Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – Led by reliever Grant Manning’s five and one-third scoreless innings pitched on Friday night, the Virginia Tech baseball team shut down Virginia long enough to prevail, 5-4, during game two of the Commonwealth Clash presented by Smithfield at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park.
Inheriting a 4-4 ballgame during the top of the fourth inning and two runners on base, Manning overcame his two-out walk of Henry Ford to retire cleanup batter Chris Arroyo, stranding the bases loaded as Cam Pittman tracked the inning-ending flyout in center field. Despite issuing a walk during each of the next three innings, the sixth-year right-hander quieted the Cavaliers’ bats as the game wore on, allowing two hits through the duration of his longest career outing in a Virginia Tech uniform.
David Lewis went down as the offensive hero for Virginia Tech (30-23, 12-17 ACC), hammering the go-ahead, pinch-hit solo home run during the bottom of the sixth inning that put the Hokies on top for the final time. Stepping in for his first plate appearance of the night, Lewis centered on a 3-2 pitch from Evan Blanco, mashing his sixth homer of the season with an exit velocity of 104 miles per hour.
Virginia Tech went to work from the jump during the bottom of the first inning, cashing in two runs off three hits against southpaw starter Bradley Hodges. Ben Watson cracked a leadoff double to put the offensive train in motion, extending his hitting streak to 18 consecutive games – a tie for his career long at the NCAA Division I level.
Behind Watson, Sam Tackett and David McCann drew a pair of walks against Hodges, loading the bases for junior second baseman Jared Davis, who ripped a laser of a sacrifice fly to left fielder James Nunnallee. Henry Cooke followed by stroking an RBI single into center field, driving in Tackett and helping the Hokies snap a 13-game spell without scoring during the opening inning of play.
Ford answered for Virginia (31-16, 15-11 ACC) during the top of the third inning with his two-run home run against rookie starter Jake Marciano that tied the game at 2-2. Marciano lasted three and two-thirds innings for the Hokies, ultimately allowing four runs to the visitors on seven hits.
Virginia Tech stylishly regained the lead during the bottom of the third inning after a sacrifice bunt by David McCann bumped two runners into scoring position. Charging on contact, Clay Grady beat Luke Hanson’s throw home on a botcher’s fielder’s choice option by the Cavaliers’ third baseman, setting the stage for Cooke to chime in with his second RBI single of the night that widened the Hokies’ lead to 4-2.
Responding again, Virginia rallied for the two game-tying runs during the top of the fourth inning, receiving an RBI double by Nunnallee and an RBI single by Eric Becker. From there, Manning held the Cavaliers without a hit until the eighth inning, benefiting from timely defense by the Hokies that kept their 5-4 lead in tact.
Cooke threw out Nunnallee stealing second base for the key second out of the eighth inning, clearing the bases for Manning to strike out Aidan Teel on three swing-and-miss pitches. During the ninth inning, Virginia Tech denied Virginia’s Becker a free tag of second base, turning the 8-4-6 double play that saved the game for the Hokies.
First pitch of Friday’s game was delayed by two hours and 43 minutes due to inclement weather advancing on the Blacksburg area.