Hammerin' Hokies swing five homers in Opening Day rout

BLACKSBURG – Led by sophomore catcher Cade Hunter's four extra-base hits on Friday, the Virginia Tech baseball team swung its iconic home run hammer five times on Opening Day as the Hokies cruised past UNC Asheville, 17-3, at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park.

Hunter achieved his first career four-hit game in the fifth inning before being lifted for a pinch runner with Tech nursing its comfortable, 16-0 lead. The third-year backstop from Mount Laurel, New Jersey, bookended a pair of run-scoring doubles around two leadoff home runs, matching fifth-year infielder Eduardo Malinowski for the game high, five RBIs.

Virginia Tech (1-0) scored seven of its 17 runs off homers, racking up 22 hits – including nine that landed for extra bases. Each of the Hokies' nine starters recorded at least one hit, five of whom packaged multiple hits during the afternoon.

Rookie infielder Carson DeMartini knocked the first pitch of his first collegiate at-bat over the center field wall to open Tech's four-run second inning. Malinowski padded the inning with a three-run homer while Tanner Schobel led off the fourth inning with a solo shot – part of his 3-for-3 day at the plate.

Five-time 2022 Preseason All-American Gavin Cross tripled for Tech's first hit of the 2022 season, becoming the Hokies' first player to triple on Opening Day since 2017 (Sam Fragale).

Sophomore right-hand starter Griffin Green needed 64 pitches to log five shutout innings against UNC Asheville (0-1). Green scattered two hits and struck out five, facing two batters above the minimum to earn his first victory of the season.

Tech iced its win with its eight-run fifth inning, during which the Hokies brought 12 bats to the plate. The Bulldogs chipped three runs off Tech's 17-0 lead after the sixth inning, yielding six hits and two errors for the game.

NOTEWORTHY
• Tech's 14-run victory on Friday marks the program's most lopsided Opening Day win since Feb. 20, 2009, when the Hokies coincidentally defeated UNC Asheville by 17 runs (21-4).
• Cade Hunter became Tech's third player to register four or more hits on Opening Day during the program's ACC era (2006 – Bryan Thomas, 2017 – Sam Fragale).

UP NEXT
Game two between Virginia Tech and UNC Asheville is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 19.
 

Gallery: (2-18-2022) BSB: UNC Asheville Game 1