CHARLOTTESVILLE — It’s usually Virginia Tech’s bullpen that squanders great Brett Renfrow starts, but it was the other way around on Saturday.
Renfrow gave up three homers and seven earned runs to No. 14 Virginia before exiting the game with an injury after the second inning. The Hokies (8-9, 1-4 ACC) ultimately lost 10-5 and have dropped their first two ACC series. They’re below .500 for the first time since the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
Tech’s bullpen was mostly stout behind Renfrow, especially left-handed senior Josh Berzonski, who picked up six strikeouts across three innings, a career-high in ACC play. Both baserunners he allowed between the fifth and seventh innings were stranded.
Virginia (16-3, 4-1) pounded Tech with five homers for eight of its 10 runs. Aiden Robertson, who relieved Renfrow for a scoreless third, gave up two solo deep shots in the fourth to UVa outfielder AJ Gracia and first baseman Sam Harris.
Catcher Jake Weatherspoon — in his first at-bat on the Cavaliers — second baseman Joe Tiroly and, again, Harris, launched bombs to left field off Renfrow, who picked up his third loss (0-3) of the year.
Virginia Tech coach John Szefc provided no details about the Manassas native’s injury beyond saying it prompted his removal.
Needless to say, it would be a major blow for the Hokies to lose their ace, but it’d hurt even more after freshman starter Ethan Grim left Friday’s game with what Szefc believed was a flexor strain.
Renfrow has had an up-and-down year, which began with a two-inning, two-earned run start against William & Mary. His best performance was a five-inning, seven strikeout performance against Texas A&M in his final non-conference start, but he’s allowed 12 earned runs over seven ACC innings since then. He’s given up a home run in each five of his starts, and seven total, which matches his mark from all of last season.
He made his first career Saturday start at Georgia Tech last weekend, and did so again against the Cavaliers.
“On paper, he’s our best arm, so we want to try to go into Saturday with a chance to win a series or salvage one,” Szefc said. “He hasn’t been very good. Not for him.”
Renfrow left the game with Tech down 7-0, but it struck a rally in the fourth with no outs to find nearly all of its runs for the day.
Hudson Lutterman — who was 2-for-3 with a home run on Saturday — and Henry Cooke opened the inning with doubles. Sam Gates followed with an infield bunt-single that popped behind UVa starting pitcher Max Stammel and brought Lutterman around.
Virginia held a mound visit but opted to keep Stammel — who allowed one hit by pitch, a single and no other baserunners in the three innings prior — in the game. Saint Joseph’s transfer Owen Petrich mashed his second home run of the year just after that, putting the Hokies within three at 7-4.
Virginia punched back with two solo homers off Robertson before Stammel settled back in and allowed just one more run in the fifth inning, a Lutterman solo home run that made it 9-5. Stammel exited having given up six hits and five earned runs over six innings, though he surrendered just two free bases and picked up the win.
Robertson sent the Cavaliers eight straight balls in the fifth inning before Berzonski entered in relief and threw four more. With the bases loaded and no outs, though, he allowed just one run: a sacrifice fly between a shallow fly out and Gracia strikeout.
The 10-5 score held for the rest of the game, but Berzonski routinely gave his offense opportunities to change that. He struck out two in a 1-2-3 sixth inning, then stranded a runner at third at the end of a three-punchout seventh.
“He’s good, man. He hung in there,” Szefc said of Berzonski, who initially transferred to Tech from D-III Penn State Harrisburg before last season. “He gave us a chance and kind of held it there for a while, did a pretty good job for us. I was really happy for him.”
The Hokies managed just one hit across Berzonski’s relief outing. They were shut down by right-handed freshman and Mechanicsville native Noah Yoder, who gave up just one hit while striking out two of the seven batters he faced.
Hokies reliever Danny Lazaro pitched a clean eighth, but his offense was hitless and scoreless off UVa righty Kevin Jaxel in the ninth, despite him yielding a pair of walks to start the final frame.
Having dropped the series, Tech can only hope to salvage a Sunday win like it did last week at Georgia Tech. If the Cavaliers cement the sweep, the Hokies will have started conference play 1-5, though lighter parts of their schedule are on the horizon.
Game 3 begins Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on ACC Network Extra.
Box Score: No. 14 Virginia 10, Virginia Tech 5