It took a second for the Virginia Tech offense to get going this season – it scored two runs on Friday after hitting 126 home runs in 2022 – but it went right back to hammering baseballs in its past three games.
At English Field on Tuesday for their home opener, the No. 14 Hokies returned to their routine of posting crooked numbers and then sprinting past their opponent. This one – after scoring 12 runs on Saturday, then 15 on Sunday – was a 15-5 win over ETSU, giving Tech three consecutive victories as it eases into its season. The offense gave Kiernan Higgins, who started for the first time at Tech, a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning.
Higgins got the nod over Christian Worley, the projected starter. Worley was “feeling tender” on the back of his bicep, Szefc explained. He said that Worley is healthy but didn’t want to run the risk of further injuring a player four games into a year.
“I’m never going to run a guy out there that’s not 100%,” Tech head coach John Szefc told Tech Sideline after the win. “It’s not worth it.”
The offense, though, had more than a solid start for Tech. The program is figuring out how to replace over half of its offense from a season ago after some of its top bats left for professional baseball over the summer. But the production has remained pretty close to the same so far. Some star power is still there and the graduate transfers have made an immediate impact.
It’s a lineup that never really had to worry about putting its bullpen in a high-leverage situation late in games last year. Even if the group does encounter that scenario, it’s a deep pitching staff that should work its way out of those more than it shouldn’t.
There will be a time for those later, especially when conference play starts in three weeks. But against the Buccaneers, a team that was 1-9 in its last 10 games with Tech, those situations were pushed for another day. A four-run sixth inning, with the lead already standing at 7-2, was the catalyst. Carson DeMartini’s two-out grand slam was the catalyst, and the return of the air hammer from last year’s Super Regional followed.
“It’s an interpretation of the rules by the umpiring crew,” Szefc said about the air hammer. Tech’s plan was to use a baseball bat as a hammer after its initial warning. “The other group in Charleston said we could [use the bat]. This group said we couldn’t. It’s fine, it’s the whole point of the [rule].”
The pitching staff took it from there for the final three innings, surrendering three runs. But it didn’t matter since DeMartini’s homer increased the margin to nine runs. Because, once the Hokies got to the bottom half of the inning, they subbed out some of their starters. Brody Donay went in for Gehrig Ebel, Eduardo Malinowski for Christian Martin and Clay Grady pinch-hit for David Bryant.
The Hokies haven’t been shy about their identity. They built their team around hitting a season ago. This year, they’re deeper on the mound. Still, they have no problem slugging the ball out of the ballpark. They brought in Chris Cannizzaro from Bucknell and Bryant from Radford in the offseason, two players who had success hitting Mid-Major pitching; and Garrett Michel as a signee.
“He's been good,” Szefc said of Cannizzaro. “A veteran guy that’s played college baseball for four years. And it's one quality at bat after another with him – he's really fitting well.”
In the three games since Saturday, Tech scored 42 runs – meaning the law of averages prevailed since Friday’s three-run loss. Because the next rallies weren’t too far behind.
On Tuesday, the Hokies put the pressure on ETSU’s starter, Landon Smiddy, right away. The familiar “Hey! Hey! Hey’s!” that rang through in Virginia Tech’s home dugout during last year’s Super Regional run returned just two outs into the Hokies’ home opener. Cannizzaro reached on an infield single and then raced home to score from third on a wild pitch in the bottom of the first.
The home run hammer, which was disallowed for the Super Regional – and then permanently over the offseason – made its return through a loophole in the rule. With Tech up 2-0 thanks to Martin’s RBI single, Cannizzaro pulled an 0-1 pitch 415-feet over the left field wall to kickstart Tech’s offense, scoring Bryant and Martin in the process. Just like that, Tech led 5-0.
“Oh, it’s great,” Cannizzaro said about swinging the hammer. “I got to do it once in the fall, but unfortunately, it wasn't the best performance. Hopefully it was a little bit better today. But just a great feeling … in front of your home crowd.”
Two innings later, Eddie Eisert walked and then stole second before Martin tripled down the right field line. Martin subsequently scored as Bryant stole second and Martin took off on the catcher’s throw. And DeMartini’s grand slam in the sixth with a 7-2 lead added four more runs to the board, pushing it to 11-2.
“He was using his [breaking ball] a lot,” DeMartini said. “So I was just going out there looking for one. He just kind of hung it right down the middle.”
Malinowski singled home Michel in the seventh and Carson Jones added another run in the eighth. Brody Donay and Sam Tackett, both of whom began the day on the bench, each drove in a run each with a single, capping off a three-run eighth.
With 15 runs on the board, a combination of Matthew Siverling, Andrew Sentlinger, Jonah Hurney, Brady Kirtner and Tyler Dean finished off the rest of the night for Tech on the bump. The Hokies have yet to allow more than five runs in a game and send Griffin Green, Drue Hackenberg and Anthony Arguelles this weekend’s three-game series vs. Bryant.
Maybe it’s a small surprise how much Tech has hit around its opponents. But doing so while putting together big innings regularly is a skill the Hokies have turned into a habit. Offensive performances like Tuesday come in handy throughout the rest of the season.
Box Score: Link