BLACKSBURG – Flexing its power from the heart of its batting order on Saturday afternoon, the Virginia Tech baseball team slugged its way past Stony Brook, 11-5, clinching another winning weekend at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park.
Chris Cannizzaro, Eddie Micheletti Jr. and Sam Tackett combined to swing 8-for-13, score six runs and account for seven RBIs from their respective homes in the third, fourth and fifth spots of Tech's batting order. Cannizzaro went 2-for-4 with a triple – parking his season batting average at .500 on the dot (19-for-38) – Micheletti batted 3-for-5, paring a double with his mammoth home run, while Tackett hit 3-for-4, homering for the second time this week.
Virginia Tech (8-2) banked 12 hits and compiled six scoring innings to clinch its third straight season-opening series. With the victory, the Hokies pushed their current winning streak to six consecutive games, marking the program's longest since the early stages of the 2023 season.
Junior starter Wyatt Parliament settled in after conceding a two-run home run to Erik Paulsen during the top of the first inning. Tech's right-hander bounced back to retire 13 of the next 15 batters, tossing a four-pitch third inning and a seven-pitch fourth inning along the way.
Parliament completed five-plus innings for the first time with the Hokies, earning his first victory in Blacksburg by holding Stony Brook (3-7) to three runs on five hits, striking out one (no walks).
Virginia Tech countered Paulsen's two-run homer with four runs during the bottom of the first inning. Tackett's RBI single – the Hokies' third hit of the inning – plated Christian Martin and cut the deficit to 2-1 before Ben Watson brought everyone home with his three-run home run that was hit to straightaway center field.
Tackett found a similar part of the ballpark when he delivered his solo home run during the bottom of the third inning, upping Tech's lead to 5-2. The redshirt-junior was cheated out of an extra RBI by Micheletti, who was thrown out at second base beforehand while trying to leg out a double on his ball hit to the wall in right field.
Stony Brook made life interesting for the hosts during the top of the sixth inning, loading the bases against relievers Jeremy Neff and Jacob Exum. Robert Taylor's RBI single brought the Seawolves within 6-3, but the Hokies escaped as Martin initiated the inning-ending, 4-6-3 double play.
Tech pulled away for good during the bottom of the sixth inning, staging a three-run, two-out rally. Cannizzaro's RBI triple to right field preceded Micheletti's RBI double and Tackett's RBI single, supplying the home side with the 9-3 lead heading into the late innings.
Both Virginia Tech and Stony Brook traded identical scoring plays during their final two offensive innings. Clay Grady's sacrifice fly during the seventh inning was answered by Paulsen's sacrifice fly during the eighth inning; Micheletti's no-doubt solo home run during the eighth inning was also matched by Johnny Pilla's pinch-hit home run during the top of the ninth inning.
Matt Brown-Eiring and Paulsen both notched three-hit games for the Seawolves, combining for six of the team's nine hits.
UP NEXT
Virginia Tech will play for its seventh straight win on Sunday, March 3, when the Hokies look to sweep Stony Brook. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park.
Gallery: (3-2-2024) BSB: Stony Brook Game 2