BLACKSBURG - The Virginia Tech baseball team will conclude its regular season with a seven-game homestand which starts tomorrow night at English Field at Union Park with a scheduled 6 p.m. first pitch against the Boston College Eagles. The three-game ACC series continues through Monday night with a national broadcast on ESPNU that begins at 7 p.m. CLICK HERE to see how Tech's Athletics video staff has been preparing for the school's first linear broadcast.
Boston College enters the weekend with a 24-24 overall record and are 8-16 in the ACC, while the Hokies are 24-22, 7-17 in league play. With just one ACC weekend series remaining for both programs after this three-game set, this one will go a long way in determining who has the best shot at claiming one of the last ACC Baseball Championship spots still remaining. Links for this weekend's games, which includes broadcast, audio, stats and game notes, are below.
A reminder to fans looking to attend any of this weekend's games against the Boston College (or the Virginia series in two weeks), 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.
Virginia Tech vs. Boston College
May 4-6, 2019
English Field at Union Park
Blacksburg, Virginia
Gameday Links
Broadcast: ACC Network Extra
Game 1 - Saturday, 6 p.m.
Game 2 - Sunday, 4 p.m.
Broadcast: ESPNU
Game 3 - Monday, 7 p.m.
Audio (all three games): VT/IMG Radio Network
Stats (all three games): VT Sidearm Stats
Virginia Tech Game Notes (PDF)
Boston College Game Notes (PDF)
Hokies home through regular season: After playing 13 road games, of 18 total, in the month of April, including three ACC road trips, Virginia Tech will close out the regular season with a scheduled seven-game homestand. This will be the third seven-game homestand for the Hokies this season, with mixed results in the first two. Tech went 5-2 from Feb. 19-March 2, but were 1-6 from March 22-31.
Success at home against the Eagles: Overall, versus Boston College, Tech holds a six-game edge with a 25-19 all-time mark, but its success at English Field at Union Park over the past four series is remarkable. The Hokies have won 12 straight home games over the Eagles and includes outscoring them by more than double (89-42).
In fact, Boston College's last win here wasn't even an ACC contest, it was a midweek 12-6 victory on March 20, 2008. It's most notable for being Tech's first game after its exhibition game with the New York Yankees - held March 18 and won by New York 11-0. The Eagles did sweep an ACC series here in 2006.
Tech owns a 17-5 overall mark against Boston College in games played at home and includes back-to-back walk-offs in Game 3s the last two home series. In 2017, Jack Owens hit a bases-loaded RBI single that gave Tech a 4-3 victory in 10 innings (after tying the game in the ninth to force extras). In 2015, Brendon Hayden's two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth (on Senior Day) lifted Tech to a 2-1 win.
Nick Biddison making some home run history: In the win over Marshall (April 9), Nick Biddison hit his second grand slam of the season in the second inning, marking a couple noteworthy accomplishments. First, since Tech joined the ACC in 2005, the program has hit 26 grand slams, with the most being four hit by the 2010 squad, which the 2019 team has now matched.
Second, Biddison became the third Hokie in that time frame to hit multiple grand slams, joining Ronnie Shaban (3) and Rahiem Cooper (2). Shaban hit one in 2009, 2010 and 2011, while Cooper was the first Hokie to hit two in the same season (he actually did it in the same game - Feb. 26, 2017 at Nevada).
Lastly, since Trey McCoy set a Tech true freshman record with 24 home runs in a single season, only freshmen Casey Waller (8, 1987) and Wyatt Toregas (8, 2002) have hit more home runs in a single season than Biddison's seven. Redshirt-freshman Michael Seaborn hit eight, as well, in the 2008 season.
Winning big, playing close: Half of Tech's 24 wins have been decided by five or more runs, the team is 12-3 in such games, opposed to 8-14 last year. Meanwhile, of Tech's 22 losses, 14 have been decided by one or two runs. The Hokies are 7-8 in one-run games and 3-6 in two-run games - they were 5-11 and 5-4 in such games last year. And until March 30, Tech pitching had not allowed an opponent to reach double figures in scoring - Clemson did it twice, the only two times this season. Opponents reach double figures in runs scored 12 times last year. Lastly, Tech is 3-4 in shutouts this season, while they went 0-3 in 2018.
An early lead is the difference: Tech is 46 games into the season and it appears that most of its games are being decided by the end of the fifth inning, when the game has become "official". In games when leading after the fifth inning, Tech is 20-2, while they are 2-13 in games when its opponent has already claimed the lead, the two wins - No. 11 Georgia Tech (April 18) and at Radford (April 24). In games tied after the fifth inning, the Hokies are 2-7.