Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – With five of its pitchers combining to toss the program’s sixth no-hitter all-time on Tuesday night, the Virginia Tech baseball team shut out Radford, 14-0, at English Field during a seven-inning game shortened by run rule.
Madden Clement, Ethan Grim, Brody Roe, Josh Berzonski and Danny Lazaro united for the 99-pitch, 21-batter masterpiece as Virginia Tech (17-18) no-hit its opposition for the first time since May 13, 2000, against La Salle. Together, the Hokies’ fabulous five arms staged the program’s second combined no-hitter to date – its first in such fashion spanning 30 years (March 6, 1996) – engraving nine strikeouts into one of the team’s most historic ballgames on record.
After logging short of an inning one week prior (marking his 14-month return to the mound from injury), Clement settled much faster into his second outing of 2026, retiring the game’s first six batters with relative efficiency. Clement won long strikeout battles during the second inning against Breckin Nace and Brady Powell – results that trended during the third inning when Grim struck out the Highlanders’ seven- through nine-hitters on 12 pitches.
With the comfort of Virginia Tech’s 5-0 lead, Grim made arguably the staff’s only mistake during the fourth inning when he walked leadoff batter Junho Son, ending the Hokies’ hopes of a perfect game. However, elite battery cohesion between Grim and catcher Henry Cooke resulted in the ‘strike ’em out, throw ’em out’ double play that nabbed Son at second base, eliminating the only base runner Radford (16-17) would see through the entire ballgame.
Passing off one hitless inning to the next, Roe retired the Highlanders in order during the fifth inning, as did Berzonski during the sixth inning and Lazaro during the seventh inning.
Berzonski’s sixth inning ended with catcher Anderson French recovering a dropped third strike and completing his throw down to first base, albeit under no threat of Virginia Tech losing its no-hit bid. Lazaro’s seventh inning began with more immediate concern as Son dumped a ground ball up the middle and away from shortstop Ethan Gibson, who reached, closed and fired a dart on the run to French for the bang-bang out at first base.
With Gibson’s defensive gem easing the tension, Lazaro fanned two-hitter Keen on four pitches for the second out before striking out Carter Richardson, swinging, to end the game and close the book on one of Virginia Tech’s most historic pitching performances to date.
On the offensive side, the Hokies were never in doubt, plating four runs during the second inning to stake the 5-0 lead and piling on seven more runs during the bottom of the fifth inning to push the game into run rule contention.
Sam Grube led Virginia Tech with his 3-for-3 night that featured two doubles, two RBIs and a walk. Hudson Lutterman doubled and pocketed four RBIs (team high), Nick Locurto went 2-for-4 with a double and a two-run home run while Sam Gates scored three runs from the nine spot in the Hokies’ batting order.
Radford’s night began eroding from the start as Pete Daniel and Ethan Ball were both hit by starter Joshua Milleville. Daniel ultimately came around to score Virginia Tech’s go-ahead run on an RBI single by Lutterman – all the Hokies would scrape across after Owen Petrich grounded into the inning-ending, 6-4-3 double play.
Locurto’s double down the right field line during the second inning put Virginia Tech in business again, as did the Highlanders’ botched fielding of a squeeze bunt by Sam Gates that left everyone safe and the bases loaded. After Daniel had drawn the bases-loaded walk that put the Hokies ahead, 2-0, Ball connected on his bases-clearing double off the wall in left center field, padding the margin at 5-0.
Virginia Tech stranded the bases loaded during the third inning, though factored for plenty of insurance during its seven-run fifth inning that featured 11 plate appearances. Locurto hammered a two-run home run to left field that extended the lead to 7-0 while Petrich and Grube both accounted for run-scoring doubles, effectively icing the game.
Lutterman tacked on a two-RBI double during the bottom of the sixth inning – the sixth of the game by the Hokies (season high). Radford walked eight batters through six defensive innings.
UP NEXT
Virginia Tech will begin a three-game ACC series against Pitt on Friday, April 17. Game times between the Hokies and the Panthers at English Field are scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday, 6 p.m. on Saturday (April 18) and 1 p.m. on Sunday (April 19).