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We have said this before; baseball is a grinder sport of long seasons and long games where everything is possible. The late great Lawrence Peter ‘Yogi' Berra proved to be prophetic for life, but it was baseball he was talking about. "It ain't over, ‘til it's over" will be written in the score books of every baseball team, for at least one game a season. Today, Tech got its Yogi page. The Hokies produced an 8 run top of the 8th inning to tie the game at 10; and then pushed the winning run across the plate in the top of the 9th to grab a win against the Liberty University Flames.
Virginia Tech Hokies vs. Liberty Flames
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
|
R |
H |
E |
L |
|
VT |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
1 |
11 |
10 |
0 |
13 |
|
|
LIBERTY |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
11 |
2 |
10 |
W: Nic Enright (1-2); L: Shane Quarterly (5-4);
Virginia Tech Hokie Box Score for April 26th::
|
|
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
BB |
SO |
PO |
A |
LOB |
|
Saige Jenco CF |
5 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
|
Ryan Tufts SS |
5 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
|
Phil Sciretta 1B |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
|
Nick Anderson P/DH |
6 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Sam Fragale 3B |
4 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
|
Garrett Hudson LF/2B |
4 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
|
Andrew Mogg C |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
|
Matt Dauby 2B |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Stevie Mangrum PH |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Tom Stoffel PH |
1 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Mac Caples LF |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Rahiem Cooper RF |
4 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
0 |
3 |
|
Jon Woodcock P |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Cole Kragel P |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Nic Enright P |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Totals |
36 |
11 |
10 |
10 |
8 |
9 |
27 |
7 |
13 |
Doubles: Tufts, Fragale, Stoffel, T.
RBIs: Jenco, Tufts, Anderson, Fragale (2), Hudson (2), Stoffel (3)
Clutch RBIs: Fragale, Stoffel (3)
Intentional Walk: Sciretta
Sacrifice Flies: Hudson (2)
The game looked like it was going to be another disappointing pitcher drubbing going into the top of the 8th inning. Tech had given up a total of 10 runs over the course of the game, switched pitchers three times, starting with Nick Anderson.
Tech had only manufactured 2 runs in their half of the 4th, mostly by Liberty errors, a 2 hit by pitches (Sciretta and Fragale) , and a throwing error, a single in there somewhere by Nick Anderson, and a Garret Hudson sac fly.
Liberty tacked on 2 more with a two run homer in the bottom of the 7th, and frankly Tech looked completely outclassed and out played. At this point remember that old Yankee catcher and his fractured wisdom. The top of the 8th started off with a Liberty throwing error to 1st. Andrew Mogg made it to the bag, then pinch hitter Stevie Mangrum was hit by a pitch and Rahiem Cooper walked, to load the bases. Saige Jenco grounded out to 1st unassisted but that advanced Mogg home for a run.
Ryan Tufts made hard contact on the next at-bat for a double, which scored Mangrum and left runners at 2nd and 3rd. Phil Sciretta drew a walk to reload the bags, and Nick Anderson moved the chain by hitting a single that scored Cooper. Sam Fragale was hit by a pitch which scored Tufts. Garrett Hudson batted in Sciretta with a sacrifice fly. Suddenly Tech looks up a the score board and starts doing the "I think I can" Rally chant. The score was 7 - 10 and there were still four outs left in the game.
Luck and experience tell you that with 2 outs, even with men on the bases, the chances of making up that count in the one remaining out for the inning were pretty slim. Well this is baseball, and somewhere, sometime, that sort of good fortune is going to happen. It happened because Andrew Mogg drew a walk to re-load the bases. The Flames changed pitchers, but to no avail. Tom Stoffel, pinch hitting for Stevie Mangrum, dropped a double into right center; clearing the bases and tying up the game 10 - 10. That is EIGHT runs in one inning! There was one wild pitch that got Stoffel to third, but Cooper ended the batting merry-go-round with a ground out to the shortstop.
The big issues were in the one and a half innings remaining, could the Hokies keep a goose egg on the Flames frame of the scoreboard; and could the Hokies manufacture something in theirs.
Nic Enright relieved Cole Kragel for the inning, but pitched himself into a corner by alternating outs with two walks and a single to put serious pressure on himself for the last out. It was a pop up to the shortstop, and the bottom of the 8th ended with no runs scoring still in a 10-10 tie.
Tech's half of the 9th started the way the Flames' ended; a pop out to the shortstop. Ryan Tufts got the ball rolling with a single. Phil Sciretta was intentionally walked, and Nick Anderson grounded into a fielder's choice. That put the second out on the board, but it also put Tufts on third. Sam Fragale would end up hitting the winning RBI single that scored Tufts and put Tech in front 11-10.
There was till the bottom of the 9th to play; however, and there had to be some excitement or it wouldn't be a Tech baseball game. Enright hit a batter and walked another one to put two on, but fortunately he also managed to bracket those events with outs. The game ended on a backwards K. The Hokies don't get to walk off because they weren't the home team, but this might be called a visitors' walk-away. It's nice to report a win for a change.
Friday Tech travels to Chestnut Hill for a three game series against Boston College.