hokies travel to johnson city to take on etsu

Ryan Wilkes

April 6, 2021

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn.ー No. 23 Virginia Tech (15-9, 11-7) takes a brief break from the ACC gauntlet on Tuesday, traveling down to Johnson City for a midweek game against East Tennessee State (15-11, 5-4).

The Hokies come in hot off a series victory against Boston College, where they took two out of three from the Eagles, their fourth ACC series victory on the year. Following a 7-3 loss to start the series, Tech overcame deficits of 5-0 and 3-0 in its next two games to win in the late innings.

The series was highlighted by Kevin Madden’s walkoff single in game two that sent the once dormant crowd at English Field into a frenzy as Madden’s teammates chased him around the diamond before ripping his jersey off and dog piling in center field.

The bullpen came up big in game three for the Hokies. Jaison Heard took over for Shane Connolly in the fifth and threw three innings of no-hit baseball, allowing the offense to mount another comeback.

For the Buccaneers, they’re coming off a series win against UNC Greensboro. Similar to the Hokies, the Bucs dropped the first game of the series but responded with two straight wins.

In the second game, the pitching performance of Colby Stuart proved to be the difference. Stuart threw eight innings, giving up only three hits and no runs.

In game three, it was more of the same from the pitching staff. Nathanial Tate gave the Bucs a strong seven innings, allowing just one run to score and Matthew Bollenbacher slammed the door on the Spartans.

UNC Greensboro beat Virginia Tech in a midweek game on March 16, 7-2 in Blacksburg

Both teams are hot coming into this one and East Tennessee State is looking for a huge win to boost its tournament resume. While the Hokies lead the all-time series, they’re just 11-15 in Johnson City.

East Tennessee State holds a 13-season streak in which it has defeated a power five opponent. The Bucs get their first of two shots at the Hokies Tuesday evening, looking to keep that streak alive.

Game Information:

Date: Tuesday April 6th, 5 p.m.

Location: Thomas Stadium | Johnson City, TN

How to watch: ESPN+

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