PITTSBURGH, Pa. --Junior Anthony Simonelli racked up seven strikeouts and senior Jaison Heard added five more to help lead the No. 22 Virginia Tech Hokies over the No. 14 Pittsburgh Panthers 8-4 on Saturday.
In addition to his seven strikeouts, Simonelli (2-0) tossed five innings, giving up one run on three hits and walking one for Virginia Tech (12-8, 8-6). Heard's five strikeouts came in addition to his three innings of three-run ball where he allowed four hits while walking one.
In the batter's box, the Hokies were led by freshman TJ Rumfield, who went 2-for-4 on the day with a walk and three RBIs. Freshman Carson Jones put together a standout day at the dish as well, going 1-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs. Sophomore Kevin Madden also contributed for Virginia Tech, putting together one hit in four trips to the plate while adding two RBIs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Hokies got the scoring started early, putting one run on the board in the top of the first inning. Freshman Jack Hurley came across to score the lone run of the inning for Virginia Tech and get them on the board.
After the Panthers rallied to tie the ballgame at one, the Hokies came back to retake the lead in the sixth inning. which brought the score to 4-1 in favor of the Hokies.
Virginia Tech held Pittsburgh scoreless before building their lead to 5-1 in the eighth inning. The Hokies scored once on an RBI single off the bat of Jones.
Virginia Tech kept the Panthers scoreless before their offense got things moving the next inning. The three-run fram for the Hokies was puncuated by a two-run single off the bat of Rumfield. bringing the Virginia Tech advantage to 8-1. Pittsburgh put three runs on the scoreboard before the game was over, but the Hokies still coasted to the 8-4 win.
GAME NOTES
» Simonelli struck out seven Panthers hitters and Heard fanned five for the Hokies.
» The Virginia Tech pitching staff combined to strike out 15 Pittsburgh hitters.
» Virginia Tech's highest scoring inning was the ninth, when it pushed three runs across.
» Virginia Tech grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top half of the first and didn't surrender that lead for the remainder of the game.
» The Hokies out-hit the Panthers at a 9-8 clip.
» Virginia Tech went 6-for-19 (.316) with runners in scoring position.
» Virginia Tech pitchers limited Pittsburgh to just 1-for-5 (.200) with runners in scoring position.
» Rumfield led the Hokies at the plate, going 2-for-4 with three RBIs.
» Pittsburgh was led offensively by junior Jr. Ron Washington, who went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.