Hokies hit four home runs in loss at Pittsburgh

Dauby and Mangrum each hit their first of the season in 9-5 loss

March 24, 2017

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Virginia Tech (14-10)	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	3	5	6	2
Pitt (9-10)	1	0	4	0	0	0	1	3	X	9	12	0
Cost Field - 308 Box Score

PITTSBURGH – The Virginia Tech baseball team hit four home runs Friday afternoon at Charles L. Cost Field, however three of them were solo shots and all were after Pittsburgh had already taken a five-run lead. The Panthers were able to hold off a late-charging Hokies attack and secure the 9-5 win in the first game of the three-game ACC series.

Pitt (9-10, 2-5 ACC) opened the scoring in the first on a Frank Maldonado two-out RBI single, and then increased its advantage with four runs in the third. Nick Banman doubled home two in the frame and P.J. DeMeo’s RBI single gave the Panthers a 5-0 lead.

Tech (14-10, 3-4 ACC) put its first run on the board in the fifth on a solo home run by Matt Dauby. It was Dauby’s first home run since April 2, 2016 and the fifth of his career.

Jack Owens added his own solo home run in the eighth to make it a 6-2 contest, but Pitt answered back with three of their own in the home half of the frame.

The Hokies’ Stevie Mangrum hit a pinch-hit solo home run in the ninth and Rahiem Cooper smacked a two-run shot, his sixth of the season, to finish off Tech’s scoring. Mangrum became the first Hokie with a pinch-hit home run since Sam Fragale hit one at Wake Forest March 8, 2015.

Inside the box score

• Mac Caples: single in second extended his reached base streak to a career-long 13 straight games.
• Cooper: home run, sixth of the season, seventh of his career; two RBI, sixth multi-RBI game of the season, seventh of his career.
• Dauby: start, 100th of his Tech career, 140 career games played; home run, first of the season, fifth of his career; two runs, second multi-run scoring game this season, 14th time in his career.
• Packy Naughton: start on mound, 25th career start at Tech; 6.0 innings, pushing career total at Tech to 151.0; seven strikeouts, pushing career total at Tech to 148, and his third straight and sixth career game with at least seven strikeouts.
• Mangrum: home run, first of his career.
• JD Mundy: walk in second extended his reached base streak to 11 straight games.
• Owens: home run, second of the season and his career; triple, second of the season and his career; two hits, 12th career multi-hit game; reached base in his 15th straight game.

More Tech notes

• Were hit by two pitches in the game to push season total to 45. The Hokies were second in the nation coming into the weekend in HBPs, trailing only Louisiana Tech (51)
• Hit four home runs, the 12th time this season the team has hit at least two in a game and are now 8-4 in such games. The Hokies were second in the nation entering the weekend in home runs hit behind Wake Forest (entered the day with 40). The 42 total home runs hit this season are the most hit by a Tech team since the 2013 squad hit 55.

Up next

• The two teams will conclude the ACC series with a doubleheader on Saturday with first pitch of the day set for 1 p.m. Game 3 of the series/game two of the doubleheader will start approximately 45 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.

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