Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – Harnessing top-to-bottom production once again from its lineup on Sunday, the Virginia Tech baseball team pedaled into a new gear midway through its weekend finale against Ohio, scoring 10 runs from the fifth inning onward to win, 11-2, at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park.
Christian Martin, Ben Watson and Chris Cannizzaro each recorded two hits apiece for Virginia Tech (31-14), which completed the three-game sweep of Ohio (14-28) and extended its winning streak to five consecutive games. Carson DeMartini doubled and Eddie Micheletti Jr. tripled as their lone hits of the day while David McCann and Gehrig Ebel also contributed to the Hokies' 10-hit barrage.
Virginia Tech trailed Ohio, 2-1, into the fifth inning when the Hokies finally managed to scratch across the game's tying run on a sacrifice fly by DeMartini. Although Tech was forced to settle by leaving the potential go-ahead run at third base, the Hokies soon spun momentum in their favor during the top of the sixth inning, squashing a rally that could have allowed the Bobcats to retake the lead.
With Ohio lying runners at the corners and one out, Tech shortstop Clay Grady turned a flashy, 6-3 double play up the middle that ended the sixth inning and fired up the Hokies' dugout. In response, Tech rallied for three runs during the bottom of the sixth inning, loading the bases, walking in a run and receiving a clutch, two-RBI single by Martin that shot the Hokies ahead, 5-2.
Hitless through his first three at-bats of the game, Watson led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a single through the left side, cuing another run-scoring sequence for Virginia Tech. Stepping up with runners at the corners, McCann chopped a ground ball to the right side that left the Bobcats out of position, beating out the play for the RBI infield single that put the home team in front, 6-2.
DeMartini and Watson smacked back-to-back doubles during the eighth inning as part of the Hokies' five-run, game-clinching rally. Two batters after Watson's double into the left field corner had scored a pair of runs, Micheletti brought in two more runs with his shift-beating triple into the right field corner – Tech's fourth triple during series play against Ohio.
Virginia Tech received a scoreless first inning from spot starter Grant Manning before tossing the mound keys to Jacob Stretch, who delivered three and one-third scoreless relief innings (his longest NCAA Division I outing). David Shoemaker tacked on an inning and two-thirds for the Hokies' bullpen prior to Jordan Little (two innings) and Preston Crowl (one inning) combining to pick up the game's final nine outs in succession.
Cole Williams went 2-for-4 to lead Ohio, which troubled Manning during the second inning, scoring two runs on four total hits. Blake Slanker's RBI single – the Bobcats' third hit of the inning off Manning – tied the game at 1-1 while Nick Dolan's ensuing RBI single against Stretch presented the Bobcats with their first lead of the weekend.
Seven of Ohio's eight hits were earned during the game's first five innings while seven of Virginia Tech's 10 hits were earned from the sixth inning onward.
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Virginia Tech will travel to Liberty on Wednesday, May 8, for a 6 p.m. matchup against the Flames at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium.Gallery: (5-5-2024) BSB: Ohio University Sunday