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Hokies Spit a Rare Friday Doubleheader with the Jackets

The Blacksburg Weather for the weekend caused some interesting schedule changes. Hokies earn a split double header with Georgia Tech on Friday. The first game was a regrettable 3-13 loss, but the 2nd was a great comeback and solid performance.

Cooper his proving to be a power hitter
John Schneider - SB Nation

The Hokies made an appearance on the first game. Perhaps an 11:08 first pitch caused a moment of self-doubt about just where the team is and what it could do if motivated.

Virginia Tech Hokies vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets:  April 21, 2017  -€” Game 1:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

R

H

E

Georgia Tech (19-18, 5-14)

0

0

0

0

0

2

5

5

1

13

16

1

Virginia Tech (19-21, 7-12)

1

0

0

0

0

0

2

0

0

3

8

2

Win: Xzavion Curry (4-4) Loss: Kit Scheetz (3-1)

Suffice it to say, Game 1 of the Short notice Friday double header was a little short of a great effort. Kit Scheetz took the loss, but it wasn’t all that fair to say because he pitched a pretty good game, holding the Jackets to three earned over 6 innings, and all three were in the last two innings of effort. The first problem was the complete meltdown of the first game’s relief pitching. Scheetz was pulled because he was starting to struggle, and gave up his single run lead with two runs charged to him in the 6th. Unfortunately the third run, he was only indirectly responsible for.

The offense didn’t wake up until the bottom of the 7th, so there was no hope of a rally even though the game hadn’t gotten completely out of hand. By the end of the 8th, it was pretty much out of any realistic shot so Pat Mason looks like he decided to save his bull pen and try for a split for the day.

Hokies Box Score for April 21st Game 1: 

AB

R

H

RBI

BB

SO

PO

A

LOB

Jack Owens 2B

5

1

1

0

0

1

4

1

3

Ryan Tufts SS

3

2

1

0

2

0

0

3

0

Tom Stoffel RF

5

0

4

3

0

0

1

0

0

Sam Fragale 1B

5

0

1

0

0

1

7

1

0

JD Mundy DH

4

0

0

0

1

2

0

0

3

Mac Caples LF

3

0

0

0

0

1

2

0

2

Garrett Hudson 3B

3

0

1

0

0

0

0

3

0

Nick Anderson PH

1

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

3

Matt Dauby 3B

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

0

0

Joe Freiday, Jr. C

4

0

0

0

0

0

8

0

0

Rahiem Cooper CF

3

0

0

0

1

1

2

1

0

Kit Scheetz P

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

Joey Sullivan P

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Paul Hall, Jr. P

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Dylan Hall P

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Totals

36

3

8

3

4

7

27

9

11

Doubles: Tufts, Stoffel (2)

RBI: Stoffel (3)

Errors: Owens, Scheetz

Runs not Scored due to Stranding: 11

The second game started off like the first one ended. Georgia Tech opened with a 2-run homer in the top of the 1st, and then a solo shot in the top of the 2nd. The Hokie half of each of the first three frames looked like the inconsistent occasional isolated hit surrounded by pop ups, fly outs, foul outs and strikeouts. It definitely changed in the bottom of the 4th inning.

Virginia Tech Hokies vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets:  April 21, 2017  -€” Game 2:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

R

H

E

Georgia Tech (19-19, 5-15)

2

1

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

4

8

2

Virginia Tech (20-21, 8-12)

0

0

0

3

0

0

0

5

X

8

11

0

Win: Aaron McGarity (2-3) Loss: Zac Ryan (3-3)

Ryan Tufts led off the inning with a triple, so Tom Stoffel promptly walloped a double to score Tufts. Sam Fragale singled, and then advanced on a wild pitch to put two men in scoring position. Nick Anderson obliged Sam’s effort with a sacrifice fly that scored Stoffel who was waiting for any chance to get across the plate. Then bizarre happened all in one play. Sort of like what happens in a slow pitch game as the cooler has gotten a bit empty. The upshot was that between all of the weirdness, Joe Freiday earned an ERA on an infield single by nocking in Sam Fragale. The other stuff needed a highlight reel to cover. The Hokies didn’t score more in the bottom of the 4th, but they were certainly back in the game.

Pat Mason pulled starting pitcher, Connor Coward, at the end of the after the 5th inning. Aaron McGarity pitched four shutdown innings to keep the Yellow Jacket run total to 4.

Magic happened for Tech’s offence in their half of the 8th inning. We have seen this occur in several games before. Tech will have on dominant inning that pushes the score hard enough to last the remainder of the game. Normally that inning has been in the early middle innings (3-4) but Friday Tech decided to throw its own form of change up.

With two outs gone in the bottom of the 8th the Hokies picked up two free bases from Yellow Jacket pitching. With Mac Caples and Grant Maiorana (pinch running for Nick Anderson) standing on 1st and 2nd, pinch hitter JD Mundy rapped a single deep enough to score Maiorana. Then Matt Dauby did the lather, rinse, repeat act by getting another centerfield knock that scored Caples. That was enough go ahead to win the game, but the Hokies two out rally wasn’t completely finished.

Rahiem Cooper’s assent to power hitting status got another boost with a solid double that scored both Dauby and Mundy. The Virginia Tech scoring finished up with a Jack Owens RBI single, plating Cooper. The five run rally pretty much wrapped up the game.

McGarity shut down Georgia Tech in the top of the 9th, suffering just one inconsequential double in the middle of a strikeout, ground out, pop out effort.

Hokies Box Score for April 21st Game 2:

AB

R

H

RBI

BB

SO

PO

A

LOB

Jack Owens 2B

5

0

1

1

0

0

1

1

0

Ryan Tufts SS

4

1

1

0

0

1

2

3

1

Tom Stoffel RF

4

1

3

1

0

0

2

0

0

Sam Fragale 1B

4

1

1

0

0

2

5

1

2

Nick Anderson DH

2

0

0

1

1

0

0

0

0

Grant Maiorana PR

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Mac Caples LF

2

1

0

0

2

2

3

0

0

Joe Freiday, Jr. C

3

0

1

1

0

1

8

0

0

JD Mundy PH

1

1

1

1

0

0

0

0

0

Marcus White C

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

Matt Dauby 3B

3

1

1

1

1

0

0

0

0

Rahiem Cooper CF

4

1

2

2

0

1

4

0

2

Connor Coward P

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

Aaron McGarity P

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

Totals

32

8

11

8

4

7

27

6

5

Doubles: Stoffel (2); Cooper

Triples: Tufts, R.

RBI: Owens, Stoffel, Anderson, Freiday, Mundy, Dauby, Cooper (2)

Clutch RBI: Owens, Mundy, Dauby, Cooper (2)

Sacrifice Fly: Anderson, N.

Not as Many Stranded: 5

The Techs started off early this morning, with a storm accelerated game start at 12:02. Right now it’s the top of the 3rd and we are in a rain delay for everything on campus. The Spring game is about to start and we’ll be tracking the action over at English Field as soon as play starts at 2:05.

GO HOKIES!!!!!