Hokies belt four home runs in 17-6 win at Radford

Stevie Mangrum leads Tech with three runs, career-high four RBI

April 11, 2017

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Virginia Tech (18-17)	1	1	1	0	7	2	0	5	0	17	15	1
Radford (13-19)	0	1	0	2	0	0	3	0	0	6	10	2
RU Baseball Stadium - 889 Box Score

RADFORD, Va. – Virginia Tech’s Stevie Mangrum led a Hokie offensive explosion on Tuesday night at Radford University Baseball Stadium as the team hit four home runs in the contest to maintain its national lead in the category. Mangrum hit a two-run shot and drove in a career-high four runs as the Hokies went on to beat the Highlanders, 17-6, and sweep the nonconference series.

The Hokies (18-17) scored single runs in the first through third frames, which included solo home runs from Rahiem Cooper in the second and Tom Stoffel in the third. However, it was a seven-run fifth inning that put the Hokies in front for good.

Sam Fragale and Mangrum each tallied two-RBI doubles in the frame, which marked the team’s fifth time this season scoring seven or more runs in one inning.

For good measure, Mangrum added a two-run home run in the sixth to increase the Tech advantage to nine. Mac Caples added a two-run home run in a five-run eighth that put the game away. Also in the frame, Fragale hit a sac fly to record his 50th RBI of the season and his eighth sac fly of the season – he was tied for second in the nation in that category entering the game and fourth in RBI.

Radford (13-19) hit two home runs – the first a solo shot by Jonathan Gonzalez in the second – and tied the game at 3-3 with Gonzalez and Spencer Horwitz each driving in one. Clayton Baine hit a three-run homer in the seventh to provide the final runs for the Highlanders.

Tom Stoffel started on the mound for Tech, the first time in his career, while Andrew McDonald (2-2) tossed 4.0 innings of relief with four strikeouts to pick up the win. Joey Sullivan, Paul Hall, Jr. and Dylan Hall all threw scoreless innings of relief for Tech.

Inside the box score

• Mac Caples: home run, seventh of the season, 11th of his career; double, second of the season, sixth of his career; three hits, fifth multi-hit game this season, 15th of his career; two RBI, third multi-RBI game this season, eighth of his career; two runs, eighth multi-run scoring game this season, 12th of his career.
• Cooper: home run, eighth of the season, ninth of his career, two hits, seventh multi-hit game this season, 17th of his career; two RBI, seventh multi-RBI game this season, eighth of his career; two runs, sixth multi-run scoring game this season, 13th of his career.
• Fragale: double, ninth of the season, 24th of his career; two hits, 14th multi-hit game this season, 30th of his career; three RBI, 15th multi-RBI game this season, 28th of his career, seventh three-RBI game of the season; two runs, seventh multi-run scoring game this season, 16th of his career.
• Mangrum: home run, second of the season and career; double, eighth of the season, ninth of his career; two hits, third multi-hit game this season, fourth of his career; career-high four RBI, first career multi-RBI game; three runs, third multi-run scoring game this season, fifth of his career.
• Jack Owens: two RBI, fifth multi-RBI game of the season and career.
• Stoffel: home run, sixth of the season, eighth of his career; three hits, 13th multi-hit game this season, 31st of his career, eighth three-hit game of the year; two runs, eighth multi-run scoring game this season, 15th of his career; two RBI, ninth multi-RBI game this season, 22nd of his career.
• Ryan Tufts: two runs, 13th multi-run scoring game this season, 28th of his career.

More Tech notes

• Hit four home runs, to push its nation-leading total to 63 for the season – Wake Forest, who was second entering the day also hit four and has 62. The 63 home runs passed the 60 hit by the 2011 squad. The most home runs hit by the Hokies in a single season, as a member of the ACC, was 81 back in 2010.
• Was hit by four pitches in the game to increase its season total to 63. The Hokies were third in nation entering the game in HBPs trailing Campbell (65) and Louisiana Tech (63).

Up next

• The Hokies return home for a three-game ACC series, hosting No. 12 Virginia in a Thursday through Saturday set at English Field at Union Park.

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