2022 virginia tech Baseball Preview

By Sam Alves & Wyatt Krueger

Staff Writers

February 17, 2022

BLACKSBURG – John Szefc has a quiet confidence about his team, one the Virginia Tech head coach knows betrays the expectations many have for a program that finished 2-15 over its last 17 games last year before losing its entire weekend rotation, best reliever and starting corner infielders in the offseason.

“I think we expect to go back [to the ACC Championships] and do way better [than go 0-2],” Szefc, who begins his fifth season leading Virginia Tech, said to 3304 Sports Tuesday morning. “We’re looking to trend upwards, so to speak.

“And I know people will look at the roster and go, ‘Man, how would you expect to do that?’ Well, a lot of the people that would say that are not around the group every day. I think talent-wise, it’s a talented group. It’s just a matter of them going out and playing against other people.”

The first chance to do that comes Friday at 2 p.m. against UNC Asheville at English Field.

The Hokies still return a couple marque names — Perfect Game First-Team All ACC selections in outfielder Gavin Cross and shortstop Tanner Schobel — and Szefc isn’t afraid to throw sophomore right-hander Griffin Green into that mix, either.

In addition to Green, expect sophomore lefty Grant Umberger and junior righty Graham Firoved to pick up the slack on the mound among returning pitchers. Beyond that trio is an unproven collection of talented arms yet to throw a pitch in the ACC.

“You’re not going to know some of these guys,” Szefc said. “You’re going to see some guys on the mound and be like, “Who is this? I don’t even know who this guy is. He went where?”

That doesn’t phase Szefc, though, who says patience is the name of the game when developing young pitching, a task the restrictions and lack of high school ball due to COVID-19 coming into last year slowed.

“There’s going to be quality days, and you’re going to have some not-so-quality days,” Szefc said.

Szefc offered more clarity when discussing the position players. Cross and Schobel are locked into the lineup. So, too, is graduate transfer Eduardo Malinowski. The toosly right-handed hitter batted .300 or better in four seasons at Penn and is “just as good of a guy as he is a player.”

On the infield, Tech brings in standout freshman Carson DeMartini, Perfect Game top-100 ACC freshman, who is poised to fill in for the departed Kevin Madden at the hot corner.

“Yeah, [DeMartini] is a pretty advanced guy for his age — defensively, offensively, kind of the way he thinks and how he plays,” Szefc said. “He’s one of the rare guys as a true freshman that should be an immediate impact guy.”

The rest of the lineup is filled with versatile defenders who swing a capable bat — returners Nick Biddison, Nick Holesa and Lucas Donlon on the infield; Brennan Reback and Connor Hartigan in the outfield.

That versatility is the name of the game for Tech this season. Szefc likes the depth of the team more than last year, even if the names — one’s he doesn’t mind the baseball cognoscenti not knowing — don’t wow you on paper

“In traditional baseball, it’s all about stamps,” Szefc started. “What we’ve tried to do is water down the stamps. Don’t feel like you’ve got to be labeled as a [certain] guy. This is probably a group I’m very eager to see play maybe because of the lack of stamps on guys, so to speak.

“And I think the other thing is a lot of coaches [or] baseball coaches have a tendency to look far ahead, look at week four….Honestly, I’m just looking at Friday. I want to see what happens on Friday, then we’ll deal with Saturday.”

Below is further info on the players to look out for in the 2022 season.

Key Returners

No. 19 Outfielder Gavin Cross

After an excellent spring season and a summer spent with the USA Collegiate National Team, Cross enters his sophomore campaign as the fifth-best prospect in the country according to Division I Baseball’s top 100 draft prospects. Cross was also named to the 2022 Golden Spikes Award preseason list, the first Hokie to do so since 2010. Cross is Virginia Tech’s most consistent bat while anchoring the right side of the outfield. Cross slashed .345/.415/.621 with a team-leading 1.036 OPS and 11 home runs last season, and will need to be a key contributor in 2022 for the Hokies to have success.

No. 8 Infielder Tanner Schobel

Schobel burst onto the scene as an immediate impact player in 2021, posting a .279 batting average with seven home runs, the second most on the team. The sophomore infielder played shortstop and second base while starting in every game for Tech last season. Schobel will need to clean up his eight errors in the field in 2021, but improvement in his second season could make the top of the Virginia Tech lineup a nightmare for opposing pitchers.

No. 24 Utility Nick Biddison

After missing the first 24 games of the 2021 season due to shoulder surgery, Biddison is coming into his junior year fully healthy and is one of the more proven bats in the Hokies’ lineup. Despite posting a career-low batting average of .235 with 31 strikeouts, Biddison was eighth on the team in hits in only 26 games played last year. Virginia Tech will need Biddison’s experience and versatility, as he can play multiple positions on the field.

No. 31 Outfielder Jack Hurley

Another sophomore standout, Hurley looks to build upon a solid freshman year where he slashed .251/.354/.411 with six home runs and 25 RBI’s. One area where Hurley can take a step forward this season is by cutting down on the strikeouts, after totaling a team-leading 64 last spring.

No. 51 Pitcher Graham Firoved

The departure of Shane Connolly leaves a notable hole in the back end of the bullpen, and Firoved is a notable candidate to fill his shoes. Firoved recorded three saves his sophomore year, second only to Connolly’s six, combined with a solid 3.48 ERA and .213 batting average against in 21 appearances. His strikeout capability, combined with a possibly increased workload make him a name to watch in his junior season.

No. 35 Pitcher Ryan Metz

While his ERA ballooned to 9.00 in 2021, he posted a 1.71 K/BB ratio, a personal best. This spring, Metz looks to return to his 2019 form, when he posted an impressive 3.00 ERA and 1.50 WHIP. Metz is another reliever who could see an increased workload this season, especially after a modest ten innings pitched during the 2021 season.

Impactful Additions

No. 23 Infielder Eduardo Malinowski

Szefc is pumped about the Spring, Texas native, praising his plus bat speed. Though he maintained a sense of caution discussing players who put up big numbers at smaller schools, Malinowski is a guy Szefc isn’t worried about. In a pandemic-shortened 2021 campaign, the infielder hit .300 over 60 at-bats, a number that dipped compared to his three previous full seasons.

No. 10 Pitcher Tyler Dean

Though he’s listed as a pitcher and infielder on the roster, Szefc says the true freshman will solely pitch. Per Perfect Game, the Commonwealth’s top right-handed recruit has touched 98 miles per hour with his fastball. Szefc expects him to contribute quickly and says he “kind of pitches like a football player out there.” Wouldn’t expect too many charges to the mound with him on the bump.

No. 15 Pitcher Drue Hackenberg

Brother of former Penn State standout Christian Hackenberg, the righty’s heater sits right around 90 miles per hour, per Perfect Game, which lists him as the nation’s No. 500 recruit. What Szefc said of Hackenberg — “that guy is real, man” — and the rest of his young pitching corps: “There’s a lot of dynamite in the pot that is kind of waiting to come out and show it.”