Errors prove costly in 8-6 loss at NC State

Back-and-forth game decided by unearned runs in the seventh

April 29, 2017

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Virginia Tech (20-25)	0	2	0	0	1	1	2	0	0	6	11	2
NC State (24-20)	3	0	0	0	1	1	2	1	X	8	10	1
Doak Field - 3,042 Box Score

RALEIGH, N.C. – Virginia Tech baseball outhit the NC State Wolfpack on Saturday night in ACC action at Doak Field at Dail Park, however in the back-and-forth game, the home team used a seventh-inning Tech error to turn a one-run deficit into a one-run lead and went on to defeat the Hokies by an 8-6 count.

Four Hokies had multiple hits in the contest led by Tom Stoffel, who leads Tech with a .415 average in ACC-only games, and Jack Owens, whose two hits were both doubles, and the team also drew eight walks, but left a season-high tying 15 men on base.

Tech (20-25, 8-15 ACC) found itself down by three after the first but battled back to tie the game at 3-3 by the fifth inning, the first of three times the Hokies tied the game on the evening.

That’s because NC State (24-20, 10-13 ACC) answered in the home half each time Tech knotted the game in the top half of the frame.

Nick Anderson’s RBI double in the fifth tied it at three, but Josh McLain singled to break the tie. Ryan Tufts RBI single plated Owens in the sixth, before Evan Mendoza smacked an RBI triple.

In the seventh, though, Tech took its only lead after getting runners on the corners with one out. JD Mundy scored on a Wolfpack error and Tufts hit a sac fly that brought home Garrett Hudson and the Hokies led 6-5.

However, NC State responded with two of its three unearned runs in the game, tying the contest on a Joe Dunand sac fly and Brett Kinneman’s RBI single gave his team a 7-6 lead. Mendoza hit a solo home run in the eighth to provide an insurance run.

Inside the box score

• Anderson: double, third of the season, 16th of his career.
• Mac Caples: two hits, seventh multi-hit game of the season, 17th of his career.
• Connor Coward: 16th career start on the mound for Tech; three scoreless innings pitched, 37 for the season, 68 in his career; one perfect frame, seven for the season, 23 for his career; six strikeouts, sixth time this season and ninth time in his career with five-plus strikeouts, fourth career game with at least six.
• Mundy: two hits, fifth multi-hit game of the season/career; two runs, sixth multi-run scoring game of season/career.
• Owens: two doubles, 11 for the season/career, third game this season with two doubles; two hits, 19th multi-hit game of the season/career.
• Stoffel: two hits, 16th multi-hit game of the season, 34th of his career; outfield assist, his team-leading fourth of the year; has 39 hits in ACC play – only eight Hokies have ever had 40 or more hits in a single-ACC season.
• Tufts: two RBI, seventh multi-RBI game of the season, 17th of his career.

More Tech notes

• Tech was hit by three pitches, which pushed its season total to a school record 79. The prior record was 73 back in 2010 and prior to that were the 68 in 2009.
• The team came into the weekend leading the ACC and fourth in the nation in HBP.

Up next

• The final game of the ACC three-game set for the two teams will be played at Doak Field on Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.

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