No. 23 Virginia Tech falls short against No. 7 Duke in extras, 9-8

Nathan Andrews

Staff Writer

April 20, 2024

BLACKSBURG – A ranked ACC series opener between two ranked opponents was already a thrilling way to start the weekend. Not only did the Hokies and Blue Devils provide for a Friday night classic — they also provided two extra innings of baseball. 

No. 7 Duke (28-10, 12-7 ACC) prevailed against No. 23 Virginia Tech (24-11, 11-8 ACC) despite its mid-game heroics in a lengthy Friday night game, 9-8..

The Hokies, coming off a 7-1 win over Radford on Tuesday, had a rough last three-game set, dropping two out of three to Georgia Tech, including a 19-0 shutout. A chance to redeem its 1-5 ACC stint was on the table against the Blue Devils.

Tech didn’t back down against the Blue Devils on Friday night. After starting pitcher Jeremy Neff was able to strand Duke’s runners in the top of the first, the Hokies pieced together intricate at-bats to score the first two runs of the game in the bottom of the frame. 

The Blue Devils got Neff to cough up one run during the second inning to cut the Hokies’ lead in half. Both squads jumped on the opposing staff quickly to start the night.

The third inning is where things slipped a little out of control for Neff. The Blue Devils tallied four runs on four hits during the top of the third to put them ahead, 5-2. Duke first baseman Logan Bravo, who went 3-of-4 with two homers on the day, added a two-run shot to widen the lead. 

That wasn’t the only thing that went south for Tech early. After a controversial balk call, Tech head coach John Szefc was ejected by the first-base umpire after fiercely refuting the ruling.

The ejection seemed to spark something inside of the Hokie dugout. After a solo shot by Duke second baseman Zac Morris in the top frame, Tech revved the ignition. Eddie Micheletti Jr. singled and the Hokies drew two quick walks to knock Duke starter Jonathan Santucci out of the game after four innings. 

“I thought we executed our plan,” Tech associate head coach Kurt Elbin said postgame. “We were trying to be a little more selective. Early in his outings, his (Santucci) fastball is really tough to hit and he doesn’t throw it in the zone. We were just trying to settle into at-bats and take some pitches. They did a great job with the game plan, and I commend them for that.”

After Owen Proksch relieved Santucci, he walked Clay Grady for the first run of the inning. Then, a fielder’s choice resulted in an error and yet another run. The hot-hitting Ben Watson singled two runners home in the following at-bat, tying the game up at six.

Watson has locked down the best batting average on the Hokies’ roster, improving to .388 on the season after Friday’s loss to Duke. He’s up to 54 hits on the season, tying him for the eighth most in the ACC. In his first year of D1 ball, he’s been a force to be reckoned with.

“It’s tough to pitch to him,” Elbin said. “He’s not really pitchable. It’s tough to beat the man because he has bat speed to get there. He can cover up off-speed away, he hits away and I think it’s his swing and his approach. Hitters hit and, regardless of level, he’s been awesome for us.”

When the bottom of the sixth hit, Henry Cooke hit even harder with a two-run moonshot to left-center to give Tech the lead. It was his ninth jack on the season, and it provided mountains of momentum. 

“It felt pretty good,” Cooke said. “Just saw a fastball and hit it.”

Shortly after, Wyatt Parliament came in and provided elite level relief for the Hokies. Despite giving up one solo shot in the eighth inning, the transfer from Rutgers tossed 2 1/3 innings, issued no walks and struck out four batters. Despite a rough stat line to start the season, Parliament came up huge against Duke and was fired up coming out of the seventh.

“Bases loaded, I think that’s just a big spot,” Parliament said. “That’s a turning point in the game and we always preach that.”

In the bottom of the ninth, Duke star third baseman Ben Miller quickly hit a game-tying solo shot off Jordan Little to even the score and send the game to extras. Miller went 3-of-5 and raised his batting average to an ACC-leading .452 against Tech.

It was the first extra-innings game of the season for Tech, and it battled for two extra innings. The combination of Little, Jacob Stretch and Matthew Siverling fueled the staff’s effort in extras, counting towards the eight total arms they used against Duke on Friday. 

However, the Blue Devils got to Little eventually. He allowed a walk, hit a batter and gave up a go-ahead single to Miller to tip the scale towards Duke. 

Despite a two-out double by Carson DeMartini during the bottom of the eleventh, Duke pitcher Charlie Beilenson locked down the Hokies for four innings, allowing only one hit and striking out five to earn the win.

The ranked match up will continue Saturday at 7 p.m. EST, as the Hokies and Blue Devils face off for the second game of the set.