'WE NEVER GAVE UP HOPE': MADDEN PUTS TEAM ON HIS BACK AS NO. 23 HOKIES SQUEAK OUT SERIES

Sam Alves

April 4, 2021

BLACKSBURG, Va. — For the second straight afternoon, No. 23 Virginia Tech resurrected its dormant offense late to win by one run, this time coming from behind in a 4-3 victory to take an Easter-weekend series against Boston College.

“Really pleased with our group coming out of the weekend,” manager John Szefc said postgame. “We started kind of rough. ... I think what you’ve seen this weekend in general is our group is winning in different ways with different people.”

The Hokies (15-9, 11-7 ACC) fell back on a familiar habit as Boston College (13-13, 4-11 ACC) jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead after its offense scored a run in the first and added two more in the third.

“I told our guys on Wednesday that Boston College is the hardest team to play in the ACC,” Szefc said. “Their 2-3-4 [hitters,] it's nasty. It’s as good as Miami’s, in my opinion.”

Cleanup batter Luke Gold’s RBI double opened the scoring when it drove Brian Dempsey home from second.

Then in the third, center fielder Sal Frelick singled and stole second to open the frame. Gold’s second RBI knock of the day — this time a single — brought Frelick home later in the frame.

Two batters later, Gold was driven home on an RBI single from designated hitter Vince Cimini –– the only run batted in by anyone outside of the aforementioned 2-3-4 hitters.

It was also the last run the Eagles would score all day.

With long-time Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster in attendance, Tech’s defense put on a show with Kevin Madden in a starring role.

He saved two runs on a diving 5-3 putout in the first. Then his barehanded pick and throw to first retired the first batter of the fourth inning –– starting pitcher Shane Connolly’s last full frame and the only time he retired Boston College in 1-2-3 fashion.

By the fifth inning, Madden had made four difficult plays look routine on the hot corner.

“Kevin, he played as good this weekend as I’ve seen him play in his whole career,” Szefc said. “And he’s played well in other sports in his career, too. ... He has given us lately a lot of stability over there, and that’s what you hope to get from one of your older players.”

On a roster loaded with youth, it was Tech’s seasoned veterans who kept the game close.

When Connolly, a junior transfer from The Citadel, was pulled after allowing the leadoff two runners aboard, in came fifth-year senior Jaison Heard, who put out the fire in the frame.

Heard induced a 4-6-3 double play from Gold and finished his Houdini act by retiring Cimini on a 4-3 putout to post a scoreless fifth.

“To me, one of the biggest parts of that game today. ... You gotta give Jaison Heard a lot of credit,” Szefc said. “That was a pretty good turning point in that game right there.”

Still scoreless, though, the Hokies continued to dazzle defensively in the sixth.

Gavin Cross made a diving catch in right field to record the first out, and Madden finished the frame with a leaping grab and easy throw to first for a double play –– the fourth of six double plays recorded between the two teams on Saturday.

A day after posting a three-run game-winning ninth inning rally, Tech found itself with its backs against the wall as the innings winded down once again.

The Hokies began a game-tying three-run frame when Tanner Schobel was hit by a pitch to open the sixth inning. The next batter, right fielder Gavin Cross, knocked his sixth home run of the season out of the park and brought the Hokies to within a run.

And on the next pitch, first baseman TJ Rumfield tied the game at three with a solo shot to nearly the same spot as Cross’ homer in left-center field.

“I hit it pretty good, and then TJ went first pitch after me,” Cross said. “Me and TJ try to be as aggressive as we can, and he got a hold of one two. And in two pitches it was a tie game.”

No more runs would score in the sixth, and neither team scored in the seventh, either.

But in the eighth, Madden emerged as the hero for the second game in a row.

He walked to start the frame. He stood on third with an out following a stolen base and wild pitch. And then he scored on a fielder’s choice to second to make the score 4-3.

Tanner Thomas’s chopper was hit right at second baseman Cody Morisette, but Morisette’s quick throw home wasn’t in time as Madden slid under catcher Peter Burn’s tag. After Madden’s most emphatic fist pump of the day –– and there were a few –– the Hokies had their first lead of the day.

“I get pretty excited when things are going well,” Madden said after the game. “Sometimes, we really go, and it’s been fun. I just think that if I’m going well and taking a little bit, maybe that helps.”

Matthew Siverling entered the game in the eight, and he ended it quickly with three groundouts. He then secured the first two outs of the ninth before Graham but also walked a batter and gave up a single.

Graham Firoved was called upon to retire the last Boston College batter of the day in a righty-righty matchup. And he delivered, popping up Gold to finish the game.

“You saw the real Graham Firoved right there,” Szefc said. “That’s why the guy is here. That’s what he’s supposed to do. He chewed up Gold pretty good, and that’s a good hitter right there, too.”

It was a gutsy series win for the Hokies, one in which they overcame familiar obstacles by tapping into their potential.

“Honestly, I think we’re playing pretty good,” Szefc said. “Are we playing like lights-out, oh-my-god? I don’t think so. Not yet. Which is good. I’d like to think we haven’t reached a peak, so to speak.”