VCU, an NCAA Tournament mainstay in the 2020s that’s off to a 5-15 start this season, had reason for optimism when it cracked a home run off the fourth pitch of Tuesday’s game against the Hokies.
On a different day, that might have sparked a stunning Virginia Tech (14-7) loss, injecting more doubt into a team that dropped its first two ACC series.
But not on Tuesday. The Hokies were riding Saturday’s 20-8 breakthrough win against NC State and carried that momentum into their second straight run-rule affair — a 13-2 hammering of the Rams (4-16) at home.
“Saturday was awesome, it's a big momentum booster,” Tech catcher Anderson French said. “First two games [against the Wolfpack], we get down. Third game kicked in. I think we were ready to go.”
New and old Hokies alike fed off VCU’s stumbling pitching — which holds a 6.51 ERA this year — and French, a freshman, was at the helm of it all.
Hokies head coach John Szefc was high on the 6-foot-5 backstop in the preseason, and he’s succeeded in sparse opportunities thus far. Earning any is a testament to his talent amid a star-studded catching room, and he was 4-for-12 with eight walks and five RBI coming into Tuesday.
Last week against JMU, he flashed with a home run. This time around he blossomed, plating a team-high three RBI on 2-for-4 batting — a pair of singles that brought a go-ahead run in the second inning and two more in the fourth.
“He’s gonna be really good, man,” Szefc said of French. “He’s gonna be a high, elite-level draft pick one day as a six-five lefty catcher draft pick. We have really strong depth [with David McCann and Henry Cooke]. … Only one guy can catch at a time, but he’ll be maybe one of the highest picks to ever come out of here, I think eventually.”
French, along with Cam Pittman (1-for-1, two walks and runs) and Hudson Lutterman (RBI), earned starts Tuesday in place of Sam Tackett, David Lewis and Henry Cooke, who were rested.
Jared Davis, another newcomer who produces like a Tech staple, continued his non-conference tear with a 2-for-3, two-RBI day powered by a second-inning homer.
Davis is batting 4-for-24 (.167) against ACC teams but 23-for-53 (.434) against opponents outside the conference. Szefc believes his 2-for-4 game against NC State last Saturday is indication that those numbers are non-issues.
“He’ll have a lackluster at-bat, I’ll call it that, every once in a while,” Szefc said. “But in general, like his plusses far outweigh his minuses. He drove in four runs and had a pretty good day [on Saturday].”
Mercer transfer Jackson Cherry (1-for-2, two RBI) continued a run of trustworthy play, securing him a starting role as of late. “He just gives us tough at-bats,” Szefc said. “He evened the game up early. The guy is hitting .378. … He’s a really good addition for us this year.”
Familiar faces Ben Watson (2-for-3) and David McCann (two doubles, RBI) thrived against VCU, too. McCann celebrated his 21st birthday along with the win.
Tech scored in every inning besides the sixth, starting with Cherry’s RBI single to tie the game in the first. In the next frame, French’s single and Davis’ homer manufactured an abrupt 4-1 advantage, which ballooned to 6-1 following another French knock in the third.
The Hokies’ highest-scoring frame all day came as a five-run fourth, which saw three hits, two walks and a VCU error stringing together for an 11-1 lead. McCann’s double was the only run-scoring hit; the others came from walk-ins and errors.
With the game out of hand, Tech emptied the bench en masse, leading to singles for freshman Mycah Jordan (4-for-5 this year) and sophomore Nick Locurto, whose up-the-middle chop made it 12-1.
Sophomore Jake Slade plated the Hokies’ 13th and final run — a sacrifice fly to bring Jordan home.
Hokies arms Mathieu Curtis and Chase Swift combined to keep the Rams away over the first 4 ⅔ innings, surrendering just four hits and a run. Marcel Kulik, Josh Berzonski and Luke Jackman finished the final 2 ⅓ frames with another allowed run and two hits. All five arms combined to issue a single walk.
The Hokies’ next conference foe, No. 16 Louisville, comes to Blacksburg for a weekend series starting on Friday (4 p.m. ET, ACCNX). Game 2 is at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday before Sunday’s closer begins at 1 p.m. ET.
Rankings can be misleading amid a young season, but the Cardinals (16-3) have wins over No. 8 Texas (D1Baseball), then-No. 12 Arizona and a 2-1 series win over then-No. 6 North Carolina last weekend.
“They’re good, we’re good,” Szefc said. “We’ll see how it goes. You gotta throw strikes. They gotta throw strikes. I don’t really put a whole lot of stock into what teams did last week.”
Box Score: Virginia Tech 13, VCU 2 (7 innings)