Hokie ClubBRIGHTON, Mass. – Facing an early deficit during its ACC rubber match on Sunday, the Virginia Tech baseball team was unable to mount the comeback it needed to prevail at No. 23 Boston College as the Hokies were defeated, 6-2, at Eddie Pellagrini Diamond at Harrington Athletics Village.
Senior catcher Henry Cooke went 2-for-4 with a solo home run to lead Virginia Tech (16-18, 7-11 ACC), which had fallen behind, 6-0, after three innings of play. Cooke’s third homer of the season reduced the BC lead down to 6-2 during the fifth inning, though marked the Hokies’ penultimate hit of the game as both sides ultimately rode to a scoreless finish.
Boston College (26-12, 11-7 ACC) found success against Virginia Tech right-hander Griffin Stieg, who was knocked out after three innings – his second shortest start of the 2026 season – having allowed six runs, all earned, on eight hits. Right-hander Aiden Robertson righted the ship for the Hokies by pitching five scoreless innings to the finish line, sprinkling in five strikeouts.
Four of Virginia Tech’s six hits were earned from the bottom three spots in its batting order. Seven-hitter Owen Petrich doubled for the third consecutive game with his two-bagger during the second inning, eight-hitter Ethan Gibson extended his hitting streak to five games with his single during the fourth inning and nine-hitter Sam Gates went 2-for-4, singling in Gibson for the Hokies’ first run during the fourth inning.
Virginia Tech loaded the bases during the top of the first inning with help from two errors by BC third baseman Luke Gallo, who fumbled ground balls hit by Nick Locurto and Hudson Lutterman. However, Gallo ironically denied the Hokies’ satisfaction of scoring first, cleanly fielding the ensuing grounder by Sam Grube and sparking the 5-4-3, inning-ending double play that spared the Eagles from harm.
Batting in response, Boston College rallied for three runs off Stieg during the bottom of the first inning, receiving a pair of one-out, table-setting singles by Ty Mainolfi and Nick Wang. Jack Toomey followed with the first of three straight run-scoring balls put in play by the Eagles, doubling in Mainolfi and scoring two batters later on an RBI single by Gallo.
Danny Surowiec carried Boston College’s surging hitting into the second inning, fighting off an 0-2 pitch by Stieg for a leadoff single. After Colin Larson had bunted Surowiec up 90 feet, Julio Solier brought him in with his RBI single into left field – the Eagles’ sixth hit through their first 10 plate appearances of the game.
Stieg’s woes progressed into the third inning where BC again created traffic with its first two batters reaching. After an untimely balk by the right-hander had motioned both runners into scoring position, Gunnar Johnson cashed in with his two-RBI double down the right field line, shooting the Eagles out to the 6-0 advantage.
Virginia Tech scraped a run across during the fourth inning courtesy of its two-out rally that began with Tyler Mudd’s five-pitch walk of Petrich. After Gibson had singled Petrich over to third base, Gates cracked the RBI single that finally put the Hokies on the scoreboard.
Outside of allowing Cooke’s home run during the fifth inning, Mudd proceeded comfortably through the duration of his seven-inning start, registering four strikeouts while topping out at 105 pitches. Kyle Kipp sealed the result for the Eagles, retiring six consecutive Hokies during the eighth and ninth innings.
Seven of Boston College’s nine starters combined to account for the team’s 11 hits.
UP NEXT
Virginia Tech will return home to English Field on Tuesday, April 14, when the Hokies will host Radford. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET.