No. 21 Tech seeks to slow No. 2 Miami in Blacksburg

BLACKSBURG – Hosting a top-25 series, the No. 21 Virginia Tech baseball team (21-8, 7-6 ACC) will look to smother the nation's longest winning streak this week when it crosses bats with No. 2 Miami (27-6, 13-2 ACC) during a three-game series at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park (April 14-16).
 
Thursday and Friday's games will air live on ACC Network Extra with coverage beginning at 7 p.m. on both nights; Saturday's game will not be streamed. Fans may also tune into WRAD-FM 101.7 to listen to all three games as called by the play-by-play voice of Tech baseball, Evan Hughes.
 

 
PROBABLE STARTERS
• Thursday:  Griffin Green (4-1, 3.86 ERA) vs. Carson Palmquist (6-1, 2.76 ERA)
• Friday:  Drue Hackenberg (6-0, 2.40 ERA) vs. Karson Ligon (4-1, 2.16 ERA)
• Saturday:  TBD vs. Alejandro Rosario (1-1, 7.98 ERA)

ENGLISH FIELD VISITORS GUIDE
Click here to review the 2022 English Field Visitors Guide to access information on ballpark access, ticketing plans & pricing, mobile & cashless ticketing, cashless concession stands, fan-friendly concession pricing, alcohol sales, clear bag policies, gameday parking and more.

TICKETED ADMISSION
Tickets are required for admission to Virginia Tech's five ACC home series this season, including this weekend's three-game series against Miami. All ticket transactions at English Field are cashless and will require a charge card for purchase.

Fans may present season tickets from their 15- or 10-ticket Flex Plans (click here to learn more information regarding season tickets), or purchase individual tickets that are priced at $10 (tickets for youth ages 6 to 18 are $5; children ages 5 and under are free). Virginia Tech students receiving tickets through the student lottery portal may access home games for free.

Upon entry, seating inside English Field is general admission. Click here to enter Tech's ticketing portal.

SERIES PROMOTIONS
Click here to review promotions and gameday experience elements for Tech's three-game home series against Miami, including Thursday's Boy Band Night theme (first fans through the English Field gates will receive a free Hokies band T-shirt) and Saturday's First Responders Day, featuring Kids Run the Bases.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW
• Hammerin' Hokies:  Coming out of Tuesday's midweek victory, Virginia Tech is the only NCAA Division I program with two hitters who are ranked among the top 15 nationally in both batting average and slugging percentage (Cade Hunter, Jack Hurley). Sophomore outfielder Jack Hurley and third-year catcher Cade Hunter enter this week's series against Miami batting .429 and .422, respectively – Hunter having elevated his clip by .068 since March 22 courtesy of his 20-for-37 (.541) run at the plate. As a team, Virginia Tech holds strong with the nation's second highest slugging percentage (.618). The Hokies recently took over the national lead in home runs per game (2.45), hammering eight fewer home runs (71) than No. 1 Tennessee has (79) across four fewer games played. Among Tech's latest uptick in home runs, third-year outfielder Gavin Cross has pelted six during his last eight games, swinging three against then-No. 18 North Carolina and two against then-No. 21 NC State. As he did last year, Cross is again pacing the ACC in triples, locked in a three-way tie at four – one more than teammate Eduardo Malinowski (three). Cross is also ranked among the country's top 10 players in runs scored per game (1.33).

• Hurricane Watch:  Virginia Tech is seeking its second top-10 series victory during as many seasons as the Hokies vie to emulate their success against No. 6 Miami at the beginning of the 2021 campaign. During its February 2021 stay in Coral Gables, Tech took two out of three games against the ranked Hurricanes, setting its early course for a 14-7 start within the ACC. The Hokies relied on big bats Cade Hunter and TJ Rumfield to steady their 5-3, series-opening victory, though struggled to decipher game two starter Alejandro Rosario, who kept Tech to three hits across seven innings while striking out seven. On Sunday, the Hokies matched Miami with 11 hits, rallying for seven runs across the final four innings to clinch the series in 9-6 fashion. Since the beginning of the 2021 season, Tech is 12-11 against opponents ranked in D1Baseball's top 25, having won six of its last eight regular season series. The Hokies' 2021 series victory at Miami also snapped their 11-game, head-to-head losing skid against the Hurricanes while marking the program's first series win since 2012 in Blacksburg.
 
• On the Bump:  Virginia Tech starting pitchers Griffin Green and Drue Hackenberg are both coming off their best career starts last weekend against then-No. 21 NC State. On April 8, Green toed seven innings for the first time during his collegiate career, firing 107 pitches and striking out five while scattering five hits. With Green on the bump, Tech has won three straight ACC series-opening games with its leading right-hander sporting a 3.24 ERA across those appearances. In the wake of Green's NC State start, Hackenberg shoved against the Wolfpack as well, setting rookie season highs in innings pitched (seven) and strikeouts (eight). Virginia Tech is 7-1 when Hackenberg pitches, having won four consecutive games during which he has appeared. The first-year right-hander enters this week's series against Miami ranked among the top 20 NCAA Division I pitchers in strikeout-to-walk ratio (8.20) – including the third best mark among freshmen – and is one of 13 pitchers nationally to boast a 6-0 record or stronger this season through eight or fewer appearances. Pitching is most certainly a forte for the Hurricanes, who enter Thursday's series opener with the third best ERA in the ACC (3.78). At the beginning of the week, Miami's staff had held opposing lineups to a .214 batting average and the third fewest hits within the league – numbers that may be in jeopardy against the Hokies' elite, high-powered offense.

UP NEXT
Virginia Tech will host VMI on Tuesday, April 19. First pitch at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park is scheduled for 6 p.m.