Virginia Tech Baseball: Hokies Sweep Boston College

The Hokies (25-24, 12-14) went undefeated this week as they recorded midweek wins over Appalachian State (15-34, 7-19) and North Carolina A&T (9-36, 6-17) followed by a crucial 3-game sweep of Boston College (24-24, 9-17).

Tuesday, Appalachian State @ VT: W, 13-4

The Hokies dismantled an overmatched Appalachian State squad on Tuesday with a 13-4 victory.

Connor Coward got the start for the Hokies and fell behind early after giving up a run in the second and two in the third. Coward settled down after the third which gave the Hokies offense plenty of time to assert their dominance over the Mountaineers pitching staff.

The Hokies snatched the lead from Appalachian State in the bottom of the third and never looked back. Erik Payne brought in the first Hokies run of the inning with a walk, one of five on the evening for Payne which tied the Virginia Tech and ACC single-game walks record. Sean Keselica then hit into a bases-loaded double play that scored Alex Perez to tie the game at three. After a few Mountaineer miscues, Sam Fragale scampered home on a wild pitch to give the Hokies a 4-3 lead.

The Hokies put the game out of reach in the bottom of the fourth. After two singles and a hit by pitch loaded the bases with Hokies with no outs, Alex Perez worked a walk to score Ryan Tufts. Payne followed with his third walk of the evening which let Saige Jenco trot home. Keselica redeemed himself for the bases-loaded double play he hit into in the previous inning with a two-RBI single through the right side that gave the Hokies an 8-3 lead.. Fragale added on one more run for the Hokies with an RBI single up the middle that brought Payne around to score.

After a few quiet innings, the Hokies got on the board again in the sixth with a Saige Jenco RBI single that gave Tech a comfortable seven run advantage. The Hokies piled on three more runs in the seventh off of four hits and an Appalachian State error.

Jon Woodcock and Luis Collazo teamed up to work the final four innings for the Hokies and allowed just Appalachian State run. Collazo closed out the game in the ninth when he got Dylan Hamel to ground out to first with the bases loaded to give the Hokies an easy victory.

Wednesday, North Carolina A&T @ VT: W, 3-0

Freshman starting pitcher Joey Sullivan proved to be a Houdini-esque escape artist on Wednesday as he tossed eight shutout innings against North Carolina A&T despite consistently pitching with runners in scoring position. Sullivan earned the first win of his career as the Hokies pulled out a 3-0 victory.

The Hokies got things started in the first with consecutive singles from Mac Caples and Kyle Wernicki. Alex Perez followed with a fly ball to right that was deep enough for Caples to advance to third. Brendon Hayden put the Hokies on the board with a sacrifice fly that allowed Caples to race home.

After two quick outs started the bottom of the fifth, Caples and Wernicki again smoked back-to-back singles for the Hokies. Perez was drilled by a Danny Garrett offering to load the bases. Hayden then worked a five pitch walk that gave the Hokies senior his team-leading 47th RBI. Erik Payne followed Hayden with an infield single that extended the Hokies lead to three.

The Aggies tallied seven hits off of Joey Sullivan over his final four innings of work, but the young righty got outs when it mattered most and escaped each jam unscatched. Closer Aaron McGarity came on to work the ninth for the Hokies and needed just seven pitches to preserve Sullivan's first win.

Friday, Boston College @ VT: W, 5-3

Any doubt as to the magnitude of this weekend's series with Boston College was quickly cast away two minutes into game one on Friday night at English Field.

After Kit Scheetz issued a six pitch walk to start the game, pitching coach Robert Woodard strolled out to the mound for what may have been the earliest mound visit in baseball history. Putting nothing to chance with the Hokies postseason hopes hanging in the balance, Woodard and Scheetz got on the same page and Scheetz managed to hold the Eagles scoreless despite giving up two hits and a walk in the first.

"That was probably the worst first inning I could possibly have and I still put up a zero," said Scheetz. "So I still had some confidence knowing that it's only going up from here."

His outing would indeed go up from there as he tossed 6 2/3 innings of one-run baseball to lead the Hokies to a vital game 1 victory.

The sole blemish for Scheetz came in the top of the third when Boston College capitalized on a leadoff double to take an early 1-0 lead. The Hokies answered quickly in the fourth with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly from Sam Fragale that evened up the game. With runners remaining at the corners with just one out, Andrew Mogg grounded into a 6-4-3 double play that ended the inning.

Redshirt sophomore Saige Jenco got the Hokies rolling in the bottom of the fifth with what Coach Mason dubbed an "advanced at-bat". Known more for his speed and his tendency to work to the opposite field than his power, Jenco recognized Boston College was attempting to get in on his hands. The Eagles tried one too many times as Jenco turned on a 1-1 inside fastball and blasted it off the English Field scoreboard for a solo home run.

"I just knew the first pitch he threw in on me and teams are going to throw in on me because I don't really pull the ball that much," said Jenco. "So I just knew after it was a 1-1 count that he was going to try a fastball in and I got my hands inside it and drove it."

New to the whole home run game, the speedy Jenco dashed around the bases with fervor until he finally realized the ball had left the park.

"I'm not really used to hitting home runs so I was running around the bases like it wasn't out until I saw him (the umpire) put his hands up," joked Jenco.

Mason was pleased to see his leadoff hitter making important adjustments as the rest of the league starts to get a book on him.

"He said to himself 'Saige, I'm probably going to get another fastball in' and he did and he executed," said Mason. "That's pretty advanced. Saige probably wouldn't have done that three weeks ago, nevermind last year."

The Hokies added on two more runs in the fifth with three straight hits from Alex Perez, Brendon Hayden, and Erik Payne.

Scheetz lasted until the top of the seventh when Coach Mason finally took the ball from his starter and turned the game over to Aaron McGarity looking for a seven-out save. McGarity stranded two Eagles in the seventh to preserve the 4-1 lead.

Trouble came in the top of the eighth for McGarity as Boston College cut the Hokies lead to one courtesy of a few well-placed singles and a key passed ball that crossed up catcher Andrew Mogg.

The Hokies added on a crucial insurance run in the eighth when Saige Jenco singled to left to score pinch runner Logan Bible from second. Clinging to a 5-3 lead, Coach Mason sent McGarity back out to the mound to work the ninth.

"He wasn't coming out of the game. You guys have seen us all year and when you got a strike-thrower in there, make them hit their way back on top," Mason said.

McGarity allowed one Boston College single but induced a groundball to short to record the final out with Boston College star Chris Shaw left standing helpless in the on-deck circle.

Saturday, Boston College @ VT: W, 6-3

Game 2 got off to a touching start on Saturday as Elizabeth Yered, the sister of head coach Pat Mason and a cancer survivor who has been cancer-free for just over five years, tossed out the first pitch to her brother on Breast Cancer Awareness Day. If Mason hadn't been sporting sunglasses, you could have even spotted some tears welling up in the eyes of the New England native in what was clearly a special moment for the family.

After 3 hours and two minutes of endless twists and turns in Blacksburg, the Hokies escaped with a 6-3 victory that put them, for now, on the right side of the ACC tournament cut line.

Controversy came quickly in the top of the first when Boston College ran themselves out of an early scoring opportunity. With runners at second and third with just one out, Michael Strem hit a soft ground ball to third baseman Ryan Tufts. Boston College's Jake Palomaki wandered too far off of third and was caught in a pickle. After two throws from the Hokies defense, both Eagles runners ended up standing on third base. Tufts alertly tagged the trail runner, who is automatically out as he has no right to the bag, and when the lead runner stepped off the base, Tufts applied a tag on him as well to end the inning. For some reason, third base umpire Gregory Street made an extremely delayed call, clearly upsetting Boston College head coach Mike Gambino.

"It's just a giant momentum swing. We're a little bit on our heels...we catch a break there," said Mason. "Although we earned that break as well...Ryan did a great job."

The Hokies carried that momentum into the bottom of the first and quickly loaded the bases for Senior Erik Payne. Payne delivered in a big way with a grand slam that landed just beyond the centerfield wall giving the Hokies a 4-0 lead.

Starting pitcher Sean Keselica clearly didn't have his best stuff throughout the afternoon, but he battled through seven innings and allowed just three runs.

"He was laboring all day, although he had his best fastball in terms of velocity. It was really coming out of his hand very firm," said Mason. "Sometimes you struggle to harness that in, but he did what he needed to. It goes to show how good his stuff is."

With Boston College trailing by one in the sixth, the Hokies worked around another Eagles threat with a second double play ending at third base. The Eagles had runners on the corners with one out when Jake Palomaki hit a blooper in between Sam Fragale at second and Rahiem Cooper in right. Fragale and Cooper converged and collided, but somehow Fragale held on to the ball. Fragale returned to his feet and threw to third baseman Ryan Tufts who dove on the bag just before Stephen Sauter could return to tag up to complete the double play. Cooper emerged from the collision with 14 more stitches, this time in his forehead, after being spiked by Fragale. Cooper was available in Sunday's game but did not play.

As if the game hadn't been bizarre enough, controversy returned in the top of the eighth with the Hokies clinging to a 4-3 lead. Luke Scherzer was on the mound for the Hokies and was dealing with Eagles star Chris Shaw at the plate. Shaw appeared to ground out weakly to end the inning, but third base umpire Gregory Street, the same umpire involved with the first inning fiasco, called a mystery balk on Scherzer as he apparently felt Scherzer never came set. After a heated discussion with Street, Pat Mason was ejected for the first time in his career as the Hokies head coach. While the balk did move the tying run into scoring position, it also opened up first base which allowed the Hokies to issue a free pass to Shaw. The umpiring crew had yet another blunder in the very next at-bat as a slider got away from Scherzer and hit Jake Palomaki's foot, but the umpires ruled it a ball. Unfortunately for Boston College, Palomaki's two strike count remained and Scherzer eventually got him looking on a 3-2 slider to end the inning.

The Hokies added on two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth courtesy of a Max Ponzurick two-RBI line drive single back up the middle. WIth the recent history of the Hokies bullpen, the importance of insurance runs can't be overstated.

"It's the difference between wins and losses. There's a big difference between going up one in the ninth than up three," said Senior Erik Payne.

Scherzer returned to the mound for the ninth and allowed two Eagles to reach, but Nick Sciortino flew out to right fielder Mac Caples to end one of the strangest baseball games in recent memory.

Sunday, Boston College @ VT: W, 2-1

Apparently tired of being overshadowed by their freshman starting pitcher on Senior Day, the Hokies seniors took matters into their own hands in the bottom of the ninth.

Down 1-0 despite a brilliant performance from freshman lefty Packy Naughton, senior Brendon Hayden crushed a two-run walk-off home run against Boston College closer Justin Dunn to give the Hokies their fourth straight ACC victory.

Naughton was spectacular throughout but earned the hard-luck no decision after exiting with two outs in the ninth. Behind a devastating changeup that fooled Eagles hitters all afternoon, Naughton was perfect through 5 2/3 before Gabriel Hernandez lined a single to left to break up the perfect game.

"That was the best changeup he's thrown all year. He threw it repeatedly and he didn't miss spots with it," said Coach Mason. "His breaking ball was as sharp as I've seen all year. To have both off-speed pitches the best they've been all year and throwing them for strikes, that just makes his fastball that much better."

Naughton also had the benefit of pitching in front of a defense that was determined to keep his perfect game alive as long as possible.

"Our defense played with tremendous confidence. I attribute a lot of that to the way Packy was pitching, throwing strike after strike after strike and the ball is in play. Your defense is on their toes...One hand washes the other with that," said Mason.

Naughton's counterpart, fellow southpaw Jesse Adams, was just as effective and shut out the Hokies in his 6 2/3 innings of work.

The Eagles finally scratched across a run in the top of the seventh with an RBI double from Blake Butera. Naughton rebounded quickly and retired the next two Eagles to limit the damage to one.

Naughton pitched into the ninth inning but was finally removed one out short of a complete game. Aaron McGarity replaced Naughton and stranded his inherited runner on second to keep the Hokies well within striking distance.

Entering the bottom of the ninth down 1-0, the Hokies had the four seniors in the starting lineup due up.

"We had a great outing from a freshman and we knew as seniors we needed to take it to the next level," said Hayden. "I knew who we had coming up and I knew we weren't going to lose."

After senior captain Alex Perez led off the inning with a walk, Hayden's prophecy rang true as he blasted a two-run walk-off home run off the English Field scoreboard to lift the Hokies to a 2-1 victory.

Even though he didn't end up earning the win, Packy Naughton said he couldn't have scripted a better Senior Day for the seniors he has come to respect and look up to.

"They're just unbelievable leaders. Every day they're always making sure you're busting your butt and making sure you're doing as well as you can. They always try to push you just a little bit farther to get you better each and every day. They've just been idols to me," said Naughton.

Despite being forced to endure eight innings of stress-filled baseball, Coach Mason was clearly more than satisfied with the ending the baseball gods gave Senior Day.

"It couldn't have been (any better). I'm proud to be their coach," said Mason. "They're such good kids...they mean the world to our program."

This Week (5/4–5/10)

Finals week is approaching in Blacksburg which means the Hokies will be off next weekend. However, they will take on West Virginia (24-22, 6-12) in a midweek contest this Tuesday at English Field. Coach Mason also didn't rule out the possibility of adding an additional game to the schedule, but nothing has been solidified as of yet.

With the sweep of Boston College, the Hokies would qualify for the ten team ACC tournament if the season were to end today. Most teams surrounding the Hokies in the ACC standings have six conference games remaining, so the tournament picture remains unsettled. The Hokies final series will start in Pittsburgh on May 15 as they take on the Panthers (16-29, 6-18) in a vital 3-game set that they'll likely need to win to ensure themselves a spot in the postseason.