Virginia Tech got a great effort from starting pitcher Eddie Campbell, but errors and a lack of timely hitting doomed the Hokies to a 4-1 loss to UNC in the ACC Championship Game.
Campbell got the start despite starting just four games this season. Pete Hughes clearly wanted to save Joe Mantiply for the NCAA Tournament, though Mantiply did pitch the final inning for the Hokies.
Campbell went seven innings and allowed just two earned runs. Both runs were scored on plays where Tech committed an error turning a double play. In baseball, you can't assume that a double play will happen, which means both runs were earned, but it's fair to say that Campbell was very close to being perfect against the Tar Heels. Both runs came in the first three innings, and he cruised after that.
UNC tacked on two more runs in the eighth inning against Joe Mantiply. Both of those runs were unearned.
Despite the errors, the Hokies still had their chances. They loaded the bases in the fifth and sixth innings, and could only come away with one run. They had no outs with the bases loaded in the sixth, but Chad Morgan grounded into a double play. That scored a run, but it killed Tech's chances of a big inning.
The Hokies finished the season 38-20, while the Tar Heels finished 52-8.
Virginia Tech will be playing in the NCAA Tournament, but they'll have to wait to find out if they are a #2 seed or if they'll be hosting a regional as a #1 seed.