Two-out magic earns Hokies fifth straight win to open season

By Sam Alves

Staff Writer

February 26, 2022

BLACKSBURG — Fordham had already plated the first runs against Virginia Tech starting pitching this season, but a fifth-inning threat had the Rams in position to hand the Hokies their first deficit of their young season.

C.J. Vazquez snuck a ball past shortstop Tanner Schobel, who couldn’t scoop it ranging to his right. So in came left fielder Jack Hurley on the charge. He did gather the ball cleanly, then launched a bullet home on one bounce, where catcher Gehrig Ebel grabbed it and tagged pinch-running Chris Garnder, who ran from first.

“I saw the guy rounding third whenever I got the ball,” Hurley said, explaining his mindset during the game’s premier defensive play. “We do it every day. We’re throwing the ball home. It was literally the same thing that we practice every day. I was excited to do it. Once I threw, I was like, ‘Yeah, this is probably going to be [an] out.’”

The play at home still left two runners on with two outs, but the first half of Saturday’s game in Blacksburg ended uneventfully with a routine grounder to third.

On both sides of the ball, Virginia Tech (5-0) made two-out magic to beat Fordham (1-5), 8-2. In fact, only one run –– when Hurley scored on Conor Hartigan’s sacrifice fly in the seventh –– came without two outs between both teams.

“That was the play of the game,” head coach John Szefc said of Hurley’s assist, which kept the game at 4-2.

Szefc noted that Hurley, hitting .579 through five games, came to the plate with the chance to bat 4-for-4 for the third straight game, quite the feat.

“And in theory, the biggest play of the game was something he did [on] defense,” Szefc said. “I thought Ebel was really big on that play, too. That was a really bang-bang kind of catch-tag play. That’s a hard play for a catcher…I thought that was the turning point of the game.”

Hurley was quick to praise Ebel as well.

“Gerhig made…a hard play,” Hurley said. “That’s like the most slept-on play as a catcher –– to catch that ball that’s like one, two feet off the ground and then make the tag. It’s going full speed. That's a pretty impressive play on Gerhig’s part.”

Impressive, too, was Eduardo Malinowski’s effort Saturday. Hitting fourth in Tech’s lineup, he finished with three hits and as many runs plus two RBIs.

“He’s doing well, but for him, there’s a lot more there in the tank,” Szefc said of Malinowski.

The Penn transfer did pop up to third base with the bases loaded in the eighth, but Tech had its comfortable 8-2 by then.

Fordham kept Tech’s starter, lefty Ryan Okuda, on his toes in what ended up the shortest start for the Hokies this season, four ⅓ innings.

“I don’t think Okuda had his best stuff, but he pitched well enough to get it to the bullpen,” Szefc said “…[Reliever Henry] Weycker was lights out, man. He was really good.”

He did make one mistake, a throw to second that found center field after Weycker snagged a sharp comebacker.

“The most encouraging part is he didn’t let that get to him,” Malinowski said of the game’s winning pitcher.

Between Okuda and Weycker, right-hander Kiernan recorded just two outs.

But like the offense, the Hokies pitching staff has proven capable of picking up the slack when one is struggling. And Tech hasn’t struggled much so far.

“It’s my first year on this team, and everyone has welcomed me with open arms,” Malinowski said. “Everyone’s gotten so close….Everyone brings that energy out here. It’s incredible having Hurley hit behind me knowing he can pick me up at any second. And then one through nine, there’s really no gaps in our order, so it’s nice knowing that anybody can contribute at any time.”