GAME 1 | North Carolina 12, Virginia Tech 8
BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Though they had plenty of opportunities, Virginia Tech struggled to cash them in, leaving 15 Hokies on base in a 12-8 loss at the hands of the North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday.
Sophomore Drue Hackenberg (4-5) started and took the loss on the mound for Virginia Tech (25-15, 11-11). Junior Peter Sakellaris was a bright spot out of the bullpen, going 5.1 shutout innings while allowing four hits, walking two and striking out three.
Sophomore Carson DeMartini led the way offensively for the Hokies, going 2-for-6 in the ballgame with three RBI. Junior Gehrig Ebel put together a standout performance as well, going 1-for-3 with a double, a walk and an RBI. Senior Eduardo Malinowski also contributed, going 1-for-3 for Virginia Tech with a double and an RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Hokies got the scoring started early, putting one run on the board in the bottom the first inning with the game still scoreless. Virginia Tech scored three times, picking up one on an RBI base knock off the bat of freshman Brody Donay.
The Hokies lost the lead they built in the first, but got back on the board in the fifth trailing 12-3. Virginia Tech scored three times, including two driven in on doubles from Ebel and Malinowski, which tightened the Tar Heels lead to 12-6.
Virginia Tech kept the Tar Heels off the board before narrowing the gap to 12-8 in the ninth. The Hokies scored two runs when a single from DeMartini scored freshman Henry Cooke and junior Chris Sparber. The Hokies were unable to get any closer, as neither team scored again in the ballgame.
GAME NOTES
» Virginia Tech's highest scoring inning was the fifth, when it pushed three runs across.
» Virginia Tech left 15 runners stranded on base in the loss.
» Virginia Tech went 6-for-17 (.353) with runners in scoring position.
» Virginia Tech pitchers faced 52 North Carolina hitters in the game, allowing seven ground balls and 12 fly balls while striking out eight.
» The Hokies drew 11 walks from North Carolina pitching.
» DeMartini led the Hokies at the plate, going 2-for-6 with three RBI.
» North Carolina was led offensively by junior Mac Horvath, who went 3-for-6 with a double, two home runs and seven RBI.
GAME 2 | North Carolina 13, Virginia Tech 7
BLACKSBURG, Va. --Sophomore Carson DeMartini put together a brilliant outing at the plate Saturday, hitting two homers, but the Virginia Tech Hokies fell to the North Carolina Tar Heels 13-7.
Senior Kiernan Higgins (2-2) came out of the bullpen for Virginia Tech (25-16, 11-12) and took the loss. Junior Grant Umberger was a bright spot for the Hokies, coming out of the bullpen as well and throwing one scoreless inning, allowing no hits, with one walk and one strikeout.
DeMartini went 2-for-4 at the plate, supplementing his two home runs with four RBIs. Senior Chris Cannizzaro added to DeMartini's awesome power-hitting performance by going 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI along with one walk. Freshman Garrett Michel also helped out for the Hokies, going 1-for-4 with a home run, a walk and an RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Hokies got on the board immediately, starting their scoring with one run in the bottom of the first inning. DeMartini put Virginia Tech on the board with a two-out solo home run off junior Jake Knapp.
After the Tar Heels rallied to tie the ballgame at one, the Hokies came back to retake the lead in the third inning. Virginia Tech picked up a run on Cannizzaro's leadoff home run off of Knapp, which brought the Hokies lead to 2-1.
Virginia Tech's lead had disappeared once the fifth inning came around and turned into a 5-2 North Carolina advantage, when the Hokies cut that deficit to 5-3. The Hokies picked up a run on Michel's two-out solo home run off junior Ben Peterson.
The Tar Heels expanded their lead to 9-3 before the Virginia Tech offense got back in gear, biting into that lead in the seventh. The Hokies scored twice on DeMartini's two-run homer, bringing the score to 9-5 in favor of North Carolina.
North Carolina expanded their lead to 10-5 before the Hokies offense got back in action, narrowing that lead to 10-7 in the eighth. Virginia Tech managed to push across two runs in the inning. The Hokies were unable to get any closer, as North Carolina added three runs to their tally on the way to a 13-7 final.
GAME NOTES
» Virginia Tech got a two-homer day from DeMartini.
» Virginia Tech's power output was led by DeMartini, who picked up two extra base hits in the ballgame.
» DeMartini drove in four runs for the Hokies.
» Every Hokies starter reached base safely in the loss.
» Hokies pitchers combined to strike out 14 North Carolina hitters.
» Virginia Tech's highest scoring inning was the eighth, when it pushed two runs across.
» The Hokies took North Carolina pitchers deep four times on Saturday.
» Virginia Tech left 10 runners stranded on base in the loss.
» Virginia Tech pitchers faced 51 North Carolina hitters in the game, allowing four ground balls and nine fly balls while striking out 14.
» The Hokies drew nine walks from North Carolina pitching.
» DeMartini led the Hokies at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI.
» North Carolina was led offensively by junior Mac Horvath, who went 2-for-2 with a home run and four RBI.
» Junior Matt Poston led the Tar Heels pitching staff, throwing two scoreless innings.