BLACKSBURG – Hammering the ball around the yard to the tune of 21 home runs through eight games played, the Virginia Tech baseball team is on an offensive tear of late as the Hokies carry their four-game winning streak into a key nonconference showdown this weekend at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park (March 1-3).
While Tech's success in the box has been on brand with its slugging identity, the Hokies face a tough opponent this weekend in Stony Brook as the Seawolves trek to Blacksburg for the programs' inaugural series meetings.
Stony Brook was active last weekend in Baton Rouge, highlighted by its 5-2 takedown of No. 3 LSU on Feb. 23. The Seawolves' pitching staff shut out the Tigers during the final seven innings of play, holding the reigning national champions to two runs on six hits. Two days later, SBU put up 10 runs against LSU (despite dropping the 18-10 decision) – the most the Tigers have allowed during a game this season.
Tech is bound to face Stony Brook's toughest arms this weekend, led by projected Friday starter Eddie Smink, who has shined at the dawn of his sophomore season. Last Friday at LSU, the right-hander posted seven strikeouts during his five-inning start against the Tigers, allowing two runs (one earned) while collecting the victory.
Stony Brook's power pitching can ride deep into a weekend as the Seawolves have multiple options to potentially sort through the Hokies. Eric Paulson backed Smink with four shutout innings during Friday's upset of LSU, tallying a walk and two strikeouts. Projected Sunday starter Nicholas Rizzo is also riding CAA Co-Rookie of the Week honors upon tossing eight innings against Northwestern State, allowing a run while fanning four to earn his first collegiate win.
Virginia Tech will have its hands full when the Hokies step up to the plate against the Seawolves.
As a team, Tech put up 39 runs during its three-game sweep of Rhode Island and tacked on 14 more runs during Tuesday's midweek romp of Radford. The Hokies are averaging 11.09 runs per nine innings and have eclipsed 10 runs during five of their eight contests thus far.
Chris Cannizzaro has been phenomenal on offense, boasting an OPS of 1.480 while leading or co-leading the team in batting average (.467), hits (14), home runs (four) and RBIs (14).
Complementing Cannizzaro's talent has been sophomore first baseman Garrett Michel, who has found his stride again in 2024. Michel's 13 hits are second only to Cannizzaro on the club while four have left the ballpark as home runs – one sailing above the English Field fence at a whopping clip of 116.8 miles per hour.
This weekend's series is sure to produce ACC-caliber play; a fitting test as Virginia Tech looks ahead at next weekend's conference-opening games against Notre Dame. On paper, the Hokies' matchup against Stony Brook resembles their 2022 series against Wright State or their 2023 weekend against Charlotte – an early March battle against a proven program that has NCAA Regional history and aspirations.
In 2022, Tech suffered its first home defeat of the season at the hands of Wright State, which later returned to English Field during the 2022 NCAA Blacksburg Regional, battling hard despite the Hokies' 15-9 triumph.
Similar to the Raiders, Stony Brook will have Virginia Tech's full attention when play opens on Friday, March 1, at 12 noon. Action will conclude between the Hokies and the Seawolves on Saturday at 3 p.m. and on Sunday at 1 p.m.