Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – Led by junior right-hander Brett Renfrow’s eight scoreless innings on Friday night, the Virginia Tech baseball team cruised to its first ACC shutout win since 2023, blanking NC State, 4-0, during the teams’ series-opening game at English Field.
Toeing 108 pitches (76 strikes), Renfrow held the Wolfpack to three hits – one on the opening pitch of the ballgame – carving the longest scoreless start of his collegiate career. Matching his career long outing in terms of innings pitched, the Hokies’ ace collected 24 outs from 29 batters faced in victory, reaching only three three-ball counts while charting nine strikeouts for the second consecutive Friday.
With Renfrow dealing, Virginia Tech (21-19, 10-12 ACC) posted its fifth win spanning its last six games, building the early 3-0 lead by the end of the third inning. Twice with two outs, the Hokies dialed up run-scoring, extra-base hits – Sam Gates during the second inning with his RBI triple to right field and Ethan Ball during the third inning with his two-run home run into the visiting bullpen.
Gates cracked another extra-base hit for Virginia Tech during the bottom of the fourth inning, muscling a ball into the left field corner that, had it not bounced out of play for a ground-rule double, would have scored Willie Hurt from first base. Instead, the Hokies were unable to add to their three-run lead as NC State starter Heath Andrews found his way out of trouble, momentarily parking the score where it was.
However, Virginia Tech rallied to chalk a third scoring inning against Andrews during the bottom of the fifth inning, largely due to the hard-fought, nine-pitch walk Ball drew against the right-hander. With Henry Cooke aboard at first base following his one-out single, Ball fouled off three two-strike deliveries from Andrews before receiving the free pass, moving Cooke into scoring position.
Two batters later, freshman Willie Hurt chimed in with first-pitch contact into left field that plated Cooke for the Hokies’ fourth and final run of the evening.
Beginning with the final out of the fourth inning, Renfrow retired 12 consecutive batters before allowing a two-out single to Rett Johnson during the eighth inning. Johnson accounted for two of his team’s three hits and earned the only walk issued by Renfrow, swiping two bases on two attempts.
Chase Swift closed the door on NC State (26-15, 9-10 ACC) during the ninth inning, finishing Renfrow’s mastery by striking out two of the three batters he faced to end the game. Together, Renfrow and Swift achieved Virginia Tech’s first ACC shutout victory since April 28, 2023, when Anthony Arguelles (seven and one-third innings) and Brady Kirtner iced North Carolina, 7-0, at English Field.
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Virginia Tech will play for the series against NC State on Saturday, April 25, at English Field. First pitch between the Hokies and the Wolfpack has been pushed up to noon ET (previously 3 p.m. ET).