BLACKSBURG – With rookie southpaw Madden Clement logging the best start of his freshman season on Wednesday night, the Virginia Tech baseball team moved swiftly past North Carolina A&T as the Hokies shut out the Aggies, 11-0, at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park.
Clement – who had not pitched longer than two and two-thirds innings this season – threw into the sixth inning for the first time during his collegiate career, collecting 16 outs from 18 batters faced. Tech's left-hand arm chalked a rookie season high with his seven strikeouts, retiring 14 consecutive batters after surrendering a two-out single to Tatsunori Negishi during the bottom of the first inning.
Behind Clement anchoring five and one-third nearly flawless innings, Preston Crowl, Jacob Stretch and Andrew Sentlinger finished the job for Virginia Tech (28-14), which won its eighth consecutive midweek game of the season. Together, the Hokies' bullpen amassed 10 strikeouts without issuing a free base, silencing the Aggies to four rather innocuous hits.
Tech was gifted a running start by North Carolina A&T (21-23), which committed four errors through the game's opening three innings of play, resulting in six unearned runs. Eddie Eisert's two-RBI single during the fifth inning and Ben Watson's solo home run during the sixth inning widened the Hokies' lead to 9-0, prompting Tech to flip to its reserve lineup for the remainder of the contest.
Freshman outfielder Nick Locurto capped the scoring during the bottom of the eighth inning, hammering his first collegiate home run with Carter Newman aboard. In circling the bases, Locurto became the Hokies' 15th different home run contributor during the 2024 campaign.
Watson went 2-for-4 to push his season batting average to .408 while Eddie Micheletti Jr. batted a pair of doubles inside his 2-for-3 line. Micheletti pocketed two RBIs during Tech's five-run third inning when he bounced his ninth double of the season off the left field wall, making the Aggies pay for two earlier errors during the frame.
Clay Grady followed Micheletti's two-run double with a two-run single through the right side of the infield, providing Clement plenty of wiggle room to go long (67 pitches) and scoop up the second winning decision of his rookie season.
UP NEXT
Virginia Tech will continue its May non-conference stretch on Saturday, May 4, when the Hokies host a doubleheader against Ohio. First pitch at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park is scheduled for 11 a.m. (previously 3 p.m.).
Gallery: (5-1-2024) BSB: North Carolina A&T Game