“It was a day where didn’t have his best stuff, but Jackson did a great job to get us out of it,” DeMartini said. And that’s how Tech ended up trailing before Tackett’s sac-fly tied the game at three. He nearly escaped the inning unscathed but bounced a two-out wild pitch to let Singsank score. But the Hokies would soon face another deficit a half-inning later.įisher, who replaced Kennedy at the top of the fifth, walked Singsank to open the sixth and was relieved by right-hander Jackson Ritchey. Tech responded with Gavin Cross’s lead-off double in the fifth, followed by an Eduardo Malinowski sacrifice fly to tie the score at two after Schobel moved Cross to third on a single to left field. He yielded a two-out RBI single to center fielder Javon Fields in the third and a sacrifice fly to first baseman Cole Singsank in the fourth, but bounced back to limit the damage both times. Kennedy initially ran into trouble in the third and fourth innings after setting the first six hitters he faced in order. The Hokies gave their starter a cushion to work early when Nick Biddison walked with the bases-loaded in the second inning, pushing DeMartini home. “To get a game where your starter only allowed two runs, that’s pretty good,” Szefc said. Ryan Kennedy had a solid outing as the starter, surrendering just two runs. He also recorded two strikeouts and attacked the zone, tossing 42 strikes on 62 pitches.įor Szefc that’s all he could ask for. In four innings, he surrendered six hits and two runs, but didn’t yield a walk. In his final season there in 2021, Kennedy posted a 4.16 ERA in 71 ⅓ innings.Īgainst High Point, he turned in a similar start to the ones he had last season. And he certainly had many takeaways from Tuesday starter Ryan Kennedy, who transferred from Kennesaw State this season. 3 Oklahoma State by one run.īut it’s the mid-week games and early weekend series where Szefc says he’ll likely learn the most about his team. 10 Georgia Tech and lost one of their two games to No. Even though the Raiders have started their season 0-6, they played a competitive series against No. Szefc knows the tougher competition lies ahead, especially this weekend against Wright State. The Hokies had erased any doubt, and that’s how they found themselves off to their best start since 2019 when they started 7-0, only to finish 26-27, just the second year into Szefc’s rebuild. When the inning finally came to a close on a double-play, VT had scored five runs and taken an 8-3 lead. Hunter, DeMartini and Brennan Reback, who pinch-ran for Tackett, crossed the plate on three separate wild pitches. (Virginia Tech sports photography)ĭeMartini fisted a ball the opposite way that dropped in front of left fielder Sam Zayicek, scoring Hurley from second. Tanner Schobel led off the seventh and walked, which helped Tech retake the lead. That set the stage for catcher Cade Hunter, who roped an RBI single through the right side of the infield, giving the Hokies their first lead since the third inning, 4-3. Left fielder Jack Hurley then walked on six pitches with one out. Shortstop Tanner Schobel reached on a lead-off walk in the seventh then stole second. In the inning that ensued, the floodgates opened. It was the spark Tech needed to get its offense going, one that had averaged more than 10 runs-per-game entering Tuesday’s contest. Five pitches later, first baseman Sam Tackett flew out to deep center field to drive in DeMartini on a sacrifice fly. He immediately stood up, pumped his arms and bellowed a “let’s go!” chant as the Hokies trailed 3-2 in the sixth inning. Then DeMartini ripped a three-bagger to right center in the sixth, sliding into third base as he lost his helmet. But the offense nearly wasted it against the Panthers. Those five threw the next five innings and yielded the two final runs. Starter Ryan Kennedy, who pitched four innings and allowed two runs, combined with the efforts of relievers Sean Fisher, Jackson Ritchey, Jonah Hurney, Brady Kirtner and Perfect Game 2021 top-100 recruit Tyler Dean out of the bullpen. “We only got 10 runs out of it, but sometimes you gotta win ugly.” “They walked us eight times and we got 20 free bases out of it,” Tech head coach John Szefc said. They struck out seven times in five innings against a team that was picked as one of the bottom feeders in the Big South. The final score hid some of the missteps that got the Hokies there. If not for Virginia Tech third baseman Carson DeMartini, if not for his first collegiate triple, if not for his RBI single in the seventh that extended the Hokies’ slim lead from one to two runs, it could’ve been a disappointing night.īut instead, VT (7-0) defeated High Point (1-8), 10-4, despite giving the Panthers a legitimate chance to steal a mid-week game at English Field in Blacksburg. Carson DeMartini had a few clutch plays for the Hokies that willed them down the stretch.
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