CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Before Virginia Tech baseball could even record an at-bat in the ACC Tournament, it was down 4-0.
The offense thought nothing of it.
“It just made us want to hit that much more,” Hokies designated hitter Hudson Lutterman said during the postgame press conference. “We just wanted to get back. One step, one run at a time.”
Lutterman nodded, then smiled at Ethan Ball, sitting two seats to his right.
“And then a couple big swings from him over there. We got it done.”
In his first collegiate postseason game, Ball mashed two home runs and reached base six times to help engineer the Hokies’ 17-10 win over Notre Dame in the second round of the ACC Tournament on Wednesday. Ball and Co. earned the right to play No. 2 North Carolina in the quarterfinal on Friday.
The true freshman was walked twice — once intentionally — and hit by a pitch twice, putting him on base six times as he set the ACC Tournament program record for runs (four). He tied the home run and hit-by-pitch records, too.
The first pitch of the all-conference freshman’s first at-bat — a middle-middle fastball — was blasted 401 feet to center field for Tech’s first run. During his next plate appearance, Notre Dame (31-24, 13-17) starter Ty Uber sent him a cutter located identically, which was also cracked deep to center, tying the game at five.
“Beach balls,” Ball said of those pitches. “Hung it up there, and I did what I should’ve done with it.”
Ball wasn’t the only facet of the Hokies’ ACC Tournament program-record 19 hits, though. Tech’s 17 runs were its most in the tournament since it scored 18 against Clemson in 2022.
Lutterman drove in four runs to Ball’s three, belting a double and two RBI singles in his first three at-bats after walking in his first plate appearance.
Not much has outwardly changed since he was hopping around the bases last weekend with a sprained, taped-up ankle. The sophomore spent much of his game as the only Tech player sitting in the dugout, resting after seemingly circling around the bases every inning.
Lutterman is hurt, but he’s raking anyway.
“I spend as much time as I can with our trainer, [Kyle Staggers],” Lutterman said. “We’ve gotten close over the past two weeks, spending hours at a time and coming in before games and waking up earlier than I want to, just so I can get out there and play. As long as Coach puts me in the lineup, I’m good to go. If he doesn’t put me in, then I’m good with that too.”
The Hokies (30-23, 15-15 ACC) finished 19-for-40, setting ACC Tournament program records for batting (.475), slugging (.725) and on-base percentage (.571).
Every Tech starter recorded multiple hits except Sam Gates, who still drove in two runs. Ethan Gibson went 2-for-4 with multiple RBI, while Owen Petrich went 3-for-4 with a double. Nick Locurto also finished 2-for-4 and tied the program’s ACC Tournament record with a pair of two-baggers.
The offense scored in six of eight innings, with three or more runs in half of them. After the first frame, the Fighting Irish did not score a single run in the top side of an inning without being answered in the bottom.
It all began with Tech’s three-run second and third innings — containing two Ball bombs and RBI doubles by Petrich (two runs) and Locurto — that erased the early hole.
“I’d rather have [the 4-0 deficit] happen in the first, because it gives you 27 outs to come back,” Hokies head coach John Szefc said. “Our guys did a tremendous job of that.
“It’s a mental kick in the teeth when you have to come back from that. … If you read that book, it usually ends a different way. Just a really good demonstration of resiliency by our guys.”
The bats were supported by Logan Eisenreich, who inherited a four-run deficit and two runners in the first inning, but allowed just one earned run over the next 4 ⅔ frames.
Starter Ethan Grim floundered out of the gate, allowing four hits and a walk, including a two-run home run to catcher Mark Quatrani, before exiting the game without forcing an out. Eisenreich was essentially entering a brand-new game with a major handicap.
Yet, he earned six strikeouts and the winning decision while only giving up one run: a Mason Barth RBI single in the third inning. Runners stood on first and third thereafter, but the sophomore escaped with consecutive strikeouts.
“Logan is developing into a very reliable arm for us,” Szefc said. “He has been better at the beginning of the game as a starter than coming out of the bullpen. … He really stabilized things when we needed them stabilized and gave our offense a chance to come back in the game.
“[We scored] 17 runs and it was a very offensive game, clearly, but I think the one story behind all the offense is how well those guys threw behind the starter, specifically Logan.”
Preston Crowl relieved Eisenreich, posting four strikeouts across his first five batters outside of a Jamie Zee solo home run. The Fighting Irish manufactured a four-spot off Crowl in the seventh inning to cut Tech’s 12-6 lead to 12-10. Then, Luke Craytor and Madden Clement took over the final seven outs, striking out three and holding Notre Dame scoreless as the offense continued to pile on.
With the Hokies perhaps needing one more win to feel comfortable with their regional chances — though the team liked its odds regardless of Wednesday’s result — there was reason to believe ace Brett Renfrow might start against the Fighting Irish. However, Szefc went with Grim, and later his third starter in Eisenreich.
“I don’t really put a lot of stock into the whole tournament thing and all that talk,” Szefc said, “Honestly, we’re just gonna roll out there with the guys that are most prepared to play. I’m not saying Brett’s not — he’s still recovering from his last start, and he’ll be fine. It just wasn’t his day to pitch, but it was a lot of other guys’ day to pitch, and they did a really good job.”
Notre Dame entered second to last in ACC ERA (7.97), and that showed as it trudged through 10 pitchers. Its nine pitching changes — and the game’s 27 runs — helped create the longest ACC Tournament game in Hokies program history (4:08), surpassing a 3:56 matchup against NC State in 2010.
The Hokies have struggled against bullpen games this year, including during last Saturday’s loss to Clemson, when the Tigers’ bullpen effort held them to one run before the ninth inning. They plated three runs in that frame, however, which carried into Wednesday.
“We had a really good team talk,” Lutterman said. “After one guy got on base, [we’re talking about] what pitch is doing what, how much movement, and when that guy comes back in the dugout, we’re talking even more. Just keep passing it down and keep scoring.”
Notre Dame left fielder Bino Watters had an RBI double before Quatrani’s three-run bomb in the first inning. The last of Grim’s four earned runs came as a Zee sacrifice fly off Eisenreich. Ball’s solo shot and Petrich’s two-run double made it 4-3 in the second inning before Barth nabbed a run back in the third.
Ball’s next homer tied the game at five before Locurto’s third-inning RBI double — which ended the frame as he was tagged out at third base, standing after a review — gave the Hokies their first lead at 6-5.
The fourth frame was the only scoreless one, but a Lutterman RBI single and Gates sacrifice bunt extended Tech’s lead to 8-5 in the fifth. Gibson’s sacrifice bunt, another RBI knock for Lutterman and a Gates RBI single ballooned the lead to 12-6 in the following frame.
Barth (run-scoring single) and Shane Miranda — who shot a three-run double off Crowl into left field — cut the Hokies’ lead to 12-10 in the top of the seventh, but Gibson, Petrich, Grube and Cooke landed RBI singles across the next two innings that, along with a final Lutterman RBI groundout, produced the final 17-10 score.
Craytor put down the top of the Fighting Irish lineup in four batters in the top of the eighth when they were within three runs. Clement did the same in the ninth, but with a seven-run cushion.
Wednesday’s win can’t be fully captured without mentioning Virginia Tech shortstop Pete Daniel, who made two crucial highlight plays.
He first slid in as the Hokies’ ninth run (9-6) in the sixth inning after Gibson’s sacrifice bunt bounced back to the pitcher, who tossed it home well in time. However, Daniel avoided the tag with a swim-move slide.
He also ended Notre Dame’s four-run seventh frame with an absurd throw off his back foot from the outfield grass, closer to third base than where he was standing before. He lobbed it to first on time, quelling the Fighting Irish’s final true threat.
With Wednesday’s win, the Hokies erased any doubt that they’d be omitted from the NCAA Tournament, even after falling 10 spots in the RPI last Sunday. They are No. 43 after the win over Notre Dame and can’t fall much if they lose to their next opponent, No. 2 seed North Carolina — which is also No. 2 in the country and No. 5 in the RPI.
Tech has a fiery recent history with the Tar Heels (43-10-1, 22-8 ACC), who lead the ACC with a 3.71 team ERA, also good for ninth in the nation. Both teams get a day off in Charlotte before playing in the ACC Tournament quarterfinal on Friday at 11 a.m. ET (ACCN). Szefc did not name a starter after Wednesday’s win.
“We’ll figure that out tomorrow,” Szefc said. “I really haven’t dug into that too much, but [North Carolina] is good. They’re always good, but I think we’re pretty good, too, so I look forward to the challenge.”
Box Score: Virginia Tech 17, Notre Dame 10