Hokie ClubRADFORD, Va. – Blessed with the longest outing of Chase Swift’s rookie season on Tuesday, the Virginia Tech baseball team handled Radford with ease, playing to the 6-1 win at Williams Field at Sherman Carter Memorial Stadium.
Swift showcased his best stuff through four scoreless innings of work, becoming the Hokies’ first midweek starter to pitch as long into a ballgame this season. The freshman southpaw recorded five strikeouts, two walks and held the Highlanders to one hit (single), at one point retiring eight consecutive batters.
With two outs during the bottom of the fourth inning and a runner at second base, Swift’s 1-2 pitch to Noah Toole caught the outside corner and earned a late strike call from home plate umpire Justin Burton, prompting the left-hander to deliver a triumphant shout towards his dugout as he was welcomed in by his teammates.
Virginia Tech (17-8) followed Swift with a dose of confident pitching as, together with Swift, four Hokies arms combined to rack up 13 strikeouts, firing 99 strikes at an efficiency of 68 percent. Mathieu Curtis struck out two batters during his scoreless fifth inning while Josh Berzonski punched out five batters through two and two-thirds innings, keeping the Hokies’ shutout intact through seven innings of play.
Settling for small rallies, Virginia Tech’s offense patiently wore down Radford (12-11), pulling ahead for the first time during the top of the third inning. After walks had been issued to Ethan Gibson and Jared Davis, Henry Cooke chimed in with a two-out RBI single up the middle, plating the first run of the evening for either side.
Leading off the fourth inning, David Lewis worked a count full against reliever Matthew Lefevers before doubling to right field, taking 90 more feet when Garrett Michel singled behind him. Two batters later, freshman catcher Anderson French skied a fly ball to center field deep enough for Lewis to tag and score, providing the Hokies with the 2-0 lead.
Virginia Tech turned more walks by the Highlanders into runs during the top of the sixth inning as Cam Pittman and French both reached base, sliding into scoring position on a textbook sacrifice bunt by Gibson. Ahead in the count, 2-1, Davis lined a two-RBI double over the left side of the infield, parking at second base – one of four times the Hokies’ leadoff man reached base.
Radford made a run at Virginia Tech’s 4-0 lead during the bottom of the eighth inning, receiving a trio of singles by Hunter Keen, Breckin Nace and James Ward, the last of which brought in the Highlanders’ first run. Pitching to the game’s potential trying run, Preston Crowl induced the inning-ending groundout off his 0-1 delivery, keeping the Hokies’ lead at three runs heading into the ninth inning.
There, David McCann hammered a two-run home run for the dagger, leaving Crowl easy work to complete his first save of his sophomore season.