Virginia Tech falls to Duke 11-6 despite eighth-inning lead

DURHAM, N.C. --The Virginia Tech Hokies took a 4-3 lead into the eighth inning, but could not hang on and fell 11-6 to the Duke Blue Devils Friday.

Junior Shane Connolly (2-3) came out of the bullpen for Virginia Tech (27-18, ) and took the loss.

Freshman Gavin Cross led the way offensively for the Hokies, going 2-for-5 in the ballgame with a home run and an RBI. Freshman Tanner Schobel provided a standout day at the dish as well, going 3-for-4 with an RBI. Senior Tanner Thomas also contributed, going 2-for-4 for Virginia Tech with an RBI.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Hokies got the scoring started early, putting one run on the board in the top of the first inning. Virginia Tech scored twice in the inning, including one on a solo shot from Cross.

The Hokies then lost some of their lead, expanding on their advantage in the third inning after the Blue Devils cut it to 2-1. Thomas' run-scoring single highlighted an inning where Virginia Tech scored twice, which brought the score to 4-1 in favor of the Hokies.

Virginia Tech's lead had disappeared once the ninth inning arrived and turned into an 11-4 Duke advantage, when the Hokies cut that deficit to 11-6. The Hokies picked up two runs off of Duke pitching, punctuated by a run-scoring double from sophomore Nick Holesa. The ballgame ended with that ninth inning rally falling short.

GAME NOTES
» Schobel led the Hokies, amassing three base hits in the ballgame.
» Senior Peyton Alford fanned eight Blue Devils hitters.
» Virginia Tech's highest scoring inning was the ninth, when it pushed two runs across.
» Virginia Tech went 4-for-12 (.333) with runners in scoring position.
» Virginia Tech pitchers faced 43 Duke hitters in the game, allowing four ground balls and 10 fly balls while striking out 10.
» Cross led the Hokies at the plate, going 2-for-5 with a home run and an RBI.
» Duke was led offensively by senior Chris Crabtree, who went 5-for-5 with two triples, a home run and two RBIs.
» Junior Jack Carey led the Blue Devils pitching staff, throwing seven innings of four-run ball.

This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.