BLACKSBURG – With fifth-year starter Anthony Arguelles carrying a shutout into the eighth inning on Friday afternoon, the Virginia Tech baseball team scored a statement series-opening victory against North Carolina as the Hokies blanked the Tar Heels, 7-0, at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park.
Arguelles pitched masterfully for Tech, delivering seven and one-third shutout innings – the longest he has thrown during his three NCAA Division I seasons. Beginning the game with six consecutive outs, the right-hander proceeded to record seven strikeouts (tying his NCAA Division I career high in his second straight start), scattering five hits with the benefit of two inning-ending double plays.
With right-hand reliever Brady Kirtner picking up the final five outs and not allowing a hit, Virginia Tech (25-14, 11-10 ACC) notched its first shutout victory against North Carolina (26-16, 9-11 ACC) since the 1974 season. The fourth-place Hokies pushed the fifth-place Tar Heels back in the ACC Coastal Division standings by a game, sliding within one and a half games of first-place Duke (12-8 ACC) at the game's conclusion.
Tech scored six of its seven runs off extra-base hits, including three home runs by David Bryant, Brody Donay and Christian Martin.
Eddie Eisert gifted Arguelles the lead during the bottom of the second inning, chiming in with his hustle double to center field that drove in Donay and Martin from scoring position. Eisert's two-bagger marked the third of four hits by the Hokies that inning against starter Connor Bovair, who surrendered an RBI single to Bryant that padded Tech's lead at 3-0.
With Arguelles silencing the UNC bats, Bryant extended the Hokies' lead to 5-0 during the bottom of the fourth inning, skying a two-run home run that plopped beyond the reach of right fielder Mac Horvath. Bryant finished the day going 2-for-3, matching the multi-hit efforts of Donay and Martin, who carried back-to-back home runs out of the yard during the bottom of the eighth inning.
Clocked at two hours, 12 minutes in length, Virginia Tech's 7-0 victory against North Carolina marked the Hokies' fastest game since the 2017 season, matching the length of their March 5 win against Binghamton. Friday's contest also went down as Tech's fastest ACC game since May 1, 2016, when the Hokies competed for two hours and 11 minutes at Boston College.
UP NEXT
Virginia Tech will play for its third straight ACC series victory on Saturday, April 29, when the Hokies host a doubleheader against North Carolina. Game one at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. (airing on ACC Network Extra, requiring Sunday tickets for entry) while game two is scheduled for 7 p.m. (airing on ACC Network, requiring Saturday tickets for entry).
Gallery: (4-28-2023) BSB: University of North Carolina Game 1