Home runs help Tech to 11-5 win at Liberty

Tom Stoffel, Stevie Mangrum and Sam Fragale all homer in road victory

May 2, 2018

LYNCHBURG, Va. – Seniors Sam Fragale and Tom Stoffel led a 15-hit attack for Virginia Tech as the pair combined for seven hits, five RBI and four runs scored in the Hokies 11-5 victory over the Liberty Flames Wednesday night in nonconference action at Liberty Baseball Stadium.

Trailing 4-3 in the fourth, Tech tied the game on an RBI single by Jojo Odachowski and then took control of the contest when Stoffel and Fragale hit back-to-back home runs to make it an 8-4 game. Stoffel’s was a three-run shot and Fragale capped the five-run frame with the solo shot. The long balls were the seventh of the season for both men.

Tech (20-26) padded its lead with a solo home run from Stevie Mangrum in the sixth and tacked on a pair in the ninth as Odachowski and Fragale each picked up their second RBI of the night in the frame.

Liberty (26-17) trailed 3-0 after one, but used a pair of two-run innings in the second and third to take its only lead of the game.

However, Graham Seitz, Joey Sullivan an Ryan Okuda combined for seven relief innings and allowed two runs, but just one ninth-inning run after the third.

Inside the Box

• Michael Fernandez – two hits, seventh multi-hit game of the year; two RBI, third multi-RBI game this season; two runs, fourth multi-run scoring game of the season.
• Fragale – home run, seventh of the season, 30th of his career; stolen base, fourth of his career; four hits, 17th multi-hit game of the season, 55th of his career; third game this year, 11th time in career with at least three hits; second four-hit game of the season, fifth of his career; two RBI, 13th multi-RBI game of the year, 44th of his career; two runs, 11th multi-run scoring game of year, 30th of his career.
• Mangrum – home run, sixth of the season, ninth of his career.
• Odachowski – double, first of his career; three hits, first multi-hit game of his career; two RBI, first multi-RBI game of his career; two runs, first multi-run scoring game of career.
• Okuda – one scoreless inning pitched, 16 for the season.
• Luke Scherzer – one scoreless inning pitched, 14 for the season, 67 in his career.
• Seitz – one scoreless inning pitched, 14 for the season, 18 in his career; it was perfect, now has six this season and seven in his career; also struck out the side in the fourth, second time this year, third time in his career.
• Stoffel – home run, seventh of the season, 17th of his career; three hits, 16th multi-hit game of the season, 54th of his career; sixth game this year, 22nd time in career with at least three hits; three RBI, seventh multi-RBI game of the year, 33rd of his career; third game this year, 11th time in career with at least three RBI; two runs, sixth multi-run scoring game of year, 22nd of his career.
• Sullivan – three scoreless inning pitched, 26 for the season, 89 in his career; all three were perfect, now has 15 this season and 36 in his career.
• Andrew Webb – two hits, second multi-hit game of his career.

Additional Notes

• Stoffel and Fragale’s back-to-back home runs marked the third time this season the Hokies did that, but first time on the road – Jack Owens and Stoffel vs. Dayton (April 4) and Fragale and Stevie Mangrum vs. Marshall (April 10).
• During an ACC career (since 2005), Fragale’s 30 home runs in his career is now the second most all-time breaking a tie with Tyler Horan (2011-13) and only trails Andrew Rash (2010-13), who hit 42.
• Sullivan tied his career high by retiring 10 straight batters from the fifth through the eighth frames.
• All-time, Tech is now 40-26 against Liberty, including a 16-12 mark on the road versus the Flames and has now won four straight in Lynchburg.

Up Next

• Tech takes a week off for exams before returning to action next Wednesday. The Hokies will head to Morgantown, West Virginia to take on the Mountaineers on May 9 with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m.

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