Ticket Market Place
Sports Radio Network | 
Travel Center & Info
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 (23) North Carolina (23-15) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 0 |
 Virginia Tech (19-20) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | X | 8 | 12 | 0 |
| ||||||||||||
BLACKSBURG – Behind a strong pitching effort from Kit Scheetz and home runs by seniors Alex Perez and Brendon Hayden, the Virginia Tech baseball team posted an 8-3 victory over No. 23 North Carolina in ACC action at English Field Friday evening.
With the win, the Hokies ended a 22-game losing streak to the Tar Heels that dated back to March 24, 2007, a 6-3 Hokie win in Blacksburg as well. The victory improved Tech to 19-20 overall and 8-11 in the ACC, while UNC drops to 23-15 overall and 9-10 in the league.
Trailing 2-1 entering the bottom of the sixth, Perez, who earlier extended his career-long hitting streak to 17 straight games with an RBI double in the third, launched a solo home run that started a five-run frame for the Hokies. It was Perez’ fifth home run of the season.
Two batters later, Hayden blasted the 21st home run of his career over the right-center field fence and put Tech on top 4-2, as it also scored Erik Payne who singled. The inning continued with a Sean Keselica single, a Sam Fragale sac bunt, a wild pitch and an Andrew Mogg walk that put runners on the corners with one out.
Ryan Tufts followed with a single that plated Keselica and moved Mogg to third. He would put the Hokies up 6-2 when he scored on a wild pitch.
Meanwhile, Scheetz, who allowed single runs in the third and fourth, settled down to retire 10 straight Tar Heels as the Hokies were making their comeback. A two-out RBI triple by Landon Lassiter in the seventh made it 6-3, but Scheetz got Tyler Ramirez with a strikeout which then finished his night.
He tossed a career-high tying seven innings, allowed three runs on eight hits, walked two and struck out a season-high five batters.
For some insurance, Fragale knocked home two (Perez and Hayden) with a double in the seventh to increase the Tech advantage to 8-3.
Luke Scherzer took over on the mound in the eighth and UNC got its first two batters on board. However, Scherzer retired the next three to escape the jam. Aaron McGarity closed the game with an unorthodox 1-2-3 inning. Skye Bolt tried to turn a one-out single into a double and was gunned down at second and a fly ball to right ended the game.
Scheetz improved to 2-1 on the season, while UNC starter Zac Gallen fell to 2-3.
Perez and Hayden both had two hits, two runs and two RBIs, while Saige Jenco, Fragale and Tufts each also had two hits.
Tech, which improved to 4-3 in ACC Game 1s after winning just two a season ago, will get back on the field on Saturday for Game 2 of the series with a 2 p.m. first pitch.
For updates on Virginia Tech baseball, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_Baseball
