errors prove costly for Virginia Tech in stunning loss to Radford, 16-8

By Nathan Andrews

Staff Writer

April 19, 2023

RADFORD — Two winning streaks started after Tuesday’s game between the Hokies and the Highlanders. Unfortunately for Virginia Tech, it was on the wrong side of those streaks. 

The Highlanders played off the tumultuous mistakes made by Virginia Tech in the contest, marking the end of, not one, but two ghastly losing streaks. Radford managed to pull off the 16-8 upset over VT to end a 22-game regular season losing streak.

The other losing streak that was snapped pertained to the New River Valley rivalry. Virginia Tech lost at the hands of the Highlanders for the first time since 2018, ending a seven-game winning streak against Radford. 

The scoring commenced quickly, as the Hokies tacked on two runs in the first frame of the ballgame. Virginia Tech loaded the bases for Eddie Eisert, who flared a sacrifice fly to shallow center field to bring home the first run of the game. A fielder’s choice shortly after allowed the Hokies to jump up two runs. 

Radford answered the Hokies first blow with a counterstrike of their own, as Tanner Barrs and Austin Stalker had two RBI singles to knot the game up at two going into the second inning. 

In the top of the second, the Hokies poured on more run support for their staff. Christian Martin — who had a career day — singled home Henry Cooke to take the lead once more. Shortly after, Garrett Michel was presented with a bases load opportunity and took advantage. He laced a double into center field to bring in another two RBIs. Clay Grady added to the badgering to leave the Highlanders with a four-run deficit going into the bottom half of the inning. 

The bottom of the second is where the Hokies started to struggle defensively. Following a costly error by Michel, runners advanced into scoring position and two Highlanders crossed home to cut Tech’s lead to two.

David Bryant got his first hit of the day in his former ballpark on a single to left field during the top of the third. The former Highlander has been a steady threat for the Hokies this season, as he drove in two RBIs against his former squad on top of getting on base twice. 

“He played alright,” Tech head coach John Szefc said to reporters after the game. “He did pretty good defensively.” 

Radford took the lead in the bottom of the third following a scoreless top half from the Hokies, aided mightily from errors by Virginia Tech. The highlight of the inning was the power displayed by Garrett Pancione, as he hit a towering fly ball over the left-field wall which sent Radford fans into pandemonium. This skyrocket gave Radford its first lead of the game and propelled them to an 8-6 lead over the Hokies. 

Another mistake by Michel, and two from Grady and Cooke opened the way for a seven-run third inning for the Highlanders. Along with a walk and a HBP, the inning was one of the sloppiest for VT all year. With a grand total of four errors and 11 walks, Virginia Tech was far from efficient on Tuesday. 

“You’re never gonna win a game when you make that many errors,” Szefc said. 

The top of the fourth featured an oddity that isn’t witnessed often in baseball. The Hokies loaded the bases for the fourth time in just four innings and Bryant stepped up to the plate once more. He got under a pitch and sent it to the warning track, where Radford’s Cameron Pittman tracked it down after covering a large distance. However, the Hokies scored not just one run, but two runs for a rare two-rbi sacrifice fly.

The eighth run scored in the prior half was the last run the Hokies scored on the day, as Radford dominated the ballgame for the rest of the evening. 

The bottom of the fourth was simply a matter of the Highlanders playing off the Hokies’ errors once again. Bryant couldn’t handle the dribbler to start the inning to put a runner aboard. After Radford loaded the bases thanks to two walks and a one-bagger, Christian Martin had trouble with a bad hop. He then missed the throw to get the force out at home which allowed two more runners to score. 

One more walk by Hokie fireballer Griffin Stieg loaded the bases yet again, and Szefc made the call to the bullpen to bring out righty Tyler Dean. The Hokies’ replacement issued another walk to make it a 14-8 game going into just the fifth inning. The Hokies had tallied four errors through just four frames, with three each coming in back-to-back innings. 

The next inning featured a bright spot for VT. Martin, who had a rough day fielding, had an excellent day hitting. The second baseman, who has been slowly creeping up in the batting order as of late, tallied his fourth hit during the fifth. Martin surely had a sweet spot for the first and second base gap on Tuesday.

Although the Hokies stopped scoring runs, that wasn’t the case for the Highlanders. Radford drove in two more runners, with help from an incredible two-out rally. Dean immediately retired two batters before allowing two singles and a walk to load the diamond. Avery Spencer then hit a two-run single, which drove in Tibbs and Pancione to make it a whopping 16-8 lead for Radford. 

From that point on, the scoreboard was quiet — the Highlander faithful was not, however. Fans went crazy at Williams Field, knowing their struggling team was inching closer to the first victory it gazed upon since March 11 at VMI. 

Despite having runners close to scoring in almost every inning after, the Hokies finished with eight runs. Although runners couldn’t cross the plate for VT, they didn’t score for Radford after the fifth inning either. Matthew Siverling was able to break the trend, retiring 11 of 13 batters to send the Hokies home with some good news. 

“He was good. He did a good job,” Szefc said about Siverling. “He came in and quieted some things down. He was the one guy that actually put some zeroes up.”

The upset put the Highlanders at 8-30 on the season. They’ll look to continue their newfound success this Friday when they travel to Spartanburg, SC to face USC Upstate. 

As for the Hokies, the shocking loss puts an end to their three-game winning streak. Their record drops to 21-13, and they’ll look to bounce back in their weekend series against FSU in Tallahassee, FL.