With No. 5 Virginia Tech leading 5-4 in the home half of the eighth inning, and in search of a gigantic series victory over No. 7 Louisville, the Hokies (36-11, 16-9 ACC) needed some insurance.
Insert third baseman Carson DeMartini, who found himself in a similar situation just less than 24 hours ago. In Tech’s Saturday 4-3 victory, the freshman from Virginia Beach delivered, chopping a base hit up the middle for an RBI single.
On Sunday, a similar result. Stepping in from the left side, DeMartini lined a base hit right into center field. When it landed, the maroon and orange had a 6-4 lead. One they’d eventually hold en route to a series clinching victory over the Cardinals (35-15-1, 16-10-1 ACC) on a gorgeous day at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park.
The win marked the eighth-straight ACC series win for Virginia Tech. And after starting 0-4 in the league that included a conference-opening sweep to Georgia Tech, the Hokies have been absolutely rolling.
A big reason for that? The guys on the hill, with Sunday afternoon being no exception.
Jordan Geber’s four scoreless innings led the way for Tech in the early going, while Jonah Hurney followed that up with three innings pitched without surrendering an earned run.
The Hokies were in good shape when Hurney exited, too.
A two-run home run for Gavin Cross for the second consecutive day put Tech up 2-0. And after a two-run single by Louisville's Dalton Rushing to tie the game up at two, the Hokies quickly answered with a Jack Hurley RBI single, a Nick Biddison RBI triple and a Cross run-scoring knock to give the home team a 5-2 advantage.
It got a little dicey in the top half of the eighth when reliever Graham Firoved yielded two earned runs over just a third of an inning. But Kiernan Higgins proceeded to shut the door.
A five-out save by the transfer from Division II Shippensburg gave the Hokies that much-needed boost. And with his fourth save of the year, in addition to Demartini’s late-game heroics, Virginia Tech secured another eye-opening 6-4 victory, continuing to show the nation how good the Hokies really can be.
With the win, Tech almost certainly has locked up a spot to host its first NCAA Regional since 2013. And with a couple more victories over Kansas State and Duke this upcoming weekend, John Szefc’s squad will be in prime position to earn a top-8 seed, allowing the Hokies to host their first NCAA Super Regional should they advance that far.
Week in and week out, this Virginia Tech team just continues to prove it belongs with the best of the best. And after impressing in yet another three-game set, the maroon and orange are full speed ahead towards making sure their road to Omaha won’t be leaving Southwest Virginia.
Can they hold true, though, and accomplish what no team has accomplished in Virginia Tech baseball history? Only time will tell.
