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Hokies Baseball: Virginia Tech Sweeps #1 Virginia

Entering this past weekend, almost no one probably expected that the Virginia Tech Hokies could sweep the #1 baseball team in the country, the Virginia Cavaliers. Even with the games being played at English Field, most still didn't expect that the Hokies wouldn't suffer at least one loss at the hands of the Cavaliers. However, the Hokies shocked a lot of people around the nation this past weekend. The Hokies didn't win a single game by more than 2 runs, but all that matters is that the Hokies swept the Cavaliers. The Hokies also showed that they can win tough, close games against an elite team on their home field which definitely has to give this team a boost of confidence. The player that had the best weekend for the Hokies was Sean Keselica who was effective on the mound and at the plate. On Friday, Keselica was lights out as he had a complete game with 4 strikeouts while only giving up 4 hits, 1 walk, and 1 unearned run. Keselica nearly didn't get the win, but the Hokies' plate discipline gave him the victory that he deserved with a walk-off walk for Brendon Hayden to win the game. Keselica struggled on Saturday at the plate going 0-for-4, but played very well on Sunday at first base and at the seventh spot in the lineup. Keselica was 3-for-3 on Sunday and scored 1 run while also having no errors on Saturday or Sunday at first base. Keselica was very impressive this past weekend, and was a big reason why the Hokies swept the number 1 team in the country. The pitching was quite good for the Hokies this weekend overall beyond Jon Woodcock who wasn't too bad but didn't have a great game Sunday. Aaron McGarity provided 6.2 quality innings of work with only allowing 1 run on 6 hits and 3 walks while also having 2 strikeouts. The Virginia Tech bullpen also did well with Luke Scherzer shutting out Virginia on Saturday over the course of 2.1 innings to get the save. On Sunday, Connor Coward and Packy Naughton combined for 3.2 quality innings of relief with Coward only giving up 1 run and Naughton picking up his first career save. At the plate, the Hokies had different guys stepping up each day. On Friday, it was Brendon Hayden who was 2-for-3 at the plate with 2 RBIs and the walk-off walk. Hayden failed to reach base in the other two games, but his performance on Friday was critical to the victory. On Saturday, the Hokies had three different players pick up RBIs with Ricky Surum being the only one to get a hit. Saige Jenco was one of the main star hitters on Saturday as he went 3-for-4 with one run scored and a stolen base. Meanwhile, Andrew Mogg was also solid with a 2-for-3 day and a run scored. On Sunday, the Hokies' power bats came alive with Alex Perez going 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs. Erik Payne also had a one-run home run while the earlier-mentioned Sean Keselica was 3-for-3 against the Cavaliers. The Hokies played some of their best baseball of the season so far against Virginia who will definitely not be ranked #1 this week after the sweep. Virginia Tech is also starting to look like a team that could contend to make the NCAA Baseball Championships this season though it's definitely not time to start talking about a possible College World Series run to Omaha.
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