Hokies Take Down Kent State in Opening Day Doubleheader 3-1, 9-2

Wyatt Krueger

February 22, 2021

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Thanks to shutdown starting pitching and defensive play, Virginia Tech started the season with 3-1 and 9-2 wins against Kent State at English Field on Sunday.

“That’s what you hope is going to happen your first time out,” head coach John Szefc said. “We’ll take that as a positive and move on to Tuesday.”

Starting pitchers Chris Gerard and Anthony Simonelli shined in their first two games of the year.

Gerard posted six scoreless innings, struck out seven batters, and only gave up one run in the first game. The seven strikeouts are the second most by a Virginia Tech starting pitcher on opening day since 2010.

Simonelli tossed 5⅓ innings of one-run ball, didn’t walk a batter and gave up only three hits.

Gerard credited some of his success on Sunday to his modified curveball grip that he implemented this offseason.

“I changed the grip from a normal grip to a spike,” Gerard said. “I started throwing it differently and it has worked out pretty well.”

With Gerard’s refined curveball and Simonelli’s fastball control, the duo showed how well they can complement each other this year.

“We do a lot together,” Gerard said about his counterpart Simonelli. “For me to have success and then see him have success, it’s a pretty awesome thing to see.”

Defensively, Virginia Tech didn’t allow an error and showed off its chemistry in both games, including a 6-4-3 double play to end the top of the 8th inning in game two.

Kevin Madden was as solid as they come at third base, recording six infield assists from Gerard-induced ground balls in game one. Madden also notched his 24th career multi-hit game with two hits and an RBI in the 3-1 win.

Tanner Schobel, a true freshman from Williamsburg, Va., made his Hokie debut at second base and had an immediate impact.

“I was talking to my parents after the game, it feels like a game seven,” Schobel said about playing in his first college game. “You dont want to mess up, you don’t want to do anything stupid. I was really nervous.”

Schobel knocked the nerves off in game one by breaking the 1-1 tie in the bottom of the fifth inning with an RBI double down the left field line. He finished with two hits and three RBIs in his first two games.

In game two, the Hokies found themselves in a jam after giving up two runs and making two pitching changes in the top of the seventh inning.

Szefc turned to reliever Shane Connolly with the bases loaded, one out and a 5-2 lead. Connolly struck out the first two batters he faced to evade further damage.

“What Connolly did was pretty good in the seventh,” Szefc said. “That was the ballgame right there.”

Connolly pitched 2 ⅔ innings in relief and gave up only one hit while striking out three batters.

Gavin Cross played well in Tech’s second game, hitting the first home run of the season in the form of a towering shot into the visitor’s bullpen to make the score 5-0.

The two-run bomb allowed fans to see the Hokies’ ‘hammer’ celebration, which is sure to be a staple for this team in the foreseeable future.

Cross finished with two hits and three RBIs in game two after going 0-4 in game one.

Virginia Tech showed encouraging signs in both contests by manufacturing runs with sacrifice flies, walks, and stolen bases.

“We're just trying to prepare our guys so that we can score runs when we're not necessarily getting hits,” Szefc said. “You figure scoring runs by making productive outs, which is what we did throughout the day, that’s what these guys are prepared to do.”

The Hokies are back in action on Tuesday at English Field against the Radford Highlanders at 2:00 pm.