Hokie ClubGREENSBORO, N.C. – After hammering three home runs and totaling 10 RBIs during the Virginia Tech baseball team's statement series victory against No. 2 Miami, sophomore shortstop Tanner Schobel has been named one of two ACC Players of the Week, as announced by the conference on Monday.
Schobel enjoyed a monster weekend both in the batter's box and on the base paths, having a hand in generating 17 of the Hokies' 30 runs scored during their top-five takedown of the Hurricanes. The five-foot-10 native of Williamsburg, Virginia, batted 8-for-19 (.421) across his four starts last week, including his 7-for-14 (.500) mark against the ACC Coastal Division leaders that featured a double and three homers.
On Thursday, Schobel was the center of Tech's offensive explosion against Miami that shot the then-No. 21 Hokies out to the 6-0 lead by the bottom of the fourth inning. Batting from his home in Tech's three-hole, he delivered the go-ahead, three-run homer that opened his team's 12-run showcase, later connecting on the two-run blast that all but knocked the Hurricanes' starter, Carson Palmquist, out of the game.
A day after finishing 3-for-4 with three runs scored and five RBIs, Schobel came through again for the Hokies on Friday. For the second consecutive game, he began his night batting 3-for-3, settling for a 3-for-5 evening that featured a double and three additional runs scored.
With Tech's hopes of a sweep fading late against Miami on Saturday, Schobel provided the fireworks that gave the Hokies a chance at staging a remarkable comeback. Arriving at the plate during the seventh inning with Tech trailing by six runs (7-1), he connected on the grand slam that gave the Hokies something to play for down the stretch.
After batting .279 and slugging .441 last season as a rookie, Schobel has far from avoided the sophomore slump, exiting Tech's series against Miami with a .370 batting average and a .717 slugging percentage. The second-year shortstop has been on a recent home run tear, smashing eight homers during his last 11 appearances, including multi-homer games against three ACC sides: then-No. 18 North Carolina, then-No. 21 NC State and then-No. 2 Miami.
Schobel's contributions within Tech's red-hot lineup have not gone unnoticed. Through games played on April 17, he ranks among the top 50 NCAA Division I players in home runs, slugging percentage and RBIs per game (1.34) while cracking the nation's top 100 players in both hits and runs per game – 1.47 and 1.19, respectively.
With their new No. 8 national ranking (per D1Baseball), Schobel and Virginia Tech will return to action on Tuesday, April 19, when the Hokies welcome VMI to Blacksburg for an evening, midweek affair. First pitch at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park is scheduled for 6 p.m.