On Wednesday, the newly ranked No. 25 Virginia Tech Hokies hosted the No. 20 Troy Trojans in Blacksburg and came away with a 3-1 victory in a rare top-25 midweek showdown. It marked the first time since 2022 that Virginia Tech faced a ranked opponent in a midweek game—when they topped East Carolina 7-2. Hokies head coach John Szefc drew parallels between that win and the win against Troy.
“I think it might have been ‘22, I’m not sure. But we beat East Carolina here, a really good opponent, really good non-conference opponent.” Szefc recalled. “And it was a similar kind of game. I think the margin of victory was a little bigger than that, but that’s a really good team over there. I thought our guys were ready to go and played well. We played really good defense. We didn’t make an error and we pitched as well as we did. I’ve got no complaints about that one. That’s good stuff.”
The win over Troy served as another statement victory for a Hokies team that's really getting into its rhythm. With clean defense and sharp pitching leading the way, Virginia Tech showed they can hang with top-tier competition outside of the ACC as well. As the season heats up, performances like this could be key in building momentum for a postseason push.
On the mound, the Hokies gave the ball to Chase Swift to make his fifth consecutive mid-week start. He was dominant in three innings, striking out six of the 12 batters he faced and shutting down the Trojan offense. Warming up for the fourth he exited the game with an apparent back/shoulder injury.
“He just kind of pulled a muscle in his upper back,” Szefc said. “Hopefully he’ll be okay by next week. He gives us a lot of quality starts, gives us a lot of energy, throws a lot of strikes. He’s kind of a team favorite, I think, kind of guy.”
The first man out of the pen in relief was Josh Berzonski. He had a strong outing, throwing 2.1 innings and surrendering just one run on a bloop single that hardly fell over the head of Hudson Lutterman. Following Berzonski was Preston Crowl, who has had some trouble with control as of late. He seemed to have fixed that in his outing against a potent Troy offense, throwing 1.2 scoreless innings where he struck out four of the seven batters he faced.
Brendan Yagesh, a lefty returning from an injury, got the ball next, tasked with facing two lefties in the eighth inning, and he set those guys down without a fight. Matheiu Curtis then got the last out of the eighth before Grant Manning was tasked with the ninth inning save. He had no trouble with his third save of the season, setting the Trojans down in order with two strikeouts, giving the Hokies’ pitchers their 17th strikeout of the game—a season high so far.
Offensively for the Hokies, things weren’t so successful. Troy gave the ball to Drew Nelson for the start, and he was never able to establish a rhythm, as Jared Davis hit a lead-off infield single to get some speed on the bases. He then tagged for second on a flyout from Ben Watson, and then Henry Cooke singled the speedy utility player home for the game's opening run. In the second, The Hokies put together four hits to score two runs. Three of those hits were doubles from Ethan Gibson, Clay Grady, and Sam Tackett.
Ben Watson was the only Hokie with a multi-hit game, going 2-4 with a second inning RBI that scored Clay Grady. Over the last eight games, Watson is hitting over .400 with 14 RBIs during that time. The reemergence of the defending ACC batting champion has been no surprise for John Szefc.
“The guy can hit. I mean, I’ll keep saying this, if we got a guy in scoring position and the game on the line, that’s the guy I want at the plate… any coach in this league, my guess is, would say the same thing,” Szefc said.
Watson, over his first 12 games of the season, was a staggering 6-44 (.136 BA). Since then, Watson has hit .361 against tougher competition, with all but four games being against ACC opponents. Watson’s turnaround has not only stabilized the Hokies' lineup but also brought some much-needed consistency to the heart of the order. As ACC play continues, his hot bat could be the difference-maker in close games—and the kind of spark that keeps Virginia Tech in the national conversation.
For Troy, Drew Nelson got the start and was taken advantage of immediately, giving up three runs in just two innings of work before the Trojans were forced to lean on its bullpen.
The first arm out of the bullpen was Grayson Stewart, who gave Troy much needed stability to keep them in the game, throwing two scoreless innings before Noah Thigpen got the ball to start the fifth. Thigpen was dominant, throwing three scoreless innings with four strikeouts and only allowed one baserunner during his outing.
The last arm out of the bullpen for Troy was Luke Lyon, who was an All-Conference selection in the sun belt last year. He successfully stifled the Hokies offense to give Troy a chance to win the game. Despite Nelson’s early struggles, Troy’s bullpen delivered a gritty performance that kept the game within reach.
Offensively for Troy, there was not much to speak of. They struck out 17 times, their second highest mark of the season. The top four batters for Troy, in particular, struck out a staggering nine times and had just two hits. As I touched on earlier, their singular run came on a pop up that just barely got over the left side of the infield to find the outfield grass and knock in a run.
Wednesday’s win over Troy was a complete team effort for Virginia Tech, highlighted by dominant pitching, timely hitting, and clean defense. While the offense cooled off after the second inning, the Hokies’ ability to capitalize early and hold the lead behind a sharp bullpen showcased their poise in high-pressure matchups. The return of Ben Watson’s bat, the emergence of reliable bullpen arms, and another statement win over a ranked opponent all signal that Virginia Tech is hitting its stride at the right time.
For a team looking to make noise in the ACC and beyond, this game was another step in the right direction.
The Hokies now look forward to hosting No. 9 Florida State for a three-game series this weekend, searching to earn more resume-boosting wins.
