Tech drops first game of ACC series at NC State

Ryan Tufts smacks solo homer, one of his three hits, in the contest

April 28, 2017

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Virginia Tech (20-24)	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	5	2
NC State (23-20)	0	0	0	2	0	3	0	0	X	5	9	0
Doak Field - 2,482 Box Score

RALEIGH, N.C. – Virginia Tech’s Ryan Tufts had three hits, scored two times and smacked his eighth home run of the season, however the NC State Wolfpack used a three-run sixth inning to break a 2-2 tie and register a 5-2 victory in ACC action Friday evening at Doak Field at Dail Park.

The Hokies put the first run on the board in the first inning thanks to Sam Fragale’s 10th sac fly of the year that scored Tufts, who singled and moved to third on a Tom Stoffel double.

NC State (23-20, 9-13 ACC) took its first lead with two runs in the bottom of the fourth on two solo home runs – one off the bat of Joe Dunand, his ACC-leading 16th of the season and the other by Will Wilson.

Tech (20-24, 8-14 ACC) answered back in the top of the fifth when Tufts tied the game with his solo blast over the left field fence.

The bottom of the sixth, though, decided the game, as the Wolfpack used a two-out rally to scored three runs. With runners on first and second, Brock Deatherage kept the inning alive with a cue shot to short and Stephen Pitarra hit an almost identical ball through the left side that plated two. A third unearned run scored to pad the NC State lead.

Johnny Piedmonte improved to 4-0 with the win on the mound for the Wolfpack, while Joe O’Donnell tossed the last 2.1 innings scoreless for his second save. Kit Scheetz suffered the loss and dropped to 3-2 on the season.

Inside the box score

• Fragale: sac fly, his NCAA-leading 10th of the season; 55 RBI for the year, the fourth-most ever for a Hokie in a single-season as a member of the ACC.
• Joe Freiday, Jr.: double, second of the season, 12th of his career.
• Dylan Hall: one scoreless inning pitched, 10 for the season, with two strikeouts.
• Scheetz: 37th career start on the mound for Tech; four scoreless innings pitched, team-high 39 for the season, 167 in his career; one perfect frame, team-high 13 for the season, 67 for his career; season-high five strikeouts, 13th time in his career with five-plus.
• Stoffel: double, 17th of the season, 33rd of his career; one scoreless inning pitched, nine for the season, with one strikeout.
• Tufts: home run, eighth of the season, 11th of his career; three hits, 17th multi-hit game of the season, 45th of his career, eighth three-hit games this year, 13 in his career; two runs, 15th multi-run scoring game of the season, 30th of his career; leads team with 45 runs on the season.

More Tech notes

• The Hokies hit their 73rd home run of the year, the second most ever in an ACC season at the school, trailing only the 2010 squad that hit 81. Since 1988, only five Tech teams hit more than 70 in a single season.
• Tech is currently second in the nation in home runs, trailing only Wake Forest, who has hit 74 this season.
• Tech was hit by two pitches, which pushed its season total to a school record 76. The prior record was 73 back in 2010 and prior to that were the 68 in 2009.
• The team came into the game leading the ACC and fourth in the nation in HBP.

Up next

• The Hokies return to Doak Field on Saturday for the second game of the series against the Wolfpack with first pitch slated for 6:30 p.m.

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