginia scored four times in the seventh inning to register a 5-3 comeback win in the second game of an ACC series at English Field at Union Park Friday afternoon.
Biddison led off the second with his eighth home run of the season, which is now tied for the most home runs hit by a true freshman in more than 30 years. Hokie Trey McCoy set a Tech true freshman record with 24 home runs in 1986 and the most since is eight, hit by Casey Waller (1987), Wyatt Toregas (2002) and Biddison (2019).
Carpenter launched his team-leading 10th home run of the season to lead off the third, to become the ninth Hokies since 2005 with double digits in homers in a single season, which has been done 11 times. The last players to reach 10 home runs in a single year were Sam Fragale (15) and Rahiem Cooper (12) during the 2017 season.
Through five frames on the mound, Gerard allowed base runners – the Cavaliers had the leadoff batter on board three times, but used a pair of double plays to end the second and fifth.
Virginia (32-21, 14-15 ACC) broke through in the sixth, as a leadoff double by Tanner Morris was able to score to cut its lead to one. Gerard finished off the frame and got the first out of the seventh, but allowed the tying run to reach on a single and Tech went to its bullpen.
The Cavaliers took advantage, sending a total of nine men to the plate and scoring four in the seventh to take its first lead of the afternoon. A misplayed ball in the outfield turned into a two-RBI double for Brendan Rivoli, the key hit of the frame.
Tech (25-27, 8-21 ACC) chased Virginia starter Chesdin Harrington when Carpenter led off the eighth with a double, but reliever Devin Ortiz closed out the inning with three straight outs.
In the ninth, Biddison scored on a two-out single off the bat of Nick Holesa, but UVA closer Andrew Abbott got the final out to earn his third save of the year while Harrington improved to 5-1 with the win. Connor Yoder suffered the loss and is now 1-1.
This three-game ACC series ends Saturday afternoon when Tech will honor its four graduating seniors along with some other pregame ceremonies set to take place at 12:40 p.m. Fans are being encouraged to participate in tomorrow's "Effect" game by wearing Maroon. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
Building on a tradition started in 1895, the Commonwealth Clash is a head-to-head points-based competition within the 22 varsity sports in which the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech compete against each other. This weekend's ACC series is presented by Virginia529, the official college savings plan of Virginia Tech Athletics and the University of Virginia Athletics. To learn more about Virginia529 and the competition, click here.
Fans looking to attend the final game against Virginia, tickets are required for ACC home games this season. CLICK HERE to purchase in advance. For those attending this weekend's games, please visit our GAMEDAY CENTRAL PAGE for more information about parking, prohibited items and an A to Z Guide on English Field at Union Park. It is also worthy to note that this weekend is graduation on the Tech campus and, although parking for the games will not be affected, there may be some extra traffic around the stadium.
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