Tech cruises past Northeastern, 17-5

Sam Fragale, Matt Dauby each homer and combine for 10 RBI

May 9, 2017

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Northeastern (22-23)	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	5	10	2
Virginia Tech (21-27)	0	3	4	1	0	2	4	3	X	17	17	1
EF at Union Park - 138 Box Score

BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech baseball team, fresh off a seven-day break, pounded out 17 hits, walked five times and were hit by three pitches that led to scoring in six of the eight innings the Hokies batted and registered a 17-5 victory over the visiting Northeastern Huskies on Tuesday afternoon at English Field at Union Park.

Sam Fragale and Matt Dauby led the Tech offense as both had three hits, with a double and home run, scored twice (two of the six Hokies) and drove in a combined 10 runs (Fragale six RBI; Dauby four RBI).

The Hokies (21-27) turned a two-run deficit in the bottom of the second into a five-run lead as they scored three in the second and four in the third. The big blow was a Dauby grand slam, the senior’s first ever, which also tied his career-high for RBI in a single game.

By the seventh, the Hokies held a 10-3 advantage, before putting another four on the board after the stretch. This time it was Fragale hitting a three-run homer, his 15th of the season that all but put the game away.

Northeastern (22-23) took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second on a two-run home run by Jimmy Hand, and plated two unearned runs in the eighth that finished off its scoring.

On the mound, Tech used seven pitchers in the contest with Andrew McDonald (3-3) picking up the win after tossing the first three frames with four strikeouts. Joey Sullivan struck out three over two frames.

Inside the box score

• Mac Caples: hit by pitch, 16th of the season, ties Steve Domecus (2009) for most by a Hokie in a single season since joining the ACC.
• Dauby: double, fourth of the season, 18th of his career; home run, fifth of the season, ninth of his career; four RBI tie his career high, first set in 2016 vs. Manhattan (2/28).
• Fragale: double, 11th of the season, 26th of his career; home run, 15th of the season, 23rd of his career; sacrifice fly, NCAA-leading 11th of the season; six RBI is second highest output in his career (7, at USC Upstate, 2/17/17).
• Garrett Hudson: double, fourth of the season, seventh of his career.

More Tech notes

• The Hokies have now hit 77 home runs this season, which is the second most in the nation. The 77 are the third most in a single season at the school since 1989 – trailing only the 2010 (81) and 1997 (80) seasons.
• Fragale’s 15 home runs are tied with Tyler Horan (2012) for the third most for a single player since 1989 – trailing only Kevin Barker (20, 1997) and Andrew Rash (18, 2011).
• Jack Owen’s now has 73 hits, tied for the 10th most in a single season at the school – since 2005 (when Tech joined the ACC).
• Fragale’s 61 RBI are the third most in a single season at the school in the same time period, trailing only Ronnie Shaban’s 67 (2010) and Andrew Rash’s 62 (2013).

Up next

• Tech welcomes the third-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels to English Field at Union Park for a three-game ACC series that starts Friday at 5:30 p.m. This will be the final home series for the Hokies in 2017 and the last before the program opens play in 2018 in their newly reconstructed ballpark.

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