Virginia Tech struggled to find its rhythm Tuesday afternoon at Thomas Stadium, as a stagnant offense and a persistent ETSU power surge led to a 9-4 defeat for the Hokies.
Despite a standout performance from freshman Willie Hurt in his first collegiate start, the Hokies (12-11, 4-5 ACC) were unable to capitalize on early opportunities, dropping the road contest and missing a chance to sweep the season series against the Buccaneers (17-6, 2-1 SoCon).
The afternoon began with a display of aggressive base-running that has become a hallmark of the Tech offense. In the second inning, Hurt reached on a single to move Hudson Lutterman to third base. Hurt intentionally drew a throw to second and gave himself up in a rundown, a savvy move that allowed Lutterman to sprint home and gift the Hokies an early 1-0 lead.
Tech added on in the third, following three consecutive walks to load the bases to lead off the inning, Nick Locurto reached on a fielder’s choice RBI that extended the Hokies’ advantage to 2-0.
Danny Lazaro earned the start for Tech – his first career start at the Division 1 level – and provided two clean frames before the ETSU bats found their timing in the third. After Lazaro exited with two runners aboard, the Buccaneers struck quickly against reliever Jacob Exum. Henry Ferguson delivered a two-RBI double to tie the contest, followed by a Tristan Curless RBI single that gave ETSU a 3-2 lead.
The definitive blow came in the fifth inning. After Exum departed, the Buccaneers' lineup feasted on reliever Jake Wise, who struggled with his command. Following back-to-back leadoff walks, Curless launched a three-run home run to left field. Three batters later, Luke Matlock added a solo blast to the same part of the park, extending the ETSU advantage to a daunting 7-2.
Aiden Robertson entered the game to stabilize the Hokie pitching staff, tossing 3.1 innings and allowing the offense a window to climb back into the contest. Tech managed to trim the deficit to 7-4 after Ethan Gibson ripped an RBI double in the sixth and Lutterman added a sacrifice fly in the seventh.
Any hopes of a late-inning comeback were dashed in the eighth. ETSU manufactured two insurance runs against Robertson through an RBI double by Nate Conner and another run-scoring hit from Ferguson, setting the final 9-4 margin.
The statistics highlighted a difficult afternoon for the Hokie lineup, which was held to just four hits—their second-lowest total of the 2026 season. While Hurt turned in a standout 2-for-3 performance, the team finished a combined 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. On the mound, Virginia Tech pitchers combined for nine walks, often gifting the Buccaneers the traffic needed to fuel their high-scoring innings.
The Hokies will now look to move past the midweek setback as they return to English Field for a high-stakes ACC series.
The Hokies will host Stanford for a three-game conference series at English Field beginning Friday, March 27. First pitch for the series opener is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET.
