Cooper's three-run homer is difference in Tech win over William & Mary

The Hokies were limited to four hits, but the blast in the seventh was all they needed

March 21, 2017

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
William & Mary (11-8)	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	8	0
Virginia Tech (14-9)	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	X	3	4	1
EF at Union Park - 351 Box Score Photo Gallery

BLACKSBURG – With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, the Virginia Tech baseball team trailed visiting William & Mary 2-0, before back-to-back walks by Joe Freiday, Jr. and Matt Dauby brought Rahiem Cooper to the plate.

On a 1-2 pitch, Cooper sent the ball over the left field fence for his fifth home run of the year that gave Tech a 3-2 lead. Tom Stoffel and Aaron McGarity finished off the game for the Hokies as they picked up their third straight win at English Field at Union Park on Tuesday evening.

William & Mary (11-8) took a 1-0 lead in the third on a solo home run by Ryder Miconi and could have made it 2-0 on a sac fly in the fourth, but Stoffel threw out Charles Ameer at the plate to keep it a one-run game. A leadoff triple in the fifth led to a Ryan Hall sac fly that accounted for all of the Tribe’s runs.

Tech (14-9) had opportunities, but couldn’t cash in early. The first two men reached base in the top of the first, but a double play erased that threat. With one out in the fourth JD Munday followed a Sam Fragale single with a double, but the Hokies couldn’t break through with a run.

After the sac fly by Hall, Tech went to its bullpen and Kit Scheetz (2.2IP/4K), Stoffel (1.0IP/3K) and McGarity (1.0IP/2K) closed the game out, not allowing a run over the last 4.2 innings to keep the game within striking distance.

Scheetz picked up the win and is now 3-0 this season, it was his 16 overall with in a Hokies’ jersey. McGarity earned the save, his fifth of the year, eighth of his career.

Inside the box score

• Cooper: home run, fifth of the season, sixth of his career; three RBI, fifth multi-RBI game of the season, sixth of his career; third game of his career with at least three RBI.
• Mundy: double, fourth of the season and his career.
• Stoffel: outfield assist, third of the season, 10th of his career; struck out the side for the second time in his career; has thrown 2.0 innings and struck out the side both times.

More Tech notes

• Turned two more double plays and now have 31 for the season. The Hokies were leading the country entering the game – Saint Mary’s (Ca.) had 27 at the start of the week.
• Hit another home run, and are 11-4 when the team hits a home run in a game. The team was also tied for first in the nation entering the day in home runs hit (have now hit 38). Fellow ACC school Wake Forest had 37 entering the game. The 38 home runs are the most hit by the team since the 2013 season when they hit 55.

Up next

• Tech will take a few days off before heading to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for its next ACC weekend. The Hokies will open the series with the Panthers on Friday with a 3 p.m. start.

For updates on Virginia Tech baseball, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_Baseball