One night after the Virginia Tech baseball team won a game with great defense, it was the offense’s turn to rule the day Friday against Clemson.

The Hokies beat the Clemson Tigers 9-8 to move within one win of making the championship game in their first ACC Tournament under head coach Pete Hughes.

Every time the Hokies threw a punch, the Tigers landed a counterpunch right back.

It wasn’t until Ben Rowen forced Kyle Parker to ground out in the ninth inning that the Hokies could breathe easy.

“It was a battle of what team was going to keep composure and get momentum in the end, Hughes said.

The offensive fireworks began early, when the Hokies clocked Clemson starting pitcher Scott Weismann in the first inning.

Michael Seaborn walked, and then Steve Domecus singled to left field with only one out. That brought up Austin Wates, who picked up where he left off the night before with an RBI single.

Ronnie Shaban followed that up with a perfectly paced dribbler down the first base line. Tigers’ first baseman Will Lamb couldn’t field it in time before Domecus scored from third. Lamb tagged Shaban out, but the Hokies already grabbed a 2-0 lead.

Tim Smalling drew a two-out walk, putting runners on first and third for designated hitter Buddy Sosnoskie. Hitting from the seventh spot in the lineup, Sosnoskie belted a line drive that literally landed directly on top of the outfield wall for a home run.

Just like that, it was 5-0 Tech after one inning.

“Right off the bat when you put up five runs, your team is going to overflow with confidence,” Hughes said.

Clemson responded quickly in the second inning, however, when Brad Miller pulverized the first pitch he saw way beyond the right-center field wall for a two-run shot.

Price settled down after that, and did not allow another hit until the fourth, but that’s when it began to unravel completely. Jeff Schaus reached to lead off the inning when Seaborn couldn’t handle a ground ball. Schaus then advanced to second on a wild pitch.

Kyle Parker walked, and after a sac fly moved Schaus to third. John Hinson then singled to right field, scoring Schaus and moving Parker to second. Next up was Richie Shaffer, who put a laser less than three feet inside the foul line in left field for a double, scored two more runs. Tim Smalling’s relay throw to home plate from shortstop was mishandled by Domecus. Shaffer advanced to third on the Hokies’ second error of the inning.

The fielding woes weren’t over yet. John Nester reached on a Brent Zimmerman error trying to field a speeding grounder. Zimmerman did not play the night before, and is the usual backup for Tony Balisteri, who has been in and out of the lineup since spraining his ankle against VMI on April 27.

“That’s another matchup deal. We’re trying to see someone take over that position,” Hughes said of why Zimmerman got the start.

That’s what successful programs do. They get competitive at certain spots.”

Shaffer scored on the play, and Clemson took its first lead of the day, 6-5.

Finally, Price was able to strike out Mike Freeman to end the inning, but plenty of damage was done.

“Oh, I was steaming,” Hughes said.

Virginia Tech put together a strong response in the bottom of the fourth.  Tim Smalling and Buddy Sosnoskie’s back-to-back singles to start the inning ended Weismann’s day earlier than he would have hoped.

The first batter Clemson reliever Scott Firth faced was Andrew Rash. Rash reached on a fielder’s choice, and a throwing error by Clemson third baseman John Hinson allowed Smalling to score and tie the game once more at six.

Price’s day was done in the fifth. Sean McDermott came in to relieve him, and shut down Clemson with ease.

The Tech offense was back at it again in the bottom half of the inning. Austin Wates reached on a single, then Ronnie Shaban hit a laser, splitting the center and right fielders for a double and scoring Wates.

Smalling grounded out after that, but Tech was back ahead 7-6. Both teams just would not allow the other to take control of the game.

Continue Reading: 12 Next »