Biddison, starting pitching lead way in Tech's sweep of Bryant

Shelton Moss

March 2, 2020

BLACKSBURG, VA - After an inauspicious start to the 2020 season, the Virginia Tech Hokies seem to be hitting their stride.

Nick Biddison led a balanced offensive attack while Anthony Simonelli and Ian Seymour dominated on the mound as Virginia Tech swept Bryant in a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park.

In the first game of the twinbill, starting pitcher Anthony Simonelli earned the 7-2 win, giving up two earned runs and striking out eight Bulldogs in six innings of work.

Simonelli did not yield a hit until the fifth inning. His only blip was a two-run homer to Bryant right fielder Shane Kelly in the sixth.

“He probably didn’t have his best stuff today as far as locating,” Virginia Tech head coach John Szefc said of his righthander. “But he made big pitches when we had to and got us out of some jams.”

The Hokies’ offense struck quickly, scoring three runs in the first inning. Leadoff hitter Nick Biddison lined a triple to right center on the first pitch he saw and came around to score on a bases-loaded walk.

“[Assistant coach Kurt Elbin] came up to me and said, ‘Do you wanna go [swing first pitch]?’” Biddison said. “I said, ‘Yeah.’ Hearing a coach have the confidence in you to go first pitch gets me jacked up a little bit.”

Later in the inning, catcher Cade Hunter chipped in with a single up the middle that plated two runs.

The Hokies also saw contributions from Fritz Genther, who went 2-for-3 with an RBI. In the fourth inning, the freshman shortstop smacked his first career home run with a solo shot to left field.

In the second contest, Biddison continued his hot hitting with a 423-foot moonshot to left-center field in the fifth, giving Virginia Tech a 2-1 lead that they would not relinquish.

“I’ve been getting under the ball all week, so I just thought to get my hands on top of it,” Biddison said. “I kind of just simpled up and got it done.”

Virginia Tech capped off the weekend with a 10-2 win, adding five insurance runs in the eight inning, highlighted by Gavin Cross’ two-run double.

In the series, the Hokies scored 32 runs, striking for no fewer than seven in any game.

“We were trying to take less fastballs for strikes, especially with runners in scoring position,” Szefc said. “I thought we did a good job of that. We struck out less.”

Ian Seymour, the starter in game two, delivered five and one-third scoreless innings, striking out nine and yielding only two runs, one of which was unearned.

On the day, Bryant hitters were just 8-for-61 (.131) with 26 strikeouts.

With the series sweep, Virginia Tech has won six consecutive games after a 1-3 start to the season. They will look to continue their good fortune with a midweek contest at High Point on Tuesday afternoon.