Virginia Tech baseball’s 11-9 win over UNC Greensboro on Sunday was probably more like its 18-13 Saturday loss than it would like, but the Hokies replicated enough of that game’s offensive output to even the series in its finale.
“It’s good for us to play close games like that at this time of the year,” Hokies head coach John Szefc said. “You want to try to find ways to get better. It’s hard to get better in practice because you’ve been practicing since August, and guys want to play.”
For a second straight day, Tech’s pitching was puzzlingly ineffective, but Luke Craytor and Chase Swift — as the eighth and ninth Hokies arms of the series — put together late performances that finally kept the Spartans (21-29) away.
The Hokies (27-22) received offensive contributions from across their lineup, with left-handed batters Sam Grube and Willie Hurt combining for seven RBI, shredding UNC Greensboro’s platoon of four right-handers. Grube launched home runs in the third and sixth innings, the second of which plated two runs and served as the game-winning hit.
“I think it’s out there that I mash righties and struggle with lefties,” Grube said. “When I see that many righties, I’m definitely licking my chops a little bit, but you still gotta get there and execute. I felt like I did that today.”
Hurt’s first career triple in the second inning eliminated UNC Greensboro’s only lead of the game, and his inside-the-park home run — his first career long ball — next time up gave his team a three-run advantage. The freshman split his game-high four RBI between those two hits, and he added a fourth-inning single for a 3-for-5 performance.
Pete Daniel batted 3-for-4 with runs each time he reached base, while Sam Gates (1-for-5) cracked a 430-foot bomb to center field in the third inning. But it wasn’t just Tech. Both teams were effective at the plate, combining for 20 runs on Sunday and an absurd 51 counting Saturday’s 31-run output.
It was as simple as this: Both teams were on heaters — Tech entered with just four losses in its last 14 games and the Spartans were on a six-game winning streak — and the English Field wind was pounding.
“Everything in the air has a chance to leave the park,” Szefc said. “[English Field] will play that way about five percent of the time. That’s my opinion over my eight years here. This was one of that five percent. It’s hard to pitch.”
That isn’t to say Szefc was OK with a shaky game from his staff, but he did paint the difference between the Spartans’ nine runs and the 18 they had the day prior: three-ball counts.
UNC Greensboro hitters worked 19 of them on Saturday but just eight on Sunday. The top of its lineup still wreaked havoc, though. Center fielder Brantley Truitt (2-for-3) homered in consecutive at-bats for three RBI while Jacob Dilley (3-for-4) added a late solo shot, which combined with a third-inning double for two RBI. Designated hitter Luke Holland went 3-for-5 with as many RBI.
Griffin Stieg started a planned short outing — his next start will likely come Saturday against Clemson — but, like Brett Renfrow on Saturday, he did not have his usual stuff. He surrendered four earned runs over 2 ⅓ innings, including the game’s first score on Dilley’s run-scoring double play in the first inning.
“It’s a little bit of a tune-up for both him and Renfrow going into the next series [against Clemson],” Szefc said. “Neither guy wanted it to go the way it went, but you move on from it.”
The redshirt junior gave up a leadoff double to Holland in the second inning, who advanced to third off a Tanner Berry sacrifice bunt. Luke Jenkins was intentionally walked, but Stieg finished the inning with two strikeouts to keep runs off the board.
He was rewarded in the following side with his offense’s four-spot. Hurt tripled home Nick Locurto, who was hit by a pitch near his left wrist before exiting the game later on.
To put it lightly, Hurt is fast. The 6-foot-1 rookie’s triple was gapped into right-center and would’ve resulted in two bags for most. Owen Petrich followed with an RBI single before Ethan Ball was plunked to force in a 4-1 run.
Stieg surrendered three hits in the top of the third, though — a Dilley RBI double and a Holland two-run ground-rule double — to help the Spartans even the game at four. This time, the Hokies responded with three bombs and a five-spot in the bottom side.
Henry Cooke’s RBI single made it 9-4, but Grube, Hurt and Gates homered before that. Hurt struck Tech’s first inside-the-park home run since Brody Donay’s on Feb. 26, 2023. Much like his triple, only select speedsters could’ve done it.
The ball was high and deep to center field, and careened off the wall before rolling a ways back towards the infield. By the time Truitt got to it, Hurt was rounding third base.
“I’d like to think I’m a pretty fast guy,” said Hurt, who’s slashing .356/.532/.489. “It’s pretty cool to have your first home run come inside the park, but I wish it got out. I guess I gotta get a little bigger.”
At-bats have been sporadic for the Midlothian native, but he consistently manages to stay in rhythm and contribute, evidenced by his 16 hits, 13 walks and four hit by pitches in 63 plate appearances. Ask around, and you’ll find he’s known as one of the hardest workers on the team — and as someone who doesn’t think about much besides baseball.
“He’s 100 percent baseball player,” Szefc said of Hurt. “If you have a kid and he is a baseball player, you want him to have that kind of a personality, as far as how serious he is about the game. When you look up ‘baseball player,’ [Hurt’s] face is going to pop up on there.”
Tech’s offense cooled down through the fourth and fifth innings while Ethan Grim, who replaced Stieg to end the third, was up-and-down. He surrendered two runs in the fourth, including a homer to Truitt that put the Spartans within three at 9-6. The freshman pitched a four-batter fifth, but Truitt jumped on him for another blast in the sixth to make it a one-run game.
Grube separated the Hokies in the sixth inning, hammering a two-out, 418-foot homer after Daniel’s leadoff single.
At that point, Tech had gone 15 innings in the series without throwing consecutive scoreless frames. Craytor changed that, with a bit of help from Swift. He resolved the seventh inning in four batters — striking out two — before forcing a double play in the eighth. The righty walked a runner, though, who Swift stranded as he grabbed the final out of the frame.
In the ninth, Swift surrendered an uncharacteristic one-out homer to Dilley, putting the Spartans within striking distance at 11-9. A Budzik four-pitch walk followed, as well as a Holland single and Berry hit by pitch.
The sophomore arm didn’t quite look like himself — because he wasn’t. Battling a harsh case of strep, Swift missed Saturday’s game after, in Szefc’s words, “feeling like dog all week.” Still, with the bases loaded and one out, the lefty forced a foul out before seizing the game-winning strikeout.
“We’re good friends, so we’d been communicating while he was out,” Grube said. “He’s been puking pretty much all week, so that was tough. But that’s Chase — that’s just who he is. He’s a gritty baseball player.”
The Hokies managed to split the two-game set with the Spartans, but the road ahead is somewhat uncertain — quite literally. Their next game is scheduled to be played on Tuesday against Marshall at 6 p.m. ET (ESPN+). However, as a team on the NCAA Tournament bubble, it would be advantageous for them to cancel it with metrics in mind.
On the other hand, the matchup is Tech’s only chance for vengeance against a Thundering Herd squad that embarrassed it 13-4 at English Field on March 3. Asked if the Hokies were planning on canceling Tuesday’s game, Szefc didn’t offer much.
“I can’t really get into that,” Szefc said. “That’s not my place. It’s up to our administration.”
Grube was excited by the opportunity, which could result in a confidence-building win or résumé-wounding loss.
“We definitely owe them one after last time,” Grube said. “We’re definitely fired up to go in there and beat their butts.”
If the trip is canceled, the Hokies will next play at home against Clemson, a monumental three-game series set to begin Thursday at 6 p.m. ET on ACC Network Extra.
On an injury note, Locurto left the game in the third inning after reinjuring his left arm — the same part of his body that was hit by a pitch — diving for a ball in left field. Szefc said postgame that he got X-rays during the game that came back negative, guessing that he suffered a bone bruise. Locurto iced his wrist for the remainder of the afternoon.
Box Score: Virginia Tech 11, UNC Greensboro 9