Let’s get it out of the way: The Hokies dropped their second straight series to NC State this weekend.
That was decided at 3:51 p.m. on Saturday afternoon when Virginia Tech (13-7, 2-4 ACC) lost the first leg of Saturday’s doubleheader — and the second game of the series — to the Wolfpack, 6-3.
But they were still stuck in Raleigh — Game 3 had yet to be played, after all. And with a new-look lineup, the Hokies strung together a 20-8 run-rule statement win, blasting NC State (14-6, 2-1 ACC) with the help of a destructive 14-run fifth inning. The only teams to notch more runs in a single frame this year are George Mason (23 runs), Indiana State (20) and Rhode Island (17).
Tech hadn’t scored that many in one inning since June 4, 2022, against Columbia in that year’s Blacksburg Regional. Just like on that day, the Hokies utilized a single homer in the onslaught — freshman infielder Hudson Lutterman’s first career blast. Besides that, they totaled five singles, two doubles and seven walks in the sixth.
Henry Cooke and Jared Davis joined Lutterman with home runs in Game 2; the three slams accounted for six of Tech’s runs.
It hit .470 as a team, including .523 with runners on, .417 with them in scoring position and .583 when facing two outs. It was an offensive explosion that Tech — in its new small-ball state — had yet to find against conference- or regional-level talent. The Hokies ended their 13-game losing streak in Raleigh, along with the Wolfpack’s 11-game win streak, which dated back to February 28.
It all stemmed from that sixth inning, which saw 18 batters come to the plate before NC State’s third pitcher of the frame, Carson Kelly, finally struck out Garrett Michel on a payoff pitch. Tech was two hitters short of batting around three times.
Ben Watson — who hit 4-for-9 with two RBI across the doubleheader — ignited Game 3’s offensive turnstile.
He singled, then Sam Tackett (4-for-9 on Saturday, three RBI) swiftly plated him with a first-pitch go-ahead double. Jackson Cherry (2-for-7) put two on with a walk before taking second off a wild pitch — soon to be joined by Henry Cooke after his free base.
Lutterman (2-for-4, three RBI) and Cam Pittman (2-for-2, RBI) walked in two more runs before the lineup wrapped around. Then hits by Michel, Watson and Cooke — and a plethora of Wolfpack mistakes — made it 16-6. The Hokies were already in run-rule range, but Lutterman wanted more.
His third career hit, and first home run went 363 feet over the left-field wall and came 105.7 mph off the bat, bringing himself around with Cooke. Pittman followed with an inside-the-park homer to plate himself and Clay Grady — a single up the middle that slipped past center fielder Ty Head.
Pittman and Lutterman aren’t names you typically see as weekend starters for the Hokies. But they, along with infielder Ethan Gibson, started over third baseman David Lewis, catcher/DH David McCann and first baseman Garrett Michel — all players who’d been slumping lately. That may not be permanent, but it worked well for Tech in the series finale.
Freshman arm Logan Eisenreich (hit, two walks and two earned runs) returned from a flexor tendon injury to make a single-inning start on Saturday. Graduate student Cameron LeJeune (three earned runs) and sophomore Preston Crowl (one) lost Tech’s lead in the second frame, which Davis’ three-run homer built the previous inning.
Crowl, Grant Manning (the winning pitcher) and Luke Craytor held NC State to three more runs before the end of the game. Manning relieved Crowl after he surrendered an RBI triple to DeCriscio, then retired seven of the next nine batters to precede the Hokies’ gargantuan sixth.
In the first game of the doubleheader, the Hokies floundered at the plate. Outside of Tackett — who knocked an inside-the-park home run in the fourth inning — and Watson, Tech hit .115. Wolfpack starter Heath Andrews tossed an efficient 76-pitch, four-hit outing over 5 ⅓ innings. He retired the Hokies’ first 11 batters, and at that point, the Wolfpack had retired 25 straight dating back to Friday.
Tackett’s come-around knock ended that streak in the fourth, then Cherry homered the next inning to knot the game at two. Tech took a lead in the sixth with another RBI hit from Tackett, but NC State tied it in the seventh to end Jake Marciano’s day with three earned runs over six innings. Andrew Sentlinger relieved him, but surrendered a three-run eighth to give the Wolfpack a 6-3 lead and Tech couldn’t recover.
The Hokies will return to English Field for a midweek contest against VCU on Tuesday (4 p.m. ET, ACC Network Extra). The Rams (4-15) have been a far cry from the 2024 NCAA Regional squad that won the Atlantic 10 championship.