BLACKSBURG – No. 24 Virginia Tech baseball broke a 3-3 tie in the sixth inning to take Game 2, 6-4, and the series against No. 25 North Carolina on Saturday at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park.
The Hokies (7-1, 4-1 ACC) beat the Tar Heels (6-3, 2-3) to win the series on Saturday, making it their third straight win against a ranked team and the first time Tech has won a series against UNC in school history.
Chris Gerard (1-1) got the start for the Hokies, his third start of the season. He pitched 5.0 innings and earned eight strikeouts. Graham Firoved (1-0) came in and absolutely was lights out, pitching 2.0 innings and getting all of his outs via strikeouts to earn the win. Matthew Siverling (0-0) followed and got the save, his first of the year, with a strikeout in 2.0 innings.
Freshman Tanner Schobel brought his season RBI total to a team-high 13 with a home run in the second inning, while Kevin Madden and Jack Hurley had two RBIs each.
THE GAME
The Tar Heels scored first in the top of the first inning, but Schobel's homer in the second tied the game. Madden drove in two runs in the third inning, but UNC tied the game on a single in the fourth inning. The Hokies broke the tie in the bottom of the sixth, adding three runs from a sacrifice fly from Cade Hunter and a two-run double from Hurley.
Coming off of an impressive night on Friday, setting an ACC-era record of 21 Ks, Tech's pitching staff posted 15 strikeouts and allowed only three earned runs Saturday.
NOTES
- Tech's win marks the first time in history that the Hokies have won a series against UNC, getting it done on the 16thtry.
- This series, Tech has struck out the Heels 36 times, while only being fanned 12 times.
- Madden racked up his 28th multi-hit game of his career and his fifth of the season.
UP NEXT
Tech will finish the series with UNC on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park on ACC Network Extra.
Gallery: (3-6-2021) 2021 BASEBALL vs. UNC SATURDAY