Virginia Tech hosted Georgia Tech in Blacksburg this past weekend to open up ACC play. In three hardfought games, the Hokies went 1-2 with the overall scoring differential being even. The Hokies had some guys make names for themselves in this series, and some guys who are in a bit of a rut. Let’s dive into the weekend.
Game 1: Georgia Tech 4, Virginia Tech 3
To open the weekend, Virginia Tech's pitching staff delivered a commendable performance, though they ultimately fell short with a 4-3 loss. Brett Renfrow had an electric start, going six innings and allowing just one earned run. Jacob Exum was then put on the mound, but failed to record an out and left runners on the corners for Preston Crowl. Crowl then came in and kept both runners on base from scoring in a massive way. Luke Craytor was given the ball with a four-out save opportunity and was only able to get one out. He left two on the bases for Andrew Sentlinger, who had a strong outing but could not keep the Yellow Jackets off the board.
Offensively, the Hokies were neutralized. They had just four hits and recorded none after the fifth inning. Early on, the Hokies did not have much trouble, putting up three runs on the Georgia Tech starter before they went to the bullpen. The Hokies did not have a two-hit performance, though Jared Davis absolutely blasted one over the left field wall in the fifth inning.
For Georgia Tech, the pitching was elite. Tate McKee gave up tao earned runs in 4.1 innings before turning the ball over to Georgia Tech’s Mason Patel, who followed him up by finishing the final 4.2 innings without surrendering a single hit all night long. He also only walked one.
Batting wise for Georgia Tech, things were quiet. They had just two runs in the first eight innings and failed to connect on much of anything until the ninth, where they were able to put up the tying and go ahead runs from Luke Craytor. Vahn Lackey had an incredible outing for the Yellow Jackets, where he went 3-4 with a walk and stole two bases.
My ultimate takeaway from this game is that the Hokies need to establish roles for guys in the bullpen. Luke Craytor had the losing outing and had it not been for Preston Crowl, things could have gotten way out of hand with his outing as well. Those are two good pitchers and the Hokies need to find them established roles where they are comfortable.
Game 2: Virginia Tech 8, Georgia Tech 5
In the weekend's second game, the Hokies came away much happier, picking up an 8-5 win.
Jake Marciano got the start and he went 5.1 gritty innings. He got himself in bad situations well more than once and got out of them more often than he didn’t. His final line was 5.1 innings, three earned runs, and 6 strikeouts. Jacob Exum came out for his second outing of the weekend and struggled mightily again, giving up two runs and recording just two outs. Cameron Lejeune had an incredible outing, going three innings and recording the nine-out save without giving up a run. His curveball was absolutely unhittable in this one.
For the Hokies, hitting was not at near the same premium that it was on Friday. The Hokies had nine hits and four walks on their way to putting up eightruns. Sam Tackett had two home runs in this one. Tackett is a guy who has made a big leap from 2024 to 2025 in his fifth year, and when asked about what has changed, he had this to say.
“I’m really just trying to soak up every moment and play without tension, that’s where I’m best.”
Jackson Cherry also had a big day, hitting his first home run for the Hokies. He has been huge for the Hokies in the absence of Treyson Hughes due to injury. Henry Cooke also had a multi hit day, going 2-3 with an RBI double.
Pitching wise for Georgia Tech, they went through more arms than they would have liked to. Brady Jones got the start and gave up three runs in two innings. That was followed up by a Carson Ballard appearance where he gave up two runs in an inning. Sam Swygert got the ball in the fourth and fifth, and gave up three runs. Things settled down when Kayden Campbell came in the game, throwing 1.1 innings without allowing a run. The final five outs were by Caden Gaudette, who was also scoreless.
At the plate for the Yellow Jackets, they had their ups and downs. Their nine hits were very evenly spread out, coming from eight different batters. The big issue for them was the lack of walks. Burress walked twice, but the rest of the lineup had just 1 walk. Leaving seven on base is not going to be a recipe for success in the ACC.
My biggest takeaway from this one is the play of Jake Marciano. Eclipsing 100 pitches as a freshman is not easily done, and is not something that John Szefc even let Brett Renfrow do last year, but shows the trust that Szefc has in the freshman’s durability.
Game 3: Georgia Tech 8, Virginia Tech 6
In the rubber match, the Hokies leaned on Grant Manning to make his third start of the year. He has been solid out of the bullpen, but has been a liability as a starter. In this one, Manning started off with a scoreless first inning, but failed to record an out in the second and gave up three runs. Mathieu Curtis pitched in relief, but wasn’t much better. He allowed three runs in 1.2 innings. The final 6.1 innings were elite from the pen. Crowl and Sentlinger combined for 5.1 of those and allowed just one run and three hits combined in their outings, even after getting playing time on Friday. Luke Craytor came in for the final inning and surrendered a run.
Offensively, the Hokies did not have trouble, putting up six runs. The Hokies had a lot of success early on, scoring five runs in the first three innings, backed up by a Ben Watson home run. Sam Tackett also had a big day, going 2-3 with a HBP and one RBI. In the last six innings, the Hokies did find themselves struggling to hit, scoring just one run off the bat of Ben Watson.
For Georgia Tech, Riley Stanford got the start and was less than impressive, allowing five runs in three innings. Following him up was Jaylen Paden, who stabilized things, giving up a run in 3.2 innings. In the last 2.1 innings, the Hokies were shut down. Caden Spivey, Brett Barfield, and Cooper McMullen combined to hold the Hokies scoreless during that stretch.
Batting wise for them, they had no trouble either with 11 hits, seven walks, and eight runs. Four guys had multi hit days for them, including a three-hit day from shortstop Kyle Lodise. The wealth was easy to spread because the Yellow Jackets were swinging their bats with incredible success.
What I have taken away from this series is the same thing that I did from the first game. The Hokies absolutely have to find roles for certain guys in the bullpen. Luke Craytor, Jacob Exum, and Grant Manning immediately come to mind. I expect LeJeune to find a spot as a long reliever, given what he was able to do in game two.
