2024-04-14 01:12:27
Virginia Tech struggled on Saturday in a big loss at Georgia Tech. (Virginia Tech athletics)
In a complete reversal of the previous night’s win, No. 16 Virginia Tech baseball was utterly overwhelmed in a 19-0 thrashing at the hands of Georgia Tech via run-rule in seven innings on Saturday evening at Mac Nease Park in Atlanta, Ga.
It’s the program’s worst loss since a 20-0 defeat to North Carolina on May 14, 2017.
The Hokies (22-9, 11-6 ACC) issued an ACC program-record 19 walks as each of their eight pitchers issued a free pass to first — seven of which did so at least twice. The Yellow Jackets (21-12, 6-8) combined those freebies with 11 hits and a gem of a start from two-way star Cam Jones to emphatically bring the series even.
Eight members of GT’s lineup worked a base on balls with six of them walking twice or more. Jones did so four times at the plate while tossing seven scoreless innings and yielding just three hits with six strikeouts on 81 pitches. He retired 14 of the last 15 Hokies he faced as VT was shut out for the first time this year — and first time since the 2022 ACC Tournament against UNC — and tied its season-low in hits.
Meanwhile, the Hokies used eight pitchers — three of which failed to record an out — each of whom gave up at least a run, combining for 201 pitches, 99 of which missed the zone. Three arms gave up at least three walks.
Yellow Jackets star freshman Drew Burruss poured in a 4-for-5 day with three RBI, Trey Yunger went 2-for-3 with an RBI, two walks and four runs and Parker Brosius drove in three runs with his two hits to highlight Georgia Tech’s offensive dominance.
The Yellow Jackets had a merry-go-round on the bases all night long, but had particularly long rides on the carousel in their six-run second inning and their eight-run fifth. In each frame, they batted around with seven total hits and 11 total walks.
The bottom of the second was punctuated by a grand slam from Matthew Ellis — who drove in five runs on the day — after Hokies starter Wyatt Parliament was pulled before recording an out. In the fifth, Virginia Tech almost got out cleanly after a double play cleared the bases, but a two-out error on a throw from Carson DeMartini led to three hits, six walks and eight unearned runs as nine consecutive Jackets reached safely.
On the flip side, VT never sent more than four batters to the plate in a single inning and only had one baserunner advance into scoring position — Chris Cannizzaro singled and reached second on a wild pitch in the fifth inning. Only three Hokies hitters reached base safely, none of which did so multiple times. And of their three hits, none were for extra bases.
Saturday’s performance wasn’t just an aberration, but one that’s really hard to comprehend for Virginia Tech. This is a team that just had 14 walks of its own on Wednesday against Liberty, then recorded 20 hits in the first game of the series to nearly win in run-rule fashion themselves. With three hits and no walks from its lineup and the complete lack of control and command from its arms, for the Hokies to go out and put forth by far their worst performance of the season in every facet is rather incredible.
Still, a possibility of a fifth ACC series victory in six weekends remains for Virginia Tech. It just desperately needs to flush this loss down the drain and get back to the way things were previously. It’s a team that’s fully capable of doing so.
Sunday’s rubber match comes in matinée fashion at 1 p.m. ET on ACC Network Extra. Griffin Stieg will start on the mound for the Hokies, looking to bounce back from his shortest outing of the season a week ago against Wake Forest.
Box Score: Georgia Tech 19, No. 16 Virginia Tech 0
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