This past Tuesday, the Hokies welcomed VCU to Blacksburg for a single game midweek matchup. The Hokies dominated, winning 13-2 in a seven inning run ruled matchup. Let’s dive in.
On the mound, Chase Swift got his second career start for the Hokies, where he pitched 2.1 innings and allowed just one run and struck out two. He was relieved by Mathieu Curtis, who was credited with the win. Curtis pitched 2.1 scoreless innings where he also struck out two batters. He was relieved by Marcel Kulik, who gave up a run in a short one-third of an inning outing before handing the ball to Josh Berzonski. Berzonski had another fantastic performance, pitching 1.1 scoreless innings where he struck out two of the four batters he faced. Luke Jackman was tasked with the final two outs and did not have trouble doing so, striking out a batter in the process.
Offensively, the Hokies had 18 batters make a plate appearance in this one. The top outings came from Jared Davis, David McCann, and Ben Watson, who all went 2-3. Jared Davis had a line drive home run in the second inning that scored two. David McCann had two doubles as well while Anderson French went 2-4 in his start with three RBIs.
A couple of true freshmen had some plate appearances, with Mycah Jordan, Hudson Lutterman, and Ryder Kirtley all reaching base at some point in this game.
VCU started Nick Fryers in the midweek matchup, who gave up six runs in his 2.2 inning start against the Hokies. He handed the ball to Brayden McCullough, who gave up four runs and recorded just one out. Campbell Cooper pitched an inning and allowed a run, Riley Roarty pitched an inning and allowed two runs, Michael Walsh finished the game up with a scoreless inning.
At the plate for VCU, the big name to mention is their leadoff batter Jacob Lee, who had a leadoff home run in the top of the first to get the scoring going. Unfortunately for VCU, they were unable to build on that, failing to score again until the 6th inning. They also only worked one walk all game long, and that didn’t happen until the fifth inning. They did have one multi-hit performance, coming from Nick Flores.
It’s hard to take much away from Midweek games against inferior opponents. Chase Swift and Matheiu Curtis seem to have really carved themselves a role as midweek pitchers and will help bridge the gap between series, which has been an issue for the Hokies in years past.
Ben Watson’s reemergence cannot be understated either, since the start of ACC play, Watson is slashing .414/.500/.621. His return to stardom at the plate has played a massive role in allowing this Hokie offense to take a step forward.
