No. 2 Miami salvages Game 3 against No. 21 Virginia Tech

By Nick Cheshire

Staff Writer

April 16, 2022

BLACKSBURG — After snapping No. 2 Miami’s 14-game winning streak on Thursday and cruising to a second straight victory on Friday, No. 21 Virginia Tech was unable to complete the sweep on Saturday, falling 8-5.

“They pitched better, played better than we did today, but if you told me at the beginning of the week that we were going to play three good games and win two of them, I would’ve taken it,” Tech head coach John Szefc said.

The win keeps Miami (28-8, 14-4 Atlantic Coast) atop the ACC Coastal standings for the time being, while the Hokies (23-9, 9-7 ACC) hold second place.

“That’s a good team, just like we’re a good team. It’s hard to sweep anyone, I don’t care who you’re playing,” Szefc continued.

Jordan Geber made his first start of the season for the Hokies, finally working his way into a starting role after an unfortunate car crash earlier this year relegated him to strictly bullpen appearances thus far.

“I felt like Geber was pretty good out of the gate, and we needed that guy to get us off to a pretty good start, and he did,” Szefc said.

“He’s a guy that wants the ball, a guy that wants to compete out there,” Tech shortstop Tanner Schobel said. “That’s something that Griff (Griffin Green) and Hack (Drue Hackenberg) both do really well. I think Geber has that same mentality, so I think he’ll be a good option.”

The Hokies took an early lead on an RBI double off Jack Hurley’s bat in the bottom of the first, striking first for the third time in the three-game, weekend series.

“Scoring in the first inning is huge just because it gives our pitchers more confidence when they go back out there,” Hurley said. “Just to get on top early is big to get the ball rolling.”

But the Tech bats were quiet through the middle innings, when Miami stormed back, taking a commanding 7-1 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh.

In the seventh, a pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases for Schobel, who capitalized with a no-doubt grand slam well over the left field wall, cutting the Miami lead to what seemed like a manageable two runs.

That is, until closer Andrew Walters entered the game for the Hurricanes, recording a dominant six-out save, his twelfth of the year. The sophomore hasn’t allowed an earned run in 19 ⅔ innings this year.

“It’s a tough league,” Szefc said. “...You’re not playing against kids. This is a man’s league.”

While Saturday’s loss put a damper on the weekend, there is no denying the Hokies’ ability to compete with the top talent in the nation.

“We’re not satisfied with where we’re at, but I think we’re in a pretty good spot moving forward,” Hurley said.

“I think we’re really confident in where we’re going. Offensively, we’re one of the best in the country ,and our pitching staff is figuring it out, doing what they have to do to win weekends.”

This week, the Hokies host VMI Tuesday, travel to Radford on Wednesday, and make the trek to Massachusetts this weekend for a series against Boston College, with Saturday’s game being played at historic Fenway Park.

“It’s a cool field, it’s going to be insane, pretty surreal, but we just want to win,” Hurley said.