LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Feasting in the batter's box to the tune of 18 hits on Saturday afternoon, the Virginia Tech baseball team powered its way to the series-evening result at Louisville as the Hokies led from wire to wire inside their 12-6 victory at Jim Patterson Stadium.
Junior third baseman Carson DeMartini homered twice during his first three at-bats, racking up four RBIs as Tech raced out to the 5-0 lead after four innings of play. Despite the Cardinals staging a four-run fourth inning to creep within 5-4, the Hokies answered immediately with a four-run frame of their own, tacking on three runs during the sixth inning to control the 12-5 advantage.
Sophomore catcher Henry Cooke batted 4-for-5 with a double, tying his career high in hits while elevating his season batting average to .415 (leads team). Christian Martin went 3-for-6 from the leadoff spot ahead of DeMartini's 3-for-5 day while Chris Cannizzaro, Gehrig Ebel and David McCann each finished with multi-hit games.
With the win, Virginia Tech (13-4, 4-1 ACC) earned its first true road victory at Louisville (13-6, 1-1 ACC) since April 30, 1995, when the two programs were Metro Conference rivals. On Saturday, the Hokies plated 10 or more runs for the 11th time through their first 17 games of the season while their 18 hits marked the most Tech has compiled against an ACC opponent since April 8, 2022, against No. 21 NC State.
DeMartini's two-run blast two batters (and four pitches) into the ballgame stood as the game's only scoring play until the Hokies cashed in for three runs during the fourth inning. Martin had doubled beforehand off Louisville starter Evan Webster, who allowed five runs on eight hits through his four innings on the mound.
Tech right-hand starter Wyatt Parliament struck out five batters through three innings, stranding two Cardinals in scoring position at the end of the third inning. However, Parliament's start soon unraveled during the fourth inning as Matt Klein and Gavin Kilen greeted him with back-to-back leadoff homers, trimming the score to 5-2.
With right-hander Brady Kirtner in for Parliament, Louisville rallied for two more runs during the fourth inning, as delivered by JT Benson's two-RBI single. Kirtner scooped up the victory after firing five innings of relief, allowing three runs on six hits while charting seven strikeouts (career high).
Virginia Tech blew open the game during the fifth and sixth innings, producing seven runs on eight hits in addition to drawing a pair of walks.
Ben Watson's double during the fifth inning extended his hitting streak to 13 consecutive games and preluded RBI singles by Cooke, McCann and Martin. Eddie Micheletti Jr. led off the sixth inning with his eighth home run of the year – his fifth home run within his last four games – while Cooke and McCann added two more run-scoring swings to charge Tech out to the 12-5 lead.
King snuck in a two-out solo home run against Kirtner during the seventh inning, but the redshirt-junior stayed the course, stranding two runners in scoring position at the end of the eighth inning.
UP NEXT
Virginia Tech will play for its fifth straight series victory of the 2024 season on Sunday, March 17, when the Hokies wrap up action at Louisville. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. (game will air live on ACC Network).