hokies look to tighten grip in coastal standings

Wyatt Krueger

April 23, 2021

Once again, No. 22 Virginia Tech (21-12, 15-9 ACC) has a chance to make a statement in the ACC Coastal division while on the road, as it takes on NC State (16-13, 9-12 ACC) this weekend in Raleigh, N.C.

The Hokies hold an ACC-best 10-4 record on the road, but are hanging on to a one-game lead over Pitt and Georgia Tech in the Coastal Division.

No. 16 Pitt had its series with No. 7 Louisville postponed this weekend because of Covid issues within the Panthers' clubhouse. Georgia Tech, meanwhile, faces a home series against No. 25 Florida State. Both Pitt and Georgia Tech trail the Hokies by a game in the division.

This weekend could be a huge opportunity for Virginia Tech to increase its lead in the division by one or two games.

NC State is coming off a series loss against No. 7 Notre Dame, but swept North Carolina and Boston College earlier this season.

The Hokies are coming off a back-and-forth 7-5 victory over VMI, and were led by the hot bats of freshmen TJ Rumfield and Gavin Cross.

Rumfield hit a three-run shot in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Hokies the lead, while Cross extended his hit streak to 15 games on Wednesday and will look to continue his all-ACC caliber season this weekend.

Cross has 10 home runs with a ridiculous 1.230 on base plus slugging percentage this season, and Rumfield is batting .346 with 31 RBIs.

The Hokies will be monitoring the health of Chris Gerard, who didn’t start last weekend after returning from a groin injury in the previous series against Wake Forest. If the Hokies’ ace isn’t able to take the mound this week, Shane Connolly would likely earn the start in his place, but Gerard’s presence on the mound alone is monumental to the Hokies success in any series.

Game one of the series starts Friday at 6:30 pm, where Peyton Alford is the likely starter. Alford pitched five innings last Friday against Georgia Tech, giving up three runs off of six hits.