Tech upsets No. 6 NC State, 10-2, to open ACC series

Connor Coward masterful on the mound against the league's top offensive team

March 29, 2018

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Ohio (14-28)	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	8	0
Virginia Tech (31-14)	1	0	0	0	1	3	1	5	X	11	10	0
EF at AUBP - 1,176 Box Score Photo Gallery

BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech’s Connor Coward was almost flawless on the mound Thursday afternoon, holding No. 6 NC State to just three hits and two unearned runs over eight frames in helping the Hokies to a 10-2 victory over the Wolfpack in the first game of a three-game ACC series at English Field at Union Park.

It was arguably Coward’s best start of his career as he matched his career-high of eight innings pitched and walked just one while striking out nine NC State batters – who came into the game leading the ACC in batting (.317), on-base percentage (.409), slugging (.517), runs scored (191) and home runs (42).

NC State (21-5, 7-3 ACC) scored its only two runs of the game in the first inning after a walk and a double put runners on second and third with no outs. Coward actually looked to get out of the jam striking out the next two batters and getting a ground ball to second. However, it was mishandled, plating one, and an RBI single followed to make it 2-0.

Tech (11-13, 5-5 ACC) had two hits in each of the first two frames, but it was the third when the team finally broke through in a big way. Tech sent 12 men to the plate with eight of them scoring as the Hokies turned their two-run deficit into a six-run advantage.

Luke Horanski’s two-RBI double tied the game and then he came around on a Sam Fragale RBI double to give Tech a 3-2 lead. Nick Menken added an RBI double, Stevie Mangrum also picked up an RBI, while Menken scored on a wild pitch and two more runs scored on a failed pickoff attempt by the Wolfpack’s catcher.

That was more than enough run support for Coward, who allowed a one-out double in the second before retiring 14 straight, 19 of his last 20 and 22 of the last 24 batters he faced after the RBI single in the first.

Postgame reactions: Coach Szefc and Coward

Here’s @VTCoachSzefc after the big win over NC State. pic.twitter.com/FoXNNfSvwx

— VT Baseball (@HokiesBaseball) March 30, 2018

Tech’s @Con_Coward7 talks after the game - arguably the best start of his #Hokies career. pic.twitter.com/dFg1G9Ldqn

— VT Baseball (@HokiesBaseball) March 30, 2018

Inside the Box

• Coward – 8.0 innings pitched, tied career high (vs. Iowa, Feb. 23, 2018; at Stetson, March 2, 2018); nine strikeouts, third game this season, fifth time in his career with at least nine Ks; seven scoreless innings, 37 for the season, 110 in his career; five perfect innings, 22 for the season, 48 in his career; fourth quality start this year, seventh of his career.
• Fragale – double, seventh of the year, 36th of his career; notched second game-winning RBI of the season.
• Joe Freiday, Jr. – career-high tying three hits (second time – May 5, 2015 vs. West Virginia), fifth multi-hit game of the season, 22nd of his career.
• Horanski – double, team-leading ninth of the year; two hits, eighth multi-hit game of the season/career; two RBI, fifth multi-RBI game of the season/career; two runs, second multi-run scoring game of the season/career; extended a personal best and team-long hitting streak to 10 games; scored team-best fourth game-winning run.
• Menken – double, first of his career; two hits, fourth multi-hit game of the season/career.
• JD Mundy – two hits, fourth multi-hit game of the season, ninth of his career.
• Jack Owens – double, third of the season, 19th of his career; two hits, sixth multi-hit game of the season, 30th of his career; two runs, fifth multi-run scoring game of the year, 21st of his career.
• Graham Seitz – one perfect frame pitched, third this season, fourth of his career; sixth scoreless innings this season, 10th of his career; extended a career-long consecutive scoreless innings pitched streak to 4.1 straight.

Additional Notes

• This is Tech’s first win over a ranked team this season – the Hokies won three last season over Top 10 programs, including the last over then-No. 3 North Carolina, May 13.
• This was Coach John Szefc’s first win over a ranked team since beating No. 6 NC State on March 4, 2017, 9-2, at the USA Baseball-Irish Classic in Cary, N.C. as Maryland’s head coach.
• All-time, Szefc is 6-2 against NC State including winning the last five.
• Despite a 21-43-2 record all-time against NC State, Tech holds a 14-12-1 in games played in Blacksburg.
• On this date, Tech is now 26-18 including an 18-5 record at home – today’s win ended a three-game losing streak on March 29.

Up Next

• The Hokies continue their three-game ACC series against No. 6 NC State on Friday at English Field at Union Park with first pitch set for 4 p.m.

Tickets

• For those fans looking to attend any of the next two games in the series, please be aware tickets are required for ACC games at English Field at Union Park. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets in advance.

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