Collegiate Times

In a game which saw five different lead changes and a combined 21 runs and 30 hits, it was the Hokies that ultimately won the day capitalizing on strong performances from seniors Bryan Thomas, Warren Schaeffer and redshirt junior Sean O’Brien.  The Hokies won the game 11-10 in the bottom of the ninth riding, scoring two runs on a walk-off double by Thomas.

“Going into the last inning, Sean O’Brien and myself were talking and said ‘you know we’re gonna win this.’ It was just a matter of who does it. I was just fortunate enough to be up at the right time,” Thomas said. “There was a freshman on the mound, he didn’t have very many innings, they told me they’d give me one fastball to swing and see what I could do with it, and after that I was gonna sac bunt. Luckily it was right there.”

This game looked to be well in hand for the Hokies until the Aggies from North Carolina A&T exploded with a six run sixth. The Hokies responded in the bottom half of the inning with four runs of their own, highlighted by a three-run homerun by Schaeffer, but the home team’s bullpen failed to hold the lead allowing three Aggie runs in the top of the eighth. However, this just set up the game winning situation for the Hokies who drew two walks in front of the game winning hit by Thomas.

“We hit last, that’s what it was,” said head coach Pete Hughes. “The best thing is that our guys didn’t get caught up with scoreboard watching and they did yesterday. When they got down 5-0 they panicked and instead of playing their game, believing in their approach and fundamentals to get back in the game under these conditions, they didn’t do it yesterday and they did it today.”

Offensively, Hughes’ team also took advantage of backup Aggie catcher Ty Gwyn, stealing six bases and only getting caught twice. This aggressiveness on the base paths generated a lot of the Hokie runs and played a major factor in the outcome of the game.

“The catcher was very slow, transition time, the transfer time is very slow and all these pitchers are very slow,” Hughes said of the opposing team. “They might get us one out of every four, but we’re gonna still do it. If you are gonna hang your hat on that offensively, you’re gonna get some outs, but I don’t care.”

This second game of the three game series against the Aggies of North Carolina saw much improvement from the 15-3 blowout in game one, but a thin bullpen and an inability to hit with runners in scoring position continued to plague the Hokies and made it difficult for them to finish out the game. Hokie relievers gave up half of the Aggie runs in a little over three innings pitched and the Hokie lineup left 12 runners on base. The Hokies continue to look for key players to step up and take ownership in both situations.

“We’re waiting for someone to take that role,” Hughes said. “We gotta keep playing, it’s early in the season, the more you get into those situations, the more comfortable kids will get in those situations and the more successful at it.”

 With the win, the Virginia Tech Hokies improve to 6-4 on the season and play the final game against North Carolina A&T (2-6) tomorrow on English Field at 1:00 p.m.