Four Tech hurlers reflect on UNC series

By Marc Mullen 

BLACKSBURG – The last time Ian Seymour threw a pitch against North Carolina, the then-sophomore southpaw had just completed the best ever pitching performance against the Tar Heels by a Virginia Tech pitcher in the school's history in the ACC.
 
In last year's series opener at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park, Tech took a 4-0 lead into the ninth inning. However, with two outs and a run already across, UNC had Tar Heels on the corners and tying run Michael Busch coming to the plate, an eventual 2019 Major League Baseball first-round draft selection. On Seymour's first offering, Busch laced a line drive right at first baseman Nick Holesa, who snagged the ball for the final out and secured the Hokies' 4-1 victory.
 
Busch ended the day 0-for-4, as Seymour was masterful on the mound that March 22 afternoon, taking a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the No. 8 Tar Heels. The no-hit bid ended, though, with one out in the frame when Danny Serretti chopped a ball into the hole on the left side of the diamond. A diving Kevin Madden made the stop, but his throw to first was late and gone was the no-hitter. Seymour finished the game, and with it, registered the Hokies' first ever nine-inning complete game performance against North Carolina in an ACC game and limited the Tar Heels to their fewest hits (3) and runs (1) in an ACC game ever against Tech.
 
"The thing I remember the most about that game is getting to hug the guys after it," Seymour said. "In my whole time here, I've never gotten to shake the catcher's hand after a baseball game. I never finished a game, so that was cool to be able to do that and set us off the right way during a big series like that.
 
"I didn't really realize what was going on until that last inning. Then it started to sink in, and I was thinking, 'Man, I'm really close to doing this,' and you could just hear everyone getting louder. It was just exciting to be out there. But at this time right now, thinking about that game, it just makes me miss playing baseball even more."

The Hokies and Tar Heels would have played a three-game ACC series at Boshamer Stadium this weekend, however, the cancellation of the 2020 athletics seasons because of the current events and the worldwide pandemic put an end to that. So, it's a good time to reflect on where Seymour's performance stacks up in recent history with a few baseball pitching alums - Joe Mantiply, Kit Scheetz and Andrew Wells. 

The series with UNC dates back to 1907 and the two teams battled sparingly until 1962 when they were scheduled to face each other every year until 1978. Ironically, between 1979 and Tech joining the ACC, the two teams played just twice, a pair of 1991 games in Fresno, California as part of a tournament hosted by Fresno State. North Carolina, a perennial top-25 team in recent history, has controlled the series, holding a 76-27-2 overall mark, and has gotten the better of the Hokies in their only two meetings in the ACC postseason tournament, including a 4-1 victory in the 2013 ACC Championship game.
 
"During my time at Tech, North Carolina was that team that we could just never catch a break against when we needed it," said former Tech pitcher Joe Mantiply (2010-13), whose Hokies lost all 13 games played while he was at Tech despite playing on a pair of teams (2010 and 2013) that made NCAA regionals. "When we played them in the ACC Championship in 2013, we were all like, 'Finally, this is it. We're finally going to end this.' That probably was the best team that we had, and with the way that we were playing that whole weekend, everything was pointing towards this was it and we were finally going to beat them and end that streak.
 
"They were coming off that 18-inning game the night before and were starting a freshman, Taylore Cherry, who had thrown five innings all year. And in that game, just the weirdest stuff happened. In the first, Tyler Horan ripped a ball up the middle, and we thought we were going to score, but it hits right off the guy's chest. Stuff like that, we just couldn't catch a break in those games."
 
It wasn't until 2015 that the Hokies ended a long losing streak to UNC, thanks in part to Kit Scheetz (2013-17), who was one of a few Tech pitchers to have success against the Tar Heels. His four starts against UNC are the most and included a 2015 ACC tournament game held in Durham, N.C. He is the only pitcher to win a pair of starts against them and was also in the dugout for a Tech win at UNC on April 10, 2016.
 
"For most of this time period, UNC has been a top-10 program in the country every year, and they recruit well, they have a really good coach in Mike Fox, and just know how to win ballgames and expect to win," Scheetz said. "That's the reputation of North Carolina, and you know that whenever you play against them, it's going to be tough. They are going to grind every at-bat, put the ball in play and put pressure on you while not beating themselves."
 
Scheetz tossed at least six frames in each of his regular-season starts and did not allow more than four runs in each. He won games in Blacksburg versus No. 23 UNC on April 17, 2015 by a score of 8-3 and No. 3 UNC on May 13, 2017 by a score of 8-4. His start at Boshamer Stadium on April 8, 2016 was a seven-inning effort when he allowed four runs, but Tech lost 6-0 that day to the 11th-ranked Tar Heels. In the tournament game, Scheetz did not allow an earned run over four innings, but an error allowed three unearned runs to cross in the 5-3 loss.
 
"As far as my success against them, I don't know what it was," Scheetz said. "I just remember giving up hits, but just making sure that they were just singles, or they weren't getting them in bunches to where they could score crooked numbers. I think getting a lead is key as well, but they'll just keep clawing back. You just never felt comfortable against them even if you had a four- or five-run lead on them just because they were constantly going to put pressure on you.
 
"UNC batters all seem to have simple, compact swings, and I tried to get weak contact by commanding my fastball, and then be able to throw a change-up. For me, besides Landon Lassiter, who always seemed to have my number, I was able to neutralize them on weak contact, slowing their bat down and using changeups to get them out on their front foot. But that was just my approach and how I pitched."
 
Before Seymour's performance, one could argue that Mantiply's start at No. 6 North Carolina on May 18, 2012 was the top day for a Tech pitcher, even in a loss. Mantiply retired the first 13 Tar Heels in order before Cody Stubbs (an eighth-round draft pick in 2013) drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch. Freshman Shell McCain hit the very next pitch delivered by Mantiply for a two-run home run, and it would be the only runs for UNC that day in a 2-1 victory. Mantiply finished the eight-inning, complete-game effort allowing just four hits, the one walk, the two runs and he struck out seven batters – tied for the most by a Hokie pitcher at the time.
 
"I remember that game. That was the only complete game I threw in college career," Mantiply said. "I'm pretty sure the walk wasn't a close pitch – it was definitely a ball. I do remember the guy who hit the home run. It was his first of the year. But after that – I was feeling really good that game – I was just thinking the pressure is now off. I just lost the perfect game and then I lost the no-hitter and the shutout in back-to-back at-bats. I was just thinking, 'If I could just keep us here, we have a good shot at winning this game.'
 
"We just couldn't get it done. The last inning, I went back out and I was completely gassed. I don't know how many pitches I threw (107, 70 for strikes). For sure, that was probably my best start in my career and I ended up getting the loss. And going into that weekend, we needed to win just one game to get into the tournament and couldn't get one. In those games, when we hit the ball well, they hit the ball better. When we pitched well, they pitched better. That's just how those games went."
 
On that March 22 afternoon, as Seymour was chasing history, providing color for the broadcast, ironically, was former Tech pitcher Andrew Wells (2003-07). It was Wells who got the start and the win on March 24, 2007 against the fourth-ranked Tar Heels, Tech's first as a member of the ACC. That would be its last before Scheetz' effort in 2015. On that Saturday afternoon, Wells tossed seven innings, allowed four hits, three walks and one unearned run in a 6-3 victory.
 
"A funny story behind that start and one that I will never forget actually was from Friday night, after we had lost to them pretty handily," Wells said. "We're playing a top-ranked team in the nation, and we're in the dugout after the loss and we're pretty down and the dugout's pretty quiet.
 
"Coach [Pete] Hughes was packing up his briefcase at the end of the bench and broke the awkward silence and said, 'Guys. Guys.' And everyone kind of perked up to look, and he was in good spirits and said, 'Don't worry, we've got Wellsie tomorrow with his 80-mile an hour fastball.' Just in his totally facetious, sarcastic way, and everyone else is just loving it.
 
"But I took it as a 'I'll show you, buddy!' It was all in good fun, but after the game, I was kind of like, 'How about that coach?' But we end up beating them and, sad maybe, but that was probably the highlight of my collegiate career, other than the start against the Yankees, which was a very special day for the program."
 
Back to Seymour's day, it was one of the strangest no-hit bids a person may ever see. It included several long delays due to injuries and a couple replay reviews, featured three different Hokies playing first base and a few hits taken away because of the Hokies playing a shift up the middle. Tech also turned an unconventional double play to erase the lone UNC baserunner before the ninth, as Ben Casparius drew a walk in the third. It was followed by a grounder to Nick Biddison (playing first), who stepped on the bag then threw to Nick Owens at second, and he tagged out Casparius.
 
"It was such wild game," Seymour said. "Reagan (Teegarden) broke his ankle, and then Menks (Nick Menken) breaks his spleen. I just stayed focus by getting back on the mound and going through my normal routine of things, and just kept going after them. That day, even when I made a mistake, they still didn't hit it. That was probably the best ever game I've pitched here.
 
"Unfortunately, that was kind of the turning point to the whole season, because we lost those two guys, and it was our last huge ACC win on a Friday."
 
"That hit was devastating for us in the booth, too – obviously, it crushed him [Seymour] – but we also thought we were about to see one of those historical moments," Wells said. "He just had a command of all his pitches. He was able to pitch in and out and was able to mix speed and eye levels. He was keeping them off-balance and not allowing them to make good contact. He ran up a few strikeouts, but kept his pitch count down and just seemed to have all the momentum and the confidence to carry him through."
 
Since the start of the 2015 season, UNC holds an 11-4 mark in the all-time series, but if last year's series proved anything, it's that Tech is closer now than ever to win its first ever series against the Tar Heels. After the Friday win for Seymour, Tech led Saturday's game early, but lost 7-5 and then fell in the rubber match 5-2 on Sunday.
 
"We're definitely moving in the right direction, but it takes a long time before you can become a program of that stature," Wells said. "What Coach [John] Szefc and Ryan Fecteau have done with their presence on the recruiting side has been instrumental to the success of the team. They aren't where they want to be yet, and it won't happen overnight, especially competing in the ACC, but you could see it last year and definitely through the start of this season.
 
"I think Coach is finding the right recipe for success and I think we're right around the corner from catching the attention of those recruits because we are becoming relevant. And what Whit Babcock [Virginia Tech AD] has done with the facilities for baseball, he's made that a priority in order for us to be competitive."

Below are the nine times a Tech starter threw at least 7.0 innings versus North Carolina in an ACC game

Editor's Note: The HokieSports creative team continues to find ways to keep our fans connected with the Virginia Tech Athletics programs and there is an extended video in the works that will review with Seymour all those events from that day.