Virginia Tech obliterates Radford, 22-2

Chris Hirons

February 24, 2021

BLACKSBURG, Va. — TJ Rumfield took his time coming up to the plate for the second time in the seventh inning. Virginia Tech’s cleanup hitter had already reached on an error earlier in the inning, doubled in the previous inning and homered in the third.

As he strolled up to the plate, he pumped his bat with his arms, once, twice and a third time. His walk-up song played in the distance as Virginia Tech led 12-2, thanks in part to Cade Hunter’s three-run shot that the gusty, 13 mile-per-hour Blacksburg wind helped carry over the scoreboard earlier in the inning.

Freshman Landon Higgerson was on the mound for Radford, just hoping to gain some experience after Hunter’s homer blew the game wide open. By the time a cool, calm and Rumfield made it back to the dish, Higgerson had already given up four runs. He responded to Hunter’s homer by walking the next batter and plunking the next three hitters that came up to bat.

With Tech up big late in the seventh, Radford manager Karl Kuhn hoped that Tech wouldn’t push the issue any further. He yearned for his team to find a way to record four more outs before the game could get more out of hand.

With the bases loaded, Radford catcher Straton Podaras signaled for the first pitch of Rumfield’s at-bat to be down around the knees — away from Rumfield’s pull side.

Instead, Higgerson missed his spot. Big time.

He left the ball up and in, allowing the open-stanced, left-handed Rumfield to extend and pull the ball up and over the visiting bullpen, crushing the ball nearly 400 feet by the time it landed.

When the ball left the bat, Rumfield knew it was gone. All three base runners knew it was gone. And everyone sitting in the concourse and press box knew it was gone. He smiled as he rounded the bases as he ended Higgerson’s more-than-forgettable outing.

He banged helmets with his teammates as he crossed the plate, took Tech’s signature sledgehammer and air-pounded it into the ground as the team celebrated his second homer and fifth RBI of the game. Even Virginia Tech manager John Szefc smiled for the first time all afternoon.

It was all warranted.

The grand slam became the highlight of a nine-run seventh inning, in which the Hokies sent 15 batters to the plate and four left with bruises on their bodies. Virginia Tech continued to pile on, compiling a score that would make Virginia Tech football head coach Justin Fuente proud on its way to a 22-2 victory over Radford.

The effort was complemented by six innings of one-run ball from the bullpen that included nine strikeouts and an impressive five hits after Hokies’ starter Ryan Okuda left after yielding a respectable three innings of one-run ball (though the run was unearned because of a Fritz Genther error).

A game that was 4-2 entering the bottom of the sixth inning was respectable in itself. A far less talented Highlanders team was surprisingly hanging around an up-and-coming Virginia Tech program (3-0).

Radford (2-2), though, missed crucial opportunities with runners in scoring position and with runners on base. The offense left 10 runners on, including stranding five when they were in scoring position. And, with runners on base, the Highlanders only mustered a single hit in 11 chances.

On the other hand, Tech took pride in the clutch situations with runners on base and in scoring position. The Hokies picked up nine hits in 17 tries with runners in scoring position (.529).

Not only was the home run key for Tech, but it also mixed in some small ball right off the bat. Third baseman Kevin Madden rolled into a double play, which scored center fielder Jack Hurley from third in the bottom of the first to knot the score up at one. Both right fielder Gavin Cross and Tanner Schobel picked up sac-flies later on in Tuesday afternoon’s matchup.

And, with two outs, the Hokies drove in nearly half of their runs, scoring 10 of their runs with two-out RBIs.

As soon as Radford inched closer to cut the lead to 4-2 in the fourth, Virginia Tech pulled away. The offense took off in the sixth inning, scoring three, nine and six runs over the final three frames.

After Radford reliever Ty Burton shut down the offense for two innings in the fourth and fifth innings, he was pulled after surrendering a leadoff walk to Madden in the sixth. Then, for Radford, the wheels fell off.

Directly after Madden’s walk, an easy pop-up was dropped by second baseman Jalen Buster just a few feet behind the dirt, which allowed the door to open for the offensive explosion.

Lucas Donlon, who came on to pinch hit for Cade Swisher, drove in two with a single to push the lead to four. Schobel knocked in the first of his two sac-fly RBIs to extend Tech’s lead to 7-2 heading into the seventh inning.

In the seventh, the Hokies put the Highlanders to rest. The nine-run inning catapulted the lead from five runs to 14. And, in the eighth, Tech added on for good measure when Cross and Dayne Lenard smoked RBI doubles, bringing the lead to 19-2. A ground out from Schobel and another single by Gherig Ebel pushed Virginia Tech’s lead to 20.

Radford, playing for pride in the eighth, let its best opportunity to score slip away. With two runners in scoring position that advanced on a passed ball, Tech reliever Henry Weycker struck out both Austin Kaplan and Tommy Myint to hold the lead at bay.

The win may not mean much once Virginia Tech begins ACC play later this week. But on Tuesday, in a season where the Hokies will likely struggle in conference play, the win meant securing bragging New River Valley bragging rights until the two teams meet again in 2022.