Wright State hands Virginia Tech its first loss of season

By Nick Cheshire

Staff Writer

March 4, 2022

BLACKSBURG — While some say that numbers never lie, winless Wright State had something else to say on Friday, beating Virginia Tech 11-5 to notch its first victory of the season.

“They pitched really well, give them credit,” Tech head coach John Szefc said. “We got beat in every single facet.”

Virginia Tech (7-1) found itself in the loss column for the first time in 2022 after a 19-hit offensive explosion from Wright State (1-6), fueled by a lackluster showing from the Hokies’ pitching staff.

“We’ll have to do a better job tomorrow as far as how we attack them on the mound,” Szefc said. “They had 19 hits. It’s pretty rare that you see a team almost have 20 hits in a college baseball game.”

The Hokies started hot, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first to take a 4-0 lead, three of which came in one swing thanks to a moonshot off the bat of Eduardo Malinowski.

“He’s a guy that’s come in, plays a respectable second base and hits cleanup,” Szefc said of the graduate transfer. “He’s a pretty big part of what’s going on. He’s got a lot of value for our team.”

Unfortunately for the Hokies, the offensive production was limited after the first inning, as the Hokies only managed to score one more run the rest of the way, Cade Hunter’s RBI grounder to second base in the fifth.

Griffin Green (2-1) got the start for the Hokies, and was notably less sharp than his first two outings, allowing six runs on eight hits in just two innings of work for his first loss of the year.

Henry Weycker, Graham Firoved, and Jordan Geber appeared in relief, and while Firoved contributed a solid three and two-thirds out of the bullpen, the hits came early and often down the entire Wright State lineup.

“Normally when you give up 12 hits, you’re going to lose, and we gave up way north of 12 hits,” Szefc said.

While the first loss was inevitable, there are takeaways that can be instrumental to the team’s success in the future.

“These guys have to learn how to lose together,” Szefc said. “It’s easy to learn how to win together when things are going well, but when things aren’t going well, being able to support each other and bounce back [is important.]”

The two teams meet again tomorrow at 2 p.m. for the second installment of the weekend series, where the Hokies hope to be sharper all around.

“It’s a little bit of a wake up call for our guys, so hopefully we’ll be able to take it, bounce back and move on,” Szefc said.