In their ACC-opening 4-3 loss to Georgia Tech, the Hokies were reminded that the talent looming within the league is a step above anything they’d played thus far.
On Friday at English Field, that reminder came in the form of Yellow Jackets (12-2) reliever Mason Patel (5-0, 0.00 ERA) and a blown ninth-inning lead. The fifth-year senior held Virginia Tech (10-4) hitless across a 4 ⅔-inning outing that saw just two Hokies baserunners. Patel retired 17 batters in 62 pitches and averaged just 14.8 tosses per innings.
For reference, the Hokies’ pitching staff — which played well by every measure — averaged 20 pitches per inning. Their bats, which had scored 28 runs across their two previous games against Norfolk State, were completely iced.
“He was commanding the zone, which is really good for a pitcher to do,” Hokies pitcher Brett Renfrow said. “He was just attacking. He’s a very good pitcher, so shout out to him.”
Barring a go-ahead final inning for the Yellow Jackets courtesy of Hokies relievers Luke Craytor and Andrew Sentlinger, VT’s arms were unfazed by an offense that leads the ACC in slugging (.606) and batting average (.350).
Renfrow’s start served as Georgia Tech’s own wake-up call to ACC pitching — they earned just one run across six innings as he struck out six. His 96 pitches tied the second-longest outing of his career and he routinely kept the Yellow Jackets off home plate whenever he bent.
“I think everything was working for me,” Renfrow said. “Just trying to feel out every pitch and just have confidence in everything. … First ACC game felt good.
“And it’s fun when you’re out there longer, it’s a lot more fun. It’s a great time to be out there with your teammates and just fight for one.”
Renfrow didn’t see a runner in scoring position until the third inning, when Georgia Tech’s Kyle Lodise found the team’s second hit of the game, a two-out single, then quickly stole second. Renfrow then tossed a wild pitch to advance Lodise to third on the same pitch he walked Drew Burress. Facing his first high-leverage moment all night, he struck out the ensuing batter (Kent Schmidt) in three pitches.
Next inning was a different story. Alex Hernandez (2-for-5, RBI) and Vahn Lackey (3-for-4) hit singles around a Tyler Neises strikeout, then Caleb Daniel delivered a two-RBI base hit to put Georgia Tech up 2-1. It erased a lead the Hokies held since the first inning, when Garrett Michel doubled through the left-center gap, plating David McCann’s walk.
Ben Watson reached on a fielding error the following side, shaking Georgia Tech starter Tate McKee, who had retired the last six Virginia Tech batters.
Henry Cooke came out on top of the ensuing seven-pitch at-bat with an RBI single to plate Watson and even the game at two. In the next inning, Jared Davis launched a 411-foot home run — his second in as many games — over the left-field wall to take a 3-2 lead. Davis repeatedly, and mysteriously, showed bunt throughout his at-bat, but that was a part of his strategy.
“I was just showing where the defense was at, seeing where they can move and stuff,” Davis said. “That was all lip. I was using my tools and showing my speed to them. Pulling that bunt out made the infield come up, and it was best for my options.
“I saw a pitch inside on the home run. That was my approach all game, and the first two at-bats [where he struck out] didn’t really get to me. I just waited for it and did what I do best.”
The tail end of Renfrow’s outing, combined with shutdown relief appearances by Patel and the Hokies’ Preston Crowl (one hit across seven batters), made it seem like Davis’ homer would be the story of the game — a solo shot to pull the Hokies in front in a textbook pitcher’s duel.
But then came tense moments. In the eighth inning with Virginia Tech up 3-2, Craytor inherited two outs and runners on the corners from Crowl, quickly dispelling the threat with the help of a leaping grab from David Lewis at third base.
The lead was challenged again in the final inning as Craytor walked its first two batters. Hokies head coach John Szefc replaced him with Sentlinger, hoping the junior could get the team out of one last high-leverage situation. His first batter fouled out, but the next two cracked RBI singles, scoring both of the walks Craytor passed down to make it 4-3.
“It sucked in the moment, but it never really changed our attitude or thoughts on the outcome of the game,” Crowl said. “Honestly, we believed we could still pull it out, and we came close there.”
That they did. In the bottom of the ninth, Jackson Cherry drew a 3-2 walk, becoming Patel’s first earned baserunner. Clay Grady made good contact the ensuing at-bat, but Yellow Jackets left fielder Joshua Evans gloved his line drive to end the game.
The Hokies have two more shots at Georgia Tech on Saturday (3 p.m. ET, ACCNX) and Sunday (1 p.m. ET, ACCNX). In Game 2, Jake Marciano (2-0, 1.38 ERA) is likely to start on the mound across from the Yellow Jackets’ Brady Jones (1-0, 3.60 ERA).
Box Score: Georgia Tech 4, Virginia Tech 3