hokies stall as 'hoos win with small ball in acc championship clash

Sam Alves

May 25, 2021

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Virginia Tech desperately needed change.

Losers of five straight ACC series — the last two via sweep — the Hokies arrived in Charlotte winners of just two conference games in their last 15. They’d need to match that win total in back-to-back days to keep their season alive.

First up: Virginia, which handed Tech two losses in three outings in Blacksburg this season. But one game, thanks to the ACC Championship group play format, played in the Tarheel state (is it still the Commonwealth Clash then?) offered John Szefc’s team a shake-up.

But on the diamond where it counted, the Hokies looked the same. Familiar woes — poor execution on the basepaths and hitting with runners on base — prevented Tech from completing a comeback in a 3-2 loss to Virginia.

“I thought we played pretty well,” said Szefc, the lone Hokie to speak post-game, before summarizing the game’s key developments. “We pitched really well. Had an error that kind of hurt us early on. In general, I thought Peyton [Alford] gave us a pretty decent start. Shane [Connolly] was great out of the bullpen. Tanner [Schobel] gave us a big swing, but it just wasn’t enough.”

Schobel’s big swing, a two-run homer pulled to left in the sixth, matched fellow freshman Kyle Teel, the Cavalier’s All-Freshman and All-ACC Third Team right fielder, who pulled Alford’s high fastball over the fence in right for two runs in the third.

So ultimately, the game-deciding run came unearned in the second, when the Cavaliers scored via small ball.

Alford’s lone walk in three innings sent catcher Logan Michaels to first with one out. He stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error assessed to freshman catcher Gehrig Ebel, though Szefc laid the blame elsewhere.

“It would have been Biddison going to the bag, and [he and Schobel] had a miscommunication [at] second base,” Szefc explained. “The throw was fine, and it just went into the outfield. You give a team two free bases like that, [Jake Gelof] hits a sac fly, and that’s the difference in the game — one run.”

The Hokies didn’t do themselves any favors.

They grounded into two double plays — senior Tanner Thomas’ 3-6-3 and first baseman Nick Holesa’s 4-6-3 twin killings ended threats with runners on first and second — and starter Zach Messinger picked off Nick Biddison at first in the third after a leadoff walk.

And yet, Tech had more opportunities than its rivals, as Connolly worked five scoreless frames, surrendering one hit and striking out four without a walk.

“[Connolly] was about as good as he’s been,” Szefc said. “Kinda reminded me a little bit like the way he was early in the season — very good. He did a really good job of leading us, and unfortunately, we couldn’t support him.”

Schobel was back to try and complete the comeback in the eighth, lining a one-out single to left.

“[Schobel’s] been good the whole year,” Szefc said of his true freshman shortstop. “There’s really no surprise with him….It’s kind of just another example of what he’s been.”

That brought Gavin Cross to face Andrew Abbott in a matchup of All-ACC First Team talents. But Abbott got the better of Cross as he flew out to left, and TJ Rumfield followed with a softer liner the same way.

The Hokies, and any postseason hopes beyond Wednesday, then went down 1-2-3 in the ninth.

“[Wednesday will] be the last game of the season,” Szefc suggested, as his team is four game below .500 in the ACC, “ so we’ll look to come out and have the best effort we can, and I’d like to see these guys go out on a good note,” Szefc said. “We’ll play as hard as we can and put the best team we can on the field.”