BLACKSBURG – With eight starters finding the hit column on Sunday, the Virginia Tech baseball team kept the wheels of its mechanical offense in motion against Pitt as the Hokies defeated the Panthers, 7-1, to clinch their first ACC series of the season.
Conor Hartigan put Virginia Tech (12-6, 2-4 ACC) in the driver's seat during the second inning, knocking a 2-2 pitch from Billy Corcoran out of the park for the first run of the game. Tech never relinquished its 1-0 lead, building a 3-0 advantage through six innings before plating four more late-inning runs down the stretch.
Fifth-year left-hander Ryan Okuda opened Sunday's game on the mound for the Hokies, blanking Pitt (10-10, 1-5 ACC) through two innings despite leaving two runners aboard at the start of the third inning. Graham Firoved relieved Okuda to face the top of the Panthers' batting order, walking Kyle Hess to load the bases before striking out Jeffrey Wehler, Tatem Levins and Ron Washington Jr. in order to preserve the shutout.
Tanner Schobel's double to lead off the fourth inning put Tech in business to add to its 1-0 lead. During the ensuing at-bat, Jack Hurley proudly extended his hitting streak to 17 consecutive games, dropping a misplayed ball into center field that plated Schobel on the error.
Schobel came through with a timely two-out RBI single during the fifth inning, padding the Hokies' lead to 3-0 with Henry Weycker on the bump. Weycker threw for a career long, three and one-third innings, shaking off a solo home run by Hess to earn his third relief victory of the 2022 season.
Nick Biddison answered Hess with his two-run home run during the bottom of the seventh inning. Nick Holesa had doubled to start Tech's seventh-inning rally – one of six extra-base hits the Hokies slugged on Sunday.
Cade Hunter cashed in Tech's final two runs during the eighth inning, doubling home Hurley and Eduardo Malinowski, who had doubled ahead of him.
Kiernan Higgins put the finishing touches on the Hokies' combined four-hitter, closing with two hitless innings.
UP NEXT
Virginia Tech will host Radford on Tuesday, March 22. First pitch at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Gallery: (3-20-2022) BSB: Pitt Game 3