Did Brett Renfrow come out of his eight-inning, nine-strikeout shutout start on Friday thinking he had just pitched the best game of his career? He thought about it for a moment, then smiled.
“I’ll just say it was a lot of fun,” Renfrow said. “Doing that felt good.”
Renfrow contributed all but one inning to Virginia Tech baseball’s 4-0 series-opening victory over NC State — its first ACC shutout since scoring seven unanswered against North Carolina in 2023.
The junior surrendered just three hits, one of which came on his first pitch of the game, and one walk. He entered with a 6.41 ERA and left with it down to 5.47. Needless to say, he picked up the win (3-4) — his third straight outing without a loss.
“He was just aggressive and attacking,” Hokies head coach John Szefc said. “If you’re tentative, dipping your toe in the water against [NC State], these guys are gonna get after you pretty good. But he was aggressive and active. Passive people don’t win.”
Through the Manassas native’s 108 pitches, the Wolfpack (26-15, 9-10 ACC) did not have a single runner reach third base — and it only pushed Renfrow to a three-ball count thrice in 29 plate appearances.
Did Szefc think he had seen Renfrow’s best game, which was just his second eight-frame outing (March 8, 2024, vs. Notre Dame) and his first scoreless one?
“It’s hard to say no to that one,” Szefc said.
“He was just so effective. When you put average hitters in three-ball counts, they’re not average hitters anymore. If you’re talking about pounding the zone and getting ahead, that’s an example of doing that right there.”
No Tech (21-19, 10-12) pitcher has thrown a complete-game shutout since right-hander Joe Parsons in 2011. With Renfrow at 108 tosses after the eighth inning, Szefc opted not to risk a ninth, instead using Chase Swift, who picked up two strikeouts and a contact out to end the game in 11 pitches.
Renfrow retired 12 straight batters between the fourth and eighth innings, making for one bored onlooker at English Field: Tech center fielder Sam Gates, who could only watch as his pitcher struck out five across that span, with not a single ball coming his way.
“I’ll take boring any day of the week,” Gates said.
The George Washington transfer reached base three times on Friday with two extra-base hits. His first put Tech on the board first in the second inning, tripling Pete Daniel home after a two-out walk. Gates laced the ball just over the glove of Wolfpack right fielder Brayden Fraasman.
NC State’s starter, Fincastle native Heath Andrews, made his second Friday start of the season after key Wolfpack rotation pieces Jacob Dudan and Ryan Marohn (Chantilly) suffered injuries earlier this year.
Andrews finished with four earned runs over five innings after surrendering a two-run home run to Ethan Ball in the third — his team-high ninth to plate Sam Grube after his leadoff double – and an RBI single to Willie Hurt in the fifth. Hurt and Ball (both 1-for-3 with a walk) are a combined 57-for-180 (.316) this year and lead Tech in batting average as freshmen.
However, outside of the two rookies and Gates, Tech was 3-for-21. Grube and Henry Cooke accounted for two of those hits and added a run each while Ethan Gibson singled in the first frame.
The Hokies were held hitless in the final three innings by NC State right-hander Sam Harris. That mattered far less with Renfrow shoving and Swift closing the door, though.
Wolfpack freshman Rett Johnson, who leads all players in ACC batting average (.493), whacked Renfrow’s first pitch into left field and hit another single in the eighth inning, which ended the streak of 12 straight retired batters. The 5-foot-9 left fielder stole second twice — after his first hit and after walking in his second plate appearance.
The only other NC State players to reach base were first baseman Chris McHugh and third baseman Sherman Johnson, who collected a hit by pitch and single in the fourth inning, respectively. Renfrow forced a flyout, a foul out and then pop out to leave them on base.
“Definitely had some support from the defense,” Renfrow said. “They have my back, I have their backs.”
The Hokies have won five of their last six games and three straight. They have a chance to take the series from the Wolfpack on Saturday at noon ET (moved up from a 3 p.m. start) on ACC Network Extra.
“It’s very hard to get a shutout in the ACC,” Renfrow said. “These hitters are really good. [NC State] is a really aggressive team, so it was definitely a battle out there. But I kept on competing and did my thing.
“We’re feeling really good. Our team is focused. We’re focused on the process, so results will come. It goes day-by-day, and that’s our motto.”
Box Score: Virginia Tech 4, NC State 0
1 Comment