After a grueling opening stretch of ACC play, Virginia Tech found the home-field spark it needed to get its conference season back on track. Behind a pair of dominant starts and a gritty extra-innings performance, the Hokies (12-10, 4-5 ACC) secured their first ACC series victory of the year, taking two of three from Duke at English Field.
After splitting two high-intensity games to open the weekend, Tech relied on a mix of veteran patience and freshman energy to outlast the Blue Devils (16-10, 4-5 ACC) in a 10-inning thriller on Sunday.
Game One: Virginia Tech 7, Duke 1
Virginia Tech opened the series with a dominant performance Friday night, riding a career outing from Brendan Yagesh to a 7–1 victory over Duke at English Field.
The senior left-hander – making his first start in almost two years – recorded his longest career start and tied his career-longest outing, tying his previous high from his time at Mount St. Mary’s. Yagesh delivered seven shutout innings, allowing only five hits while striking out seven and not issuing a walk.
“He’s throwing strikes… that’s about as good a start as you’re going to see,” Hokies head coach John Szefc said of Yagesh. “If you don’t walk anybody, it’s hard to lose.”
Yagesh’s only real challenge came in the sixth inning, when he faced two runners on following a single and a hit-by-pitch. He responded by striking out RJ Hamilton on three pitches to end the threat and strand both runners.
Virginia Tech backed him with timely offense in the middle innings. Pete Daniel delivered the breakthrough in the third with a two-RBI single to give Tech the lead. Nick Locurto followed with an RBI single in the fourth, extending the advantage to 3–0 and chasing Duke starter Aidan Weaver out of the contest.
The Hokies created further separation late. In the seventh inning, Virginia Tech loaded the bases and pushed across two runs without recording a hit.
Aggressive base-running also played a key role. Virginia Tech tied a season high with seven stolen bases, including a double steal in the eighth inning that set up a two-RBI single from Sam Gates to put the game out of reach.
Brody Roe closed out the final two innings, allowing a lone solo home run in the ninth as the Hokies secured the series-opening win.
Game Two: Duke 8, Virginia Tech 6
Virginia Tech was unable to protect an early lead Saturday afternoon in the middle game of its ACC series against Duke, falling 8–6 at English Field.
Junior right-hander Brett Renfrow delivered his best outing of the 2026 season, holding the Blue Devils to one run on four hits over five innings while striking out a season-high eight batters. Renfrow struck out seven of those hitters in the first three innings, giving Tech a strong start and leaving the game with a 3–1 lead following a go-ahead, two-RBI double from Pete Daniel in the third inning.
The momentum shifted in the sixth inning when Duke capitalized on a two-out fielding miscue. With two outs and no one on, Collin Anderson lifted a shallow flare that dropped between second baseman Ethan Ball and outfielder Sam Gates. Gifted new life, the Blue Devils followed with back-to-back RBI hits from Coltin Quagliano and Jeff Lougee before an infield error on a Jake Lambdin grounder allowed the tying run to score.
Duke seized its first lead in the seventh inning. After RJ Hamilton was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a wild pitch, Kaden Smith belted an RBI double to end Ethan Grim’s afternoon. Reliever Preston Crowl entered the game only to be greeted by Matthew Strand, who launched a two-run home run down the left-field line to extend the advantage to 6–3.
The Hokies fought back in the bottom half of the frame. Treyson Hughes and Sam Grube opened with consecutive doubles to trim the margin to 6–4, though the Hokies would eventually leave Grube stranded at third base to end the inning.
In the eighth, Virginia Tech mounted a rally to tie the game. Pete Daniel sparked the push with a leadoff single, followed by an Ethan Gibson walk and a single by Henry Cooke, which later loaded the bases. An errant throw home by Duke’s left fielder allowed Daniel to score, and Sam Grube followed with a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Gibson to even the game at 6–6. However, the Hokies squandered the chance for a lead when a baserunning mistake on a bunt saw the go-ahead run thrown out at third base.
The deadlock remained until the ninth inning. With two outs and a runner on base, Strand delivered the decisive blow for Duke. On the first pitch he saw from Crowl, the Blue Devils’ catcher hit his second two-run home run of the game to nearly the same spot in left field to stake the 8–6 lead.
Despite totaling 10 hits, the Hokies struggled with situational hitting, finishing 1-for-10 with two outs and leaving 11 runners on base. Daniel and Grube led the offense with two hits and two RBIs each.
Game Three: Virginia Tech 7, Duke 6 (10 innings)
Virginia Tech clinched its first ACC series victory of the season in dramatic fashion Sunday afternoon, walking off the Blue Devils in the 10th inning to secure a 7-6 win at English Field.
The afternoon began as a power struggle, with Duke jumping out to an early 2-0 lead behind solo home runs from Kaden Smith and Jake Lambdin in the first two innings. The Hokies responded in the third when Nick Locurto delivered a clutch, two-out single with the bases loaded, scoring Treyson Hughes and Sam Grube to knot the game at 2-2.
The teams traded blows in the middle innings. After the Blue Devils regained a two-run lead in the fourth, Tech answered immediately in the home half. Sam Gates launched a 397-foot solo blast to right field before Grube lined an RBI single through the left side to tie the score at 4-4. The Hokies took their first lead in the fifth when Hudson Lutterman beat out an infield single to plate Ethan Ball.
Ball, a true freshman who has now reached base safely in 22 consecutive games this season, provided what looked to be a crucial insurance run in the seventh, punishing a solo home run to left field to give Virginia Tech a 6-4 cushion.
The Hokie bullpen proved to be the backbone of the victory, allowing just two runs over the final six innings. Despite the Blue Devils capitalizing on a two-out throwing error in the ninth to force extra innings, the team remained composed.
"I was telling everyone as we ran out for the 10th... we’re going to win the game," Grube said. "We got Luke Craytor on the mound. He’s probably one of the best pitchers I’ve ever seen. Throwing 97-98 with a gross slider—no one’s going to touch him."
In the 10th, Craytor sat the visitors down in order to set the stage for the finale. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the inning, Grube, who moved to the leadoff spot this weekend, hammered a 2-2 pitch up the middle for the walk-off single.
"You can definitely feel the pressure… It’s all God, I just put the faith in Him and let Him take over for those clutch moments,” Grube said of the pressure in the 10th inning.
Grube finished the day 3-for-5 with two RBIs, while Ball contributed two hits and two runs scored.
"It’s big," Szefc said of the first conference series win. "You got to win your home series... they all add up. We’re trying to get somewhere above 15 [ACC wins], and this gets us closer to that."
With the Duke series in the rearview, Virginia Tech will look to keep the gas pedal down as they move into a midweek matchup before continuing ACC play. Virginia Tech will go on the road Tuesday, March 24, to Johnson City, Tennessee, to play ETSU, whom they beat 7-5 on February 17, at English Field. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET
