Full PDF Game Notes
The weekend series: The Hokies stay on the road this weekend - they are getting ready to wrap up a 16-game stretch that had them away from English Field and Union Park for 12 of them - as they travel to the state of North Carolina to face the No. 11 Tar Heels in Chapel Hill. The three-game ACC series begins on Friday with a 7 p.m. first pitch, continues on Saturday at 6 p.m. and concludes on Sunday with a 1 p.m. start time.
Follow live stats all weekend long on Hokiesports.com. To get Hokie pregame images or video, lineup images and ingame updates, follow us on twitter - @VT_Baseball or on Instagram. All three games this weekend will be broadcast on ESPN3, see below for links for each game. For audio broadcasts, games can be heard over the airwaves on SuperSports 101.7 FM or online on HokiesXtra.
Friday: ESPN3 link
Saturday: ESPN3 link
Sunday: ESPNU link
History versus the Tar Heels: UNC, who ended Tech’s season last year in the 2015 ACC Baseball Championship tournament, holds the all-time series lead among the two schools at 69-24-2, which includes a 37-12-2 mark at home and a 27-2 record in conference games. Despite the Tar Heels recent dominance - they had won 22 in a row from 2007 to 2014 - the Hokies have been quite competitive in the last nine, including ending that streak with an 8-3 series-opening win last year in the Friday contest in Blacksburg (April 17). SIDE NOTE: The starters in that game, UNC’s Zac Gallen and Tech’s Kit Scheetz, who earned the decisions in the contest, are facing each other again in this year’s series-opening game. They also were the startes on the mound in that 2015 ACC tournament game. Of those other eight games, UNC won all of them by a combined 14 runs (four by one run, two by two and two by three).
History in the Tar Heel State: As stated above, Tech’s record at UNC is not successful, which includes a current 16-game losing streak - the Hokies have not beaten the Tar Heels on the road since March 30, 1976. However, in the entire state, Tech holds an overall mark of 167-190-5 for a winning percentage of 46.8 percent. Last year, they struggled with a 3-8 mark and lost all three games in 2014. In 2013, which included making the ACC tournament in Durham, the Hokies posted a 14-7 record, the most games played and won in the state in a single year. The three games this weekend, are the only regular season games scheduled in the state this season.
A Look Back at the April 17 game: As stated earlier, both starters in that Friday night’s game, are scheduled to make the start in this series opener. Then-23rd-ranked UNC held a 2-1 lead heading into the sixth frame when the Hokies got to Gallen, scoring five runs which included Alex Perez (solo) and Brenden Hayden (2R) hitting home runs. Ryan Tufts added an RBI single and Andrew Mogg scored on a wild pitch to put Tech up 6-2. Sam Fragale put the icing on the win as a two-RBI double in the seventh provided the final scoring in the contest. Scheetz tied his career-high with seven innings, allowed three runs on eight hits and struck out a season-high five Tar Heels. To see the box score, CLICK HERE.
The two also faced off again in the ACC tournament with Gallen getting the better of Scheetz in that one as a costly Tech error gave UNC three unearned runs on its way to the 5-3 win that ended the Hokies' season. CLICK HERE to see that box score.
For updates on Virginia Tech baseball, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_Baseball