Hokie ClubBERKELEY, Calif. – Behind another stellar, series-opening start by Brett Renfrow on Friday night, the Virginia Tech baseball team cranked out one of its best offensive performances of the 2026 season as the Hokies steamrolled Cal, 9-1, at Evans Diamond at Stu Gordon Stadium.
For the second straight week, Renfrow carried a shutout into the seventh inning where his streak of 15 and two-thirds consecutive innings pitched without allowing a run finally gave way. Tossing 112 pitches (career high), the junior right-hander charted nine strikeouts for the third straight outing, holding the Golden Bears to a run on four hits en route to earning his fourth win spanning his last six starts.
Offensively, Virginia Tech (24-20, 12-13 ACC) witnessed six multi-hit performances from its lineup that cumulatively produced the team’s 16 hits – a tie for the second most by the Hokies this season. Senior catcher Henry Cooke doubled and tied his career high with four hits, leading three-hit nights by Sam Grube and Hudson Lutterman ahead of two-hit games by Ethan Ball, Nick Locurto and Owen Petrich.
After Virginia Tech had stranded two runners in scoring position during the second inning, Ball slugged the Hokies into the lead during the third inning, homering for the third consecutive game. Ball’s 12th homer of 2026 (estimated at more than 400 feet to right field) marked the freshman’s fourth within his last five games, netting him his 40th RBI of the season.
With two runs in, Lutterman created chaos on the bases by knocking the very next pitch from starter Oliver de la Torre into the left field corner, triggering two throwing errors by Cal (23-22, 7-15 ACC) that turned a double into Virginia Tech’s third run of the evening. Carl Schmidt skipped his throw from left field to second base, sending Lutterman to third base where first baseman Daniel Murillo’s throw also sailed wide, gifting the sophomore another 90 feet and the Hokies a 3-0 lead.
Virginia Tech had the opportunity to widen its lead as early as the fourth inning when singles by Petrich and Grube presented the Hokies with runners at the corners. However, the Golden Bears managed to beat Ethan Gibson by a step at first base on their 6-4-3, inning-ending double play, denying Petrich the ability to score immediate insurance.
Tested for the first time during the bottom of the fourth inning, Renfrow survived a two-on, one-out situation with back-to-back strikeouts of Brady Errecart and Kalen Applefield, beginning a string of nine consecutive batters retired by the Virginia Tech ace. With Renfrow keeping Cal scoreless, the Hokies rode their 3-0 advantage into the seventh inning where singles by Grube and Cooke against the Golden Bears’ bullpen set the table for Ball to single in one for the 4-0 lead.
One out and one strike away from seven scoreless innings, Renfrow conceded his first and only run when Taichi Nakao cracked an RBI single through the right side of the infield, matching Virginia Tech’s run during the top half. Bouncing back, Renfrow ended his night by striking out Prather, swinging, toeing seven innings against an ACC opponent for the third time since March 28.
Navigating a 4-1 score line during the eighth inning, Virginia Tech made Cal pay for its one-out walks of Petrich and Pete Daniel. Grube dropped an RBI single into left field that resulted in a second run for the Hokies when he drew a rundown between first and second base, eating enough time for Daniel to dart home for the 6-1 lead.
Virginia Tech capped the night with three runs during the ninth inning, receiving a leadoff double by Cooke and a two-run home run by Locurto. Chase Swift and Aiden Robertson both logged scoreless innings of relief to round out the Hokies’ fourth consecutive ACC series-opening victory.
UP NEXT
Virginia Tech will go for its third consecutive ACC series victory on Saturday, May 2, with the middle game of its three-game series at Cal. First pitch between the Hokies and the Golden Bears at Evans Diamond at Stu Gordon Stadium is scheduled for 2 p.m. PT (5 p.m. ET).