No. 23 hokies look to establish themselves at the top of the acc

Wyatt Krueger

April 1, 2021

BLACKSBURG, Va. — On Thursday, No. 23 Virginia Tech will face a Boston College team that has lost nine of its last twelve games, but manager John Szefc knows better than most that he can’t take any Eagle team lightly.

“I’ve told people this and I’ve been in the ACC since 2013 when I was at Maryland,” Szefc said. “Mike Gambino does as good a job as any coach in this league, Boston College has traditionally been the hardest team for any team I’ve coached to play in this league, and I don’t expect it to be any different this weekend.”

Virginia Tech (13-8, 9-6 ACC) sits in third place in the conference standings and second in the Coastal Division after sweeping No. 24 Pitt on the road last weekend.

“Standings wise I think we’re okay at this stage of the game after five weeks in the ACC,” Szefc said. “Everyone of these series is important, obviously playing at home you expect them to have success.”

In a weekend where Hokie ace Chris Gerard was unavailable while dealing with an injury, Tech’s starting pitchers threw for 15 total innings, while allowing just three earned runs in three games against the Panthers.

Szefc outlined that Gerard would be a weekend decision. The Saturday starter threw a bullpen session on Wednesday to determine his availability.

With a series win against Boston College, Virginia Tech would have a chance to cement itself as a top contender in the ACC almost at the halfway point of the year, despite going on a losing skid of its own after falling in back-to-back weekend series against Florida State and Clemson.

Boston College was swept at home in three games by Clemson last weekend, and suffered a 12-0 loss to Connecticut on Tuesday.

Despite the recent struggles, Szefc explained that his team can’t take any opponents in the ACC for granted, while raving about some of the Eagle’s most talented players.

“They’re a little tough to get a read on, because they have three ultra-talented players on that team,” Szefc said. “Mason Pellio was a preseason ACC pitcher of the year, he’s the kind of guy that can come out and look like Nolan Ryan tomorrow. They’ve got Morrissette and Frelick, two hitters that are borderline really high draft picks.”

Game one will start at 1 p.m. on Thursday at English Field with Peyton Alford going to the hill to face the Eagles’ lineup.