BLACKSBURG, Va. --The No. 23 Virginia Tech Hokies took a 10-9 lead into the eighth inning, but could not hang on and fell 13-10 to the No. 7 Duke Blue Devils Sunday.
Junior Jordan Little (0-2) came out of the bullpen for Virginia Tech (25-12, 12-9) and took the loss.
At the plate, the Hokies were paced by senior Eddie Micheletti, who went 2-for-4 on the day with a double, a home run, a walk and two RBI. Junior Christian Martin put together a noteworthy day at the dish as well, going 2-for-4 with two walks. Senior Ben Watson also contributed for Virginia Tech, putting together two hits in six trips to the plate while adding an RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Trailing 3-0, the Hokies first put runs on the board in the third inning. Virginia Tech's offense started clicking and put up five runs, including a one-run single off the bat of junior Sam Tackett.
The Hokies then held the Blue Devils scoreless before expanding their lead in the fifth inning. Virginia Tech picked up two runs, including one on a solo round-tripper off the bat of Micheletti, which brought the score to 7-3 in favor of the Hokies.
Duke narrowed Virginia Tech's lead to 7-4 before the Hokies stretched the advantage to 9-4 in the sixth inning. The Hokies added two runs in the frame, the key hit being an RBI double from Micheletti.
The Blue Devils then tied up the game at nine before Virginia Tech fought back to reclaim their advantage in the seventh inning. Tackett crossed home plate with the lone run of the inning for the Hokies, bringing the Virginia Tech advantage to 10-9. The Hokies were unable to hold the lead, as Duke scored four times over the remaining two innings to grab the 13-10 win.
GAME NOTES
» Virginia Tech's power output was led by Micheletti, who had two extra base hits in the ballgame.
» Every Hokies starter reached base safely in the loss.
» Virginia Tech's highest scoring inning was the third, when it pushed five runs across.
» Virginia Tech left 10 runners stranded on base in the loss.
» Virginia Tech pitchers faced 44 Duke hitters in the game, allowing seven ground balls and 13 fly balls while striking out seven.
» The Hokies drew seven walks from Duke pitching.
» Micheletti led the Hokies at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and two RBI.
» Duke was led offensively by freshman AJ Gracia, who went 3-for-5 with two home runs and three RBI.
» Senior Charlie Beilenson led the Blue Devils pitching staff, throwing one shutout inning.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
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