slumping hokies find new rock bottom in 18-1 loss to virginia

Sam Alves

April 30, 2021

BLACKSBURG — Pitching and defense. That and the usually resulting free bases is the benchmark by which Virginia Tech head coach John Szefc measures his team’s performance.

The Hokies (22-15, 15-13 ACC) allowed 18 runs on Friday and sent a concerningly come-to-be-expected eight pitchers to the mound. With only eight of the runs earned, there were plenty of free bases handed to an opportunistic Virginia (21-19, 12-16 ACC) team that won 18-1 — the largest margin of victory on the diamond in the history of the Commonwealth Clash.

Not a great performance.

It wasn’t just one bad loss, either. Tech is trending in the wrong direction and now has been for a few weeks.

For the second straight Friday, the Hokies scored just a single run. And unlike last Friday’s 3-1 loss at NC State, this run was unearned.

Virginia left fielder Brendan Rivoli dropped a simple pop fly with two outs and Tanner Schobel, running on contact from first in the fourth inning, scored easily to give Tech an early 1-0 lead. The 20 mile-per-hour wind threw him off just enough for the ball to hit the ground, the crowd to roar and Schobel to score.

The Hokie faithful — students in particular — went nuts. If you closed your eyes, you might just think the stands were full with the pandemic and its cumbersome social distancing long in the distance with a maximum COVID-capacity crowd in attendance.

Unfortunately for the Hokies, that 1-0 lead was also gone in the blink of an eye.

The crowd, electric through through four innings, had little to cheer for as Virginia immediately erupted for a seven-run fifth and delivered five more runs in both the seventh and eighth, and tacked on one more for good measure in the ninth

Nic Kent led off the fifth inning with a home run to left for the first earned run of the day.

Then Virginia Tech starting pitcher Peyton Alford walked the next batter, Logan Michaels, who advanced to second on Alford’s second and the game’s third balk.

The twists and turns continued as TJ Rumfield couldn’t collect a low-but-still-reachable throw from Kevin Madden, giving Michaels a free base.

But Michaels tested his luck and raced home, where he was just nipped — or initially ruled nipped with the video evidence not substantial enough to overturn the call — at home for the out to keep the game tied at one.

Alford walked another and allowed one more single, bringing the score to 3-1 and Matthew Sivrling trotted out from the bullpen and into the game in relief. Siverling allowed another RBI single and then a three-run home run to make the score 7-1 and the earned-run score 2-0.

It was 12-1 (with the earned-run score still at 2-0) through seven innings, and by then, the trajectory of the season was in need of some serious recalibration.

“I wouldn’t use the word ‘concerned’ about it,” Szefc said following a 11-7 loss to Georgia Tech on April 18 in response to a question about his expectations for his team, one full of freshmen who have never played a full ACC season, in the back half of the schedule. “We’ve been pretty successful to this point. Young in classification, yes, and experience.”

“I’m not really worried about our guys down the stretch. Our guys have been very good at moving on, and I don’t see any reason why that won’t continue. We’ll just keep moving on, that’s it.”

The message changed in response to a question about Griffin Green’s emergence, though, after a seemingly long-ago 12-0 win over East Tennessee State on Tuesday, April 27.

“We need guys like [Green] to step in and assume bigger roles, for sure, because guys like [Jason] Heard and [Matthew] Siverling have been used a lot,” Szefc said. “I think those guys are dragging a little bit. Their stuff’s maybe not as good as it was four weeks ago. When guys like Green come into the mix — maybe a few others — and get [starter Chris] Gerard back, that’s going to really help us a lot.”

Siverling was rocked again, and Grant Umberger, Peter Sakellaris, Noah Johnson, Ryan Metz, Xander Hamilton and Samuel Rochard didn’t fare much better.

Gerard, whose injury has shortened the bullpen by forcing Shane Connolly into the starting rotation, is expected back within the next two Sundays, but reliever Henry Weycker is likely done for the year.

The Hokies’ 17-run defeat, though not ideal, counts the same as their 3-1 loss last Friday. Easier to swallow once or twice, but Tech has lost six of seven ACC games since sweeping Wake Forest on the road.

The chorus from Szefc has also been to flush down and move on from tough losses. Saturday and Sunday will show how in tune the Hokies are with their coach.