PITTSBURGH – Riding the mammoth swings of rookies Garrett Michel and Brody Donay on Saturday afternoon, the Virginia Tech baseball team coasted back into the ACC win column as the Hokies thumped Pitt in a slugfest, 20-12, to level their conference series at Charles L. Cost Field.
Michel (3-for-5, two doubles) and Donay (2-for-5, double, home run) combined to hammer four of Tech's seven extra-base hits, helping the Hokies plate 15 runs from the sixth inning onward to put away the Panthers. Together, the freshman tandem batted in precisely half of the team's 20 runs, both setting rookie season RBI highs with five apiece.
Virginia Tech (14-8, 2-6 ACC) and Pitt (10-10, 2-4 ACC) were tied at 1-1 during the top of the fourth inning with the Hokies lying one hit in the game against the Panthers' right-hand starter, Kyle Mosley. After walks to Carson DeMartini and Christian Martin had manifested in a wild pitch, Michel worked a full count against Mosley before doubling off the wall in right field, plating the pair to shoot the Hokies out to the 3-1 lead.
Battling wind gusts of 30-plus miles per hour, Tech right-hand starter Griffin Green navigated himself out of a jam during the bottom of the fourth inning. With the bases loaded, no outs and a run home for Pitt, Green struck out Justin Acal – who had homered earlier – induced a foul out and underhanded the inning-ending chopper to Michel to keep the Hokies on top.
Green etched season longs in innings pitched (5.1) and strikeouts (seven), holding the Panthers to three hits and two runs.
Chris Cannizzaro extended Tech's lead to 5-2 during the top of the fifth inning, homering off the batter's eye in straightaway center field. Rookie shortstop Clay Grady followed with a three-run homer during the top of the sixth inning, boosting the Hokies' advantage to 8-2 heading into the late innings.
Benefitting from 11 walks by Pitt pitchers, Virginia Tech rallied for seven runs during the top of the seventh inning to build the 15-2 lead. Donay stroked a two-RBI double into left field and came home to score during the ensuing at-bat by Carson Jones, who powered his two-run home run above the right field netting, beyond Robinson Street and onto the neighboring hillside.
Despite Tech's comfortable lead, the Panthers answered with six runs of their own during the bottom of the seventh inning. Sky Duff hit a two-run home run against Tyler Dean while Acal connected on a three-run home run – his second homer of the game – against Matthew Siverling.
Michel and Donay both cracked RBI hits during the eighth inning with Donay driving a three-run home run off reliever Quin Konuszewski. Michel added an RBI double during the top of the ninth inning, leaving Tech in front, 20-9.
NOTEWORTHY
• Sophomore third baseman Carson DeMartini walked five times to tie the Virginia Tech single-game program record. DeMartini is the Hokies' third all-time player to walk five times during a game, joining the company of Wayne Taylor (March 24, 1964) and Erik Payne (April 28, 2015).
UP NEXT
Virginia Tech will play for its first ACC series win of the season on Sunday, March 26, when the Hokies wrap up weekend play at Pitt. First pitch at Charles L. Cost Field is scheduled for 1 p.m.