Hokies improve to 4-0 with shutout win over Marshall

Connor Coward, Sam Fragale lead Tech to 7-0 win in Home Opener

February 21, 2017

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Marshall (1-3)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	3
Virginia Tech (4-0)	0	5	0	1	0	0	1	0	X	7	12	1
EF at Union Park - 536 Box Score Photo Gallery

BLACKSBURG – Connor Coward threw six scoreless innings and Sam Fragale knocked in another two runs to help the Virginia Tech baseball team to a 7-0 victory over the visiting Marshall Thundering Herd on Tuesday afternoon in nonconference action at English Field at Union Park.

With the win, the Hokies improve to 4-0 on the season, their first 4-0 start since the 2013 season and their second straight home-opening shutout – they blanked ETSU 11-0 last year. Marshall falls to 1-3.

Coward labored through a first inning that included an error and a walk, but then settled in, facing just two over the minimum over the next five frames which included, at one point, retiring nine straight batters.

Tech did most of its damage at the plate in the bottom of the second, as they sent 10 Hokies to the plate and half of them scored, four with two outs. Nick Anderson had an RBI single in the frame, while Fragale knocked in his first run of the day with a double.

He would add a sacrifice fly in the fourth - his 11th RBI of 2017 - scoring Ryan Tufts with his second run of the game to pad the Tech lead to 6-0. Tufts would single home Rahiem Cooper in the seventh to finish off the Hokies’ scoring.

Tech’s bullpen of Paul Hall, Jr., Graham Seitz and Kit Scheetz allowed just two hits and struck out seven over the final three frames to close the game.

Inside the box score

• Anderson: two hits, third multi-hit game of the season, 20th of his career.
• Cooper: triple, second of his career; two hits, 11th career multi-hit game; stolen base, fourth of his career.
• Coward: career-high six innings pitch (previous high was 5.1 vs. William & Mary on April 5, 2016); fourth career game with at least five strikeouts; nine straight outs tied a career high; six scoreless innings, seven for the season, 38 in his career.
• Fragale: double, second of the season, 17th of his career; two RBIs, third multi-RBI game of the season, 16th of his career.
• Joe Freiday, Jr.: two hits, third multi-RBI game of the season, 11th of his career.
• Scheetz: perfect ninth frame, 132nd career scoreless frame.
• Tom Stoffel: triple, the first of his career; two hits, third straight multi-hit game and the 21st of his career.
• Tufts: started his 76th straight game at Tech, which leads the team; two runs scored, second multi-run scoring game this season, 17th of his career.

More Notes - Tech

• Improves to 24-8 all-time against Marshall including an 18-4 record at home;
• Played Marshall for the first time since April 18, 2006 (a 9-4 win in Blacksburg);
• Improves to 10-1 on this date – February 21, and includes a three-game winning streak.
• Has won its first four games of the season for the first time since 2013;
• Registered a shutout for the first time since April 29, 2016 (5-0 at Boston College).

Up next

• The Hokies head back out on the road and will play a four-game series against the University of Nevada in Reno. This will be the first ever trip for the Hokies to the Silver State.

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