Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – Swinging one home run to the visitor’s two on Saturday afternoon, the Virginia Tech baseball ended the regular season two pegs short of Virginia as the Hokies dropped game three of the Commonwealth Clash presented by Smithfield, 3-1, at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park.
Playing his final home game in Blacksburg, sixth-year outfielder Ben Watson led off the bottom of the first inning with a solo home run to left field, adding extra distance with winds blowing out to the same part of the ballpark. At the time, Watson’s seventh home run of the season halved the score line at 2-1 after the Cavaliers’ cleanup first baseman, Chris Arroyo, had knocked a two-run home run off starter Chase Swift.
Despite trailing after the opening inning, Virginia Tech (30-24, 12-18 ACC) pitched one of its more wholesome games of the season as its four relievers combined to toss the game’s final eight innings, weathering eight hits by Virginia (32-17, 16-11 ACC) yet allowing one run. Beginning with Jacob Exum’s scoreless second inning, the Hokies’ bullpen managed to strand 11 Cavaliers on base, racking up nine strikeouts while overcoming four free passes (three walks).
Junior right-hander Mathieu Curtis logged his longest outing of the season against an ACC opponent, dealing three and two-thirds innings to carry Virginia Tech deep into the sixth inning. Curtis was a pitch away from striking out the Virginia side during the third inning when Jacob Ference had other ideas, cracking a solo home run to left field that extended the Cavaliers’ lead to 3-1.
Ference’s home run was one of seven two-out hits belted by Virginia and one of three allowed by Curtis, who went on to surrender two-out doubles to Ferrence (fifth inning) and Aidan Teel (sixth inning). With Teel's double bringing the end for Curtis, Brendan Yagesh struck out Eric Becker to escape the sixth inning, saving the duo from trouble and opening the door for the Hokies to charge back late.
After leaving runners at the corners during the bottom of the second inning, Virginia Tech saw no base traffic until the fifth inning against Virginia starter Tomas Valincius, who lasted six and two-thirds innings, scattering six hits while recording six strikeouts. On two occasions during the fifth and sixth innings, the Hokies threatened with two on and two out but were unable to chip away both times at their two-run deficit.
Catching the wrong side of Saturday’s breaks, Virginia Tech had its seventh inning squashed due to a baserunning mistake by Lutterman, who beat out an infield ball yet missed the safety bag at first base, resulting in him being tagged for the second out of the inning. The miscue accelerated the Virginia’s hold on the inning as Clay Grady’s two-out infield single would likely have scored Lutterman based on earlier action, despite the rally stalling out prematurely.
With Saturday’s loss, Virginia Tech is locked into either the No. 12 or No. 13 seed at the 2025 ACC Baseball Championship, to be held from Tuesday, May 20, to Sunday, May 25, at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, North Carolina. The Hokies will await their final seed and tournament opponent following Saturday’s ACC results.