Virginia Tech Baseball Gets Back On Track With 13-0 Win Over Norfolk State

Virginia Tech handled business on Tuesday at English Field, blitzing Norfolk State — who ranks 306th in the 307-team Massey Ratings — 13-0 in seven innings.

The Spartans (0-9) are perpetual strugglers in the world of college baseball who happened to serve as the Hokies’ (9-2) final steppingstone before ACC play this weekend. 

A broad, hard-to-fall-off stone they were. David Lewis and David McCann homered to bolster the Hokies’ nine-hit, 11-walk day at the plate. Tech’s 13 runs were its highest mark since a 27-1 seven-inning hammering of Bucknell on Feb 16. 

“In the past, we’ve talked about matchups,” Hokies head coach John Szefc said. “I’ve talked about it enough, go out and play hard. I don’t care who we’re playing, doesn’t matter. Let’s go out and do your job. Play hard.”

Tech freshman pitcher Chase Swift picked up his first career win in relief of fellow rookie Parker Sweeney on Tuesday. They, along with Matt Westley and Luke Jackman, held the Spartans hitless to fortify the Hokies’ run-rule victory. 

Swift was hyper-efficient over 2 ⅓, pounding the Spartans with a barrage of strikes that turned into seven Ks in just 39 pitches. Five of those came consecutively between the third and fifth innings, tying the team-high successive strikeout streak shared by Jake Marciano and Marcel Kulik, also freshmen. 

“He threw strikes. He threw strikes, that’s it,” Szefc said of Swift. “He made them swing the bat, and that’s the end of it. Seven strikeouts, no walks, bingo.”

“I was just using the fastball up in the zone,” Swift said. “Getting ahead of hitters, though, was what really made me good today.”

A lefty out of PDG Baseball Academy in Fredericksburg, Swift syringed energy into his team, flexing and cheering after strikeouts and situational plays. He entered the game in the top of the third after Sweeney capped off an erratic, yet scoreless start by loading the bases with two outs. Swift punched out the threat in five pitches, then strutted back to the dugout, a smolder on his face. The team celebrated with him for a moment before breaking the game open in the bottom side.

“If you have more energy than the other team, you usually do better,” Swift said.

Jared Davis (.400) singled and then stole his third bag of the year to put himself in position to come around after McCann’s single. The sophomore advanced to second, then got home after Spartans pitcher Mac Yarbrough walked Tech’s next three batters. Norfolk State’s Nyenati Snoh, a freshman in his second appearance of the year, handed Tech a series of wild pitches (and one passed ball) to go up seven runs before Sam Tackett’s sacrifice fly made it 8-0. 

McCann hit a same-field home run next inning to put the Hokies within one score of run-rule range, which they achieved next frame as Davis singled to plate Ethan Gibson’s walk.

Later in the fifth, Lewis bombed a 430-foot homer deep over the left-center wall to score himself and Davis. 

“I was just trying to get good pitches in the zone on the fastball,” Lewis said. “We knew they were heavy fastball in the zone, so we were sitting on that. I got one that I could put a good spin on.” 

Lewis’ home run was his second in three games, a cherry-on-top stat for the North Greenville transfer hitting .446 since Tech’s series against UNC Greensboro. He leads the Hokies in strikeouts with 12, but seven of them came in the four games prior to the aforementioned series. 

“I think I’m seeing it a little bit better,” Lewis said. “I just go back to preparation and how we do things in the cage and how we watch film and just taking every at bat one pitch at a time. I focus on getting my pitch.”

Tackett’s ACC-leading .514/.571/.892 slashing line only improved in the senior’s two-walk day. His most eye-catching highlight came as a sprinting, over-the-shoulder catch deep into the right-center gap to save at least one Norfolk State run.

Meanwhile, the ACC’s third leading batter, Jackson Cherry, went 1-for-2 with a pair of RBI. Garrett Michel hit a triple two batters — Henry Cooke walked — after Lewis’ homer to score Tech’s final run before emptying its bench. 

Ryder Kirtley (2B), Luca Perriello (DH), Jake Slade (3B), Hudson Lutterman (1B), Mycah Jordan (CF), Nick Locurto (LF) and Grant Hunter (RF) made appearances. The latter two recorded a hit, with Hunter’s being the first of his career. 

A slew of injury news came following Tuesday’s win. Clay Grady, who suffered an apparent injury on Sunday against ECU, is fine and could’ve played against the Spartans, according to Szefc. Cam Pittman (finger) and Treyson Hughes (hip) have a chance at playing on Wednesday, while Cade Drohan is expected to make his first appearance of the season in that game.  

Tech rounds out its truncated series against Norfolk State on Wednesday (3 p.m. ET, ACC Network Extra) before conference play begins this weekend against Georgia Tech (11-2).