Virginia Tech baseball managed its second straight Game 3 win against a ranked ACC foe on Sunday, beating No. 14 Virginia 6-3 in Charlottesville.
Griffin Stieg strung together six three-hit, one-run innings in the best start by a Hokies (9-9, 2-4 ACC) pitcher so far this season. He fanned seven Cavaliers while walking three, and tossed 104 times — his most since March 17, 2024, at Louisville — before Luke Craytor relieved him in the seventh.
Highlighted by Hudson Lutterman’s three-run home run in the fourth, the Hokies poured in six runs between the fourth and fifth innings. They generated just two hits and five total baserunners outside of that, but Stieg and the Tech bullpen ensured that six runs was more than enough.
Preston Crowl delivered a strikeout-only four-out save to clinch the win, Brody Roe found four quick outs before him and Craytor kept things mostly sound as the first out of the pen.
There were no runs on the board until Lutterman’s second homer of the weekend and fourth of the year in the fourth inning. He pumped it 366 feet to left, bringing around Ethan Ball, who initially singled, and Treyson Hughes after his walk.
It was the first blip on Cavaliers (16-4, 4-2) freshman starter John Paone’s day, who allowed no baserunners in the first three innings outside of Sam Gates’ double. He seemed spent after the fourth, though, starting the fifth by delivering Anderson French a four-pitch walk and hitting Pete Daniel.
Right-hander Lucas Hartman, who’s been one of the most reliable relief arms in the ACC this year, couldn’t get UVa out of the two-on, no-outs scenario. Sam Grube knocked a 1-2 double into right field, scoring French and putting Daniel on third. He came home with a right-side sacrifice groundout by Nick Locurto, then Grube scored on a Hartman wild pitch, putting the Hokies ahead 6-0.
On the other side, Stieg allowed five baserunners in the first four innings but stranded each one. With UVa’s Sam Harris and Noah Murray threatening on second and third in the fourth frame with two outs, Stieg struck out right fielder Zach Jackson in four pitches.
The Cavaliers scored off Stieg for the first and only time in the fifth, when shortstop Eric Becker — who was visibly hurt for most of the game after being hit by a pitch in the first inning — blasted a solo home run to make it 6-1. Kyle Johnson, Noah Jouras and AJ Gracia were quickly retired around the homer, and Stieg put UVa down in four batters again in the sixth inning, which was his last.
Craytor entered in the seventh and managed just one out before UVa’s Antonio Perrotta — a designated hitter who missed most of the series against Tech with an injury — homered to put his team within three, 6-3. He brought Kyle Johnson home with him, who tripled in the previous at-bat.
Roe entered after the homer and kept the next five Cavaliers batters quiet outside of a Harris walk, though he was stranded by the subsequent Harrison Didawick strikeout.
Then, with two outs in the eighth, Crowl entered. He struck out Murray on a 3-2 pitch, then struck out the side in the ninth on 1-2, 2-2 and 0-2 counts.
Though sitting at .500 with a 2-4 conference record, the Hokies have two straight ranked Sunday wins at Georgia Tech — now the No. 4 team in the nation that dominated No. 11 Clemson in a series this weekend — and Virginia.
That’s encouraging with Tech’s schedule lightening up in the coming weeks, though injuries to starters Ethan Grim and Brett Renfrow suffered in Charlottesville may throw a wrench in its plans. They’ll be assessed early this week with the team back in Blacksburg.
Next up for the Hokies is a home midweek game against VCU on Wednesday at 3 p.m. (ET, ACCNX). The Rams (11-8, 3-0 A10) are 0-4 against the ACC this year, though they’ve played some of the conference’s best in Virginia and No. 15 North Carolina.
Box Score: Virginia Tech 6, No. 14 Virginia 3