Virginia Tech Baseball: Hokies Drop Second-Straight to Wolfpack
RALEIGH, N.C. — Virginia Tech (12-7, 1-4) has now dropped its last two matchups against NC State (14-5, 2-0) after a narrow 6-3 defeat, sealing the series for the Wolfpack.
Freshman Hokie Jake Marciano took the mound for Virginia Tech, facing off against sophomore right-hander Heath Andrews.
In the bottom of the second inning, junior Matt Heavner recorded the first hit of the night with a home run to left field, bringing in sophomore Luke Nixon, who had stolen first and advanced to third on a Hokies throwing error.
No more scoring ensued until the top of the fourth, when Sam Tackett cut the Wolfpack’s lead in half with a rare inside-the-park home run.
Mercer transfer Jackson Cherry evened the score at 2-all, launching the first pitch of the fifth inning out of the park for the only hit of the frame.
The Hokies took their first lead of the night in the top of the sixth. Cam Pittman singled, setting up graduate student Ben Watson, who battled through a 3-2 count before reaching base and allowing Pittman to advance to third. Tackett followed with a sacrifice bunt, bringing Pittman home for a 3-2 advantage against Wolfpack reliever Andrew Shaffner, who had replaced Andrews just before the play.
After keeping the Wolfpack scoreless in the bottom of the sixth, the Hokies were unable to add to their lead in the seventh, opening the door for an NC State equalizer.
After back-to-back singles put runners on first and third, Virginia Tech turned to junior Andrew Sentlinger in relief of Marciano. Sentlinger immediately gave up the tying run on a sacrifice bunt, allowing Nixon to score.
The Hokies were again held scoreless in the eighth, while NC State capitalized with three runs. Virginia Tech made two pitching changes in the inning, but both Jacob Exum and Josh Berzonski surrendered runs.
The Hokies went down in order in the ninth, sealing their fourth ACC loss of the season.
Virginia Tech will face NC State once more this weekend, with the series finale set for 4 p.m. Sunday at Doak Field at Dail Park in Raleigh, N.C.
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