LYNCHBURG, Va. --Senior Chris Cannizzaro put together a brilliant showing at the plate Wednesday, hitting three homers, but it was not enough as the Virginia Tech Hokies fell to the Liberty Flames 13-8.
Freshman Madden Clement (2-1) got the ball to start for Virginia Tech (31-15) and took the loss. Senior Carson Ohl was a bright spot for the Hokies, coming out of the bullpen and throwing four innings, giving up one run on two hits, with no walks and four strikeouts.
Cannizzaro went 3-for-4 at the plate, supplementing his three home runs with four RBIs. Senior Eddie Micheletti added to Cannizzaro's awesome power-hitting performance by going 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI. Senior Gehrig Ebel also helped out for the Hokies, going 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Hokies got on the board immediately, starting their scoring with two runs in the top of the first inning.
Virginia Tech's offense started clicking and put up four runs, including a two-run double off the bat of Micheletti.
The Flames then rallied to score 12 runs and take a 12-4 lead before the Hokies got back on the board in the fifth. Virginia Tech picked up a run on Cannizzaro's two-out solo home run off of junior Cale Bolton, which tightened the Flames lead to 12-5.
Virginia Tech held the Flames off the board before narrowing the gap to 12-6 in the seventh. The Hokies picked up a run on Cannizzaro's two-out solo home run off junior Trey Cooper.
The Flames expanded their lead to 13-6 before the Virginia Tech offense got back in gear, digging into that lead in the ninth. The Hokies scored twice on Cannizzaro's two-run homer, bringing the score to 13-8 in favor of Liberty. The ballgame ended with that ninth inning rally falling short.
GAME NOTES
» Cannizzaro led the Hokies, compiling three base knocks in the ballgame.
» The Hokies got a power surge from Cannizzaro, who contributed three extra base knocks.
» Cannizzaro drove in four runs for the Hokies.
» Virginia Tech's highest scoring inning was the first, when it pushed four runs across.
» Four Virginia Tech hitters had multiple base knocks in the ballgame.
» The Hokies took Liberty pitchers deep three times on Wednesday.
» Virginia Tech pitchers faced 45 Liberty hitters in the game, allowing zero ground balls and 19 fly balls while striking out five.
» The Hokies drew four walks from Liberty pitching.
» Cannizzaro led the Hokies at the plate, going 3-for-4 with three home runs and four RBI.
» Liberty was led offensively by senior Sweatt. Aidan, who went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run and four RBI.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.