rumfield's late homer lifts hokies past keydets

Wyatt Krueger

April 21, 2021

BLACKSBURG — No. 22 Virginia Tech rode the hot bats of freshmen TJ Rumfield and Gavin Cross on the way to a ‘grind it out’ 7-5 victory over a resilient VMI squad.

The Hokies (21-12, 15-9 ACC) got out to a hot start at English Field when Gavin Cross extended his hit streak to 15 consecutive games with an opposite field home run in the bottom of the first. Initially, it looked like Ryan Okuda was on his way to pitching a gem after retiring the first 11 batters he faced.

But the Keydets (9-21, 5-10 SO-CON) responded ferociously, stringing together four consecutive two-out hits in the fourth inning, which was capped off by a two-run double by Cole Garret and a Zac Morris single that caused pitching coach Ryan Fecteau to dip into the bullpen.

Despite the early success, the Hokies had some ground to cover as they trailed 4-1 entering the bottom of the fourth.

Jack Hurley slapped a fielder's choice RBI to the shortstop with the bases loaded, and suddenly the biggest at bat of the game was in the hands of TJ Rumfield with two outs and the bases juiced.

Rumfield faced a 1-2 count after he fouled off two pitches and struggled to time up VMI’s Jack Thompson. Nonetheless, on the next pitch, he squared up Thompson’s fastball, sending a line drive single to center field that scored Hurley and Donlon to tie the game.

Griffin Green handled a majority of the relief responsibilities for the Hokies and performed well in his eighth appearance of the season before Morgan broke the 4-4 tie with a seventh inning RBI double.

Green struckout two batters and pitched two and ⅓ innings of relief before Graham Firoved entered the game.

After Cross picked up his second hit of the night to put runners on first and second in the bottom of the seventh, the game was once again in Rumfield’s hands.

Keydet reliever Adam Jewell threw two balls to start the at bat before Rumfield saw the pitch he liked—an 87 mph fastball right down the middle—and drilled it past the scoreboard in right field, giving Tech a 7-5 lead.

The three and four spot hitters for the Hokies in Cross and Rumfield combined for four hits and six RBIs, none bigger than Rumfields three-run bomb to give the Hokies the lead.

Firoved was able to deliver a solid one and ⅓ inning outing before handing the ball to Jaison Heard to close it out in the ninth.

Heard recorded two swinging strikeouts in the ninth to lock down the victory for Virginia Tech.

The Hokies needed a gutsy performance from the bats and the bullpen after the series loss against Georgia Tech, and they’ll need more in their upcoming series against NC State.

The squad heads to Raleigh, N.C. this weekend to take on the Wolfpack in attempts to increase its one game lead in the ACC Coastal Division.