Collegiate Times

The Virginia Tech baseball team won its first ACC series of the season after defeating Wake Forest over the weekend.

The team had to wait an extra day to earn the series win because of inclement weather on Saturday. As a result, the Hokies were forced to play their fifth double header of the season.

In Friday’s game, Tech had its best offensive game so far this season. The team broke out of its slump and scored nine runs, while tallying 18 hits. Tech came out on top 9-3, with six players having at least two hits each.

Tim Smalling had a season-high of four hits, and Michael Seaborn had three hits, while scoring a career-high of four runs. Smalling went nine of 14 throughout the series

Starting pitcher Joe Mantiply got the win on the mound after throwing six scoreless innings, including three strikeouts and one walk.

In the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader, Tech continued swinging its bats well and defeated the Demon Deacons 11-3.

Starting pitcher Marc Zecchino earned his third win of the season after lasting seven innings, where he threw 12 strikeouts and allowed just one earned run. Smalling was again an offensive star after totaling five hits. Tony Balisteri had three hits and scored three runs. Andrew Rash joined the offensive party by hitting his 11th home run of the year.

However, Tech fell just short of the series sweep, losing 5-3 in the series finale. The Hokies left eight runners on base and left the bases loaded at the top of the third inning. Ronnie Shaban took the loss after allowing a walk-off two-run homerun in the bottom of the ninth. Shaban split time as first baseman and pitcher, something he’s been doing frequently this season.

Tech’s overall record now sits at an even 17-17, while it is 3-12 in the ACC.

Tonight, the Hokies will play at Radford at 6 p.m. Tech will return to English Field on Saturday, as it will host Florida State in another ACC series.

A version of this article appeared in the Apr 12 issue of the Collegiate Times.