Collegiate Times

For the first time this season, Pete Hughes’ Virginia Tech baseball team swept an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent — Maryland. 

The three wins — highlighted by the strong pitching outing of Joe Mantiply Friday and the two home runs of Andrew Rash Saturday — bring the Hokies’ record to 23-19, 7-14 in the ACC.

On Friday, Mantiply worked six-and-a-third innings of five-hit ball, allowing two runs in the process. Tech jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the fifth, before tacking on three runs in the top of the ninth.

Jake Joyce came on in relief of Mantiply in the seventh and proceeded to dominate the Terrapins lineup — allowing only one hit and one walk over the course of nine batters. The Hokies won 7-2.

Saturday, the bats came alive in the Hokies 11-2 victory. Rash, the ACC’s leading home run hitter, continued his torrid pace, belting two en-route to a blowout win.

Tech starter Mark Zecchino scattered 10 hits over eight strong innings to pick up his fourth win of the season. His performance Saturday came on the heels of a subpar outing April 16 against Florida State, where he only lasted four innings.

Ronnie Shaban also had three hits for the Hokies, while Matt Blow drove in a pair, and Michael Seaborn scored twice.

Sunday, the Hokies knocked the cover off the ball again, as they used an eight-run top of the fourth to jump out to a 10-0 lead. That lead was plenty for starting pitcher Joe Parsons, as he silenced the Terrapins’ bats over the course of six innings, allowing just one earned run on six hits.

Seaborn and catcher Chad Morgan each drove in a team-high three runs for the Hokies, who left College Park with some much-needed wins.

The Hokies have now won five-straight games on the road overall and nine of their last 10. Tech returns home this Tuesday for a game against North Carolina A&T at 5:30 p.m. The team’s final ACC road series follows this weekend as it faces Duke.

A version of this article appeared in the Apr 26 issue of the Collegiate Times.