Hokies’ comeback falls just short in wild ninth inning vs. No. 16 Clemson

By Raza Umerani

Staff Writer

May 13, 2023

BLACKSBURG - In a tie game entering the ninth inning, both Clemson and Virginia Tech knew they needed their bats to propel them to victory. Each lineup provided that necessary lift in the final frame, but it was the Tigers who did just enough more to squeak by with the victory and the series win in an absolutely chaotic finish. 

No. 16 Clemson (34-17, 16-10 ACC) escaped with a 9-8 win over the Hokies (29-18, 11-14) in a nearly four-hour game that featured a coach ejection, nine combined runs in the ninth inning, and an inexplicable game-losing mistake to end it. 

Like the opening game of the series, a home run opened the scoring, only this time, it came from the home team. Tech’s designated hitter Carson DeMartini launched a solo home run to straightaway center field to lead off the bottom of the second inning – his 10th of the season. 

Also mirroring the Friday game, the opposing team wasted no time in gaining a lead of their own, as Clemson’s bats came to life in the top of the third. The Tigers plated four runs in the frame on five hits, including an RBI single from first baseman Caden Grice, a two-run single from second baseman Riley Bertram, and an RBI double from third baseman Blake Wright. Once again, Clemson thrived with two outs, as the final three runs of the inning came on two-out knocks. 

The rally knocked Hokies starter Anthony Arguelles out of the game, who threw two solid innings before struggling in the third. He was relieved by Henry Weycker, who delivered just what Tech needed him to. After picking up the final out of the third, Weycker went on to throw four consecutive spotless innings, yielding just three hits and a walk while striking out a pair on 54 pitches. With Sunday’s series finale shaping up to be a bullpen game for the Hokies, Weycker’s performance was imperative to keep Tech’s arms healthy. 

“[Pitching coach Ryan] Fecteau had asked me previously if I could extend a little bit,” Weycker said. “My arm was feeling good, so I had that mindset to put as much as I could out there.”

While Weycker was stringing together scoreless frame after scoreless frame, the Hokies offense battled back into the ballgame. A rally in the fourth inning cut the lead to one as second baseman Christian Martin drove in two runs with a bases-loaded, one-out single. In the sixth inning, DeMartini led things off with a double, and catcher Brody Donay immediately brought him home with an RBI single to tie the game at four. 

Later in the sixth, VT third baseman David Bryant got some less-than-favorable strike calls from home plate umpire Thomas Newsom, and head coach John Szefc took great exception to them. After taking a few steps out of the dugout and giving Newsom a piece of his mind, Szefc was ejected from the game. It was the first time in his time as the skipper in Blacksburg that he has been tossed. Associate head coach Kurt Elbin took his spot for the remainder of the game. Szefc will be allowed to return for Sunday afternoon’s game. 

Each team’s pitching held things down for the next couple of innings, despite some scoring chances from both sides. Then came the ninth inning, which lasted nearly an hour on its own and featured perhaps the most theatrics of any Virginia Tech baseball game this season.

To start the inning off, Clemson knocked a double and two singles off Brady Kirtner – who has been the best arm in the Hokies bullpen – to regain the lead, 5-4, with left fielder Will Taylor driving home the go-ahead run. Left-hander Andrew Sentlinger came in to try and limit the damage, and after getting the inning’s first out on a fielder’s choice, he surrendered an RBI ground rule double to designated hitter Billy Amick. After an intentional walk to load the bases, Elbin gave the ball to Peter Sakellaris, who walked in a run and surrendered a two-run single to shortstop Benjamin Blackwell. He would be replaced by Griffin Stieg, who was able to record the inning’s final out on a lineout to second base. 

“We tried to pitch into some matchups and it just didn’t work out,” Elbin said. “When you’re as thin as we are in the bullpen, we have to make plays, and we didn’t make plays.”

Big innings plagued Tech on Friday, and that was certainly the case again on Saturday, with Clemson scoring all nine of their runs in just two innings – four in the third and five in the ninth.

All of a sudden, the Hokies found themselves down by five runs heading into the bottom of the ninth inning after clawing back to tie the game. But the team hasn’t gone down without a fight all year long, and down to their final three outs, they put up a heck of a fight. 

Bryant led off the inning with a single to set up a two-run home run from left fielder Chris Cannizzaro that went a whopping 442 feet to left field. First baseman Garrett Michel followed suit with a home run of his own, traveling 367 feet to opposite field. In the blink of an eye, Tech was down just two runs with nobody out in the ninth inning. 

In a much tighter spot than anticipated, Clemson head coach Erik Bakich gave the ball to his closer Rob Hughes to shut down the comeback bid. He struck out the first batter he faced, but then gave up singles to Hurley and DeMartini to put runners on the corners – including the tying run on first base – which knocked him out of the game. The Tigers turned to Tristan Smith, a freshman, to get the save with the winning run at the dish. The first batter he faced was the pinch-hitting Eddie Eisert, who scorched a double to the gap in left center field to score Hurley and advance DeMartini to third. Through their patented fight and discipline, the Hokies went from down five to having the winning run aboard with just one out. 

“To see them fight with their backs against the wall was great,” Elbin said. “We need to be that way. We’re a young group and I think sometimes, emotionally, coming back is tough. But they found some grit right there and it was awesome.”

After Martin was intentionally walked to load the bases, freshman shortstop Clay Grady stepped up to the plate knowing that anything past the infield likely won the game. On an 0-2 count, Grady bounced a grounder up the middle, which was gloved by Bertram, who stepped on the bag for the force out at second before flipping the ball to first. However, his throw was not in time, allowing Grady to be safe at first, and DeMartini to score the tying run at home plate. But immediately after the play was over, interference was called on Martin for not sliding into second base, meaning Grady was out at first, and the ballgame was over.

Grady squatted at first base in complete disbelief while Hurley had to be held back by his teammates in a fit of incandescent rage. Clemson’s dugout emptied as they all ran onto the field to celebrate the victory. Upon review, the call was upheld. The umpires came back out to confirm the call, and the game came to a dramatic end.

“It was a weirdly placed ground ball from Grady, I think [Martin] was trying to get to the bag and just got in between and [didn’t] slide,” Elbin said. “But that kid plays hard. You can’t put it on him.”

The Hokies will try to notch their first win of the series on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m.

“Everybody left everything they had on that field,” Weycker said. “We keep that kind of energy going in the dugout into tomorrow, I think it’ll be a really good day.”