BLACKSBURG – Diving into the heart of its fall schedule, the Virginia Tech baseball team swept a pair of six-inning exhibitions against Radford on Friday as the Hokies rolled to the 7-4 and 9-6 victories at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park.
GAME 1
Virginia Tech plated runs during five of its six offensive innings as it successfully navigated its back-and-forth affair to trump the Highlanders, 7-4.
Picking up where he left off, junior cleanup hitter Jack Hurley accounted for two run-scoring singles to lead the Hokies – part of the squad's nine-hit opening performance. Eddie Eisert – a junior infield transfer (NC State) – went 2-for-2 from the sixth spot in Tech's lineup, delivering the RBI single that left the Hokies in front for good during the bottom of the third inning.
Junior left-hander Henry Weycker induced two swinging strikeouts to silence Radford during the top of the first inning, allowing for Tech's offense to make the opening statement. With redshirt-sophomore Sam Tackett in scoring position following a two-out error at first base, Hurley cracked a 3-2, payoff pitch from right-hander Scott Rouse up the middle for the go-ahead score.
Despite the Highlanders doing rookie right-hander Jacob Exum (Virginia Beach, Virginia) in for two runs on four hits during the top of the third inning, Tech answered back to re-take the lead. Playing against his former team, graduate infield transfer David Bryant (Radford) unloaded an RBI triple into right field, prompting Eisert to put the Hokies on top, 3-2, with his ensuing RBI single up the middle.
Carson DeMartini turned a six-pitch walk off southpaw Luke VonGoedert into another Tech run during the bottom of the fourth inning. After swiping second base, the sophomore infielder scored easily on Hurley's second RBI hit of the game that upped the hosts' lead to 4-2.
Fifth-year senior left-hander Jonah Hurney carried Tech's arms the rest of the way, logging three strikeouts across three innings of work while allowing two runs (one earned). Radford caught life when Zach Whitacre hit his RBI triple to right field during the top of the fifth inning, squeezing another run home during the sixth inning to trim the Hokies' lead to 5-4.
With the game out of reach, Tech flexed its iconic home run hammer twice during the bottom of the sixth inning as sophomore infielder Warren Holzemer and graduate outfield transfer Chris Cannizzaro (Bucknell) rode back-to-back homers out of the yard. Holzemer carried his ball to straightaway center field while Cannizzaro christened the first outing in his new home with his solo shot to left center.
GAME 2
Virginia Tech rushed out to the 9-3 lead after two innings of play, erasing its 3-0 deficit by posting consecutive four- and five-run frames en route to the 9-6 win.
Radford broke the ice against freshman pitcher Griffin Stieg (McLean, Virginia), who surrendered a three-run home run to Paul Moore during the top of the first inning. However, Tech's rookie bats rallied to put the home side in front as infielder Garrett Michel (Denver, North Carolina) and catcher Henry Cooke (Stuarts Draft, Virginia) both deposited two-run home runs over the fence, gifting the Hokies the 4-3 lead.
After tripling during game one, David Bryant led off the second inning with a solo homer, prompting another crooked number out of Tech's lineup. Carson DeMartini doubled and scored on Cooke's RBI double while Sam Tackett capped the Hokies' five-run rally with his inside-the-park home run.
Freshman left-hander Andrew Sentlinger (Charlotte, North Carolina) registered five straight strikeouts while logging two and one-third innings of middle relief. Rookie right-hander Tommy Szczepanski (Bay City, Michigan) recovered from allowing the first three batters he faced to score, finishing the final two innings on the mound for Tech.
UP NEXT
Virginia Tech will continue its fall schedule on Friday, Oct. 21, when the Hokies visit Liberty. First pitch at Worthington Field in Lynchburg, Virginia, is scheduled for 5 p.m. (subject to change).