Virginia Tech welcomed NC State to English Field this weekend for a three-game ACC series, the Hokies' (22-10, 11-13 ACC) second straight home set after taking two of three from Pitt the previous weekend. The Wolfpack (27-16, 10-11 ACC) came in with their postseason footing still uncertain, a rotation held together partly by injuries and a lineup that had shown the ability to put up big numbers in spurts. Tech needed the series badly. They got it — behind a dominant Friday shutout, a Saturday that spiraled through two rain delays and a five-run eighth inning against them, and a Sunday clincher that required an ejection, a three-run homer and a challenge reversal to seal.
Game One: Virginia Tech 4, NC State 0
Brett Renfrow was simply untouchable Friday night. Working 108 pitches over eight innings, he held NC State to three hits, walked one and struck out nine — his second straight Friday with nine punchouts — and never once allowed a runner to reach third base. The Wolfpack's only real threat came from leadoff hitter Rett Johnson, who singled on Renfrow's very first pitch of the night, swiped second, and then walked in the third before stealing second again. That was the extent of NC State's baserunning adventure. Renfrow retired 12 consecutive batters between the fourth and eighth innings, working through the order a third time without incident. At 108 pitches, Szefc went to the bullpen, and Chase Swift closed it in eleven pitches — striking out two of the three he faced — to put the finishing stamp on Virginia Tech's first ACC shutout since 2023.
The offense built the lead methodically and almost entirely with two outs. In the second, Pete Daniel worked a walk, advanced to second on a passed ball by catcher Drew Lanphere, and scored when Sam Gates tripled down the right-field line, the ball just beyond Brayden Fraasman's reach in right. One nothing.
The third is where it opened up. Sam Grube doubled down the right-field line to lead off. Ethan Gibson bunted him to third. Henry Cooke struck out. Then Ethan Ball — sitting on a 0-1 count — drove a 376-foot home run down the right-field line, his ninth of the season, scoring Grube and pushing the lead to 3-0. In the fifth, with two outs again, a Cooke single and Ball walk set the table, but Lutterman couldn't cash in with a flyout. Willie Hurt followed with an RBI single to left, plating Cooke from second and making it 4-0. After that the Hokies went quiet, held hitless the rest of the way by NC State's Sam Harris, but it didn't matter. Renfrow had already done the work.
Heath Andrews took the loss, going five innings and allowing all four runs on seven hits with three walks. The two-run Ball homer was his seventh allowed on the year, the most on the NC State staff.
Game Two: NC State 14, Virginia Tech 7
Saturday was the kind of game that exhausts everyone in the building — a back-and-forth slugfest that ran five and a half hours, got interrupted twice by weather and ultimately got away from Virginia Tech in the ugliest way possible. The Hokies scored first, led three separate times and still lost by seven. The math doesn't make sense until you understand how completely the bottom fell out in the eighth.
Logan Eisenreich got the start and the game was barely underway when the scoring started. Tech plated the first run in the bottom of the first in about the strangest way imaginable — Ethan Gibson doubled to left-center, a wild pitch moved him to third while Henry Cooke walked, and then Cooke got picked off in a rundown. Gibson read it perfectly and scored during the chaos. One nothing, Hokies.
NC State answered immediately. Sherman Johnson walked to open the second and Dalton Bargo put a 359-foot shot down the right-field line — a two-run home run, his sixth of the year — to flip the lead to 2-1. The Wolfpack wouldn't hold it long. Tech came right back with four runs in the bottom half. Lutterman singled, Locurto walked, and Daniel doubled down the right-field line to make it 3-2. Gates put down a bunt single to score Locurto, then Gibson doubled to right to drive in two more and push the lead to 5-2. Just like that, the Hokies had control — or at least the appearance of it.
The third inning stripped that away. Ryan doubled to open it, Head singled on a bunt, and McHugh doubled to right to score both of them and pull NC State within one. A Cooke throwing error on a back-pick attempt moved McHugh to third and Bargo lifted a sacrifice fly to tie it at five. Then the skies opened. A 25-minute delay halted everything with the Hokies still in a position to answer.
When play resumed, Tech did answer. With Locurto on second after a walk and a wild pitch, Daniel walked and Petrich singled to center to score Locurto and put the Hokies back on top 6-5 heading to the fourth. That's when the game turned for good.
Ethan Grim took over from Eisenreich in the fourth and walked right into Ty Head. Johnson reached to lead off, Nixon bunted him to second, and Head — working a full count — lifted a two-run homer to right field, his twelfth of the season, to give NC State an 8-6 lead. Grim answered with a clean fifth, and Lutterman hit a solo shot to left, his ninth homer of the year, to make it 8-7. A one-run game heading to the sixth. The game still felt winnable.
It stopped feeling that way when Pete Daniel's throw sailed into left on a routine grounder to open the sixth, putting Johnson on second for free. Nixon bunted him to third and Ryan lifted a sacrifice fly to left — an unearned run, but a run all the same — to push NC State back ahead 9-7. From that point, Tech's bats went cold and the bullpen started to crack.
Grim worked through the seventh and into the eighth before the second delay hit — nearly two hours, the game stopping with Johnson and Nixon on base and the Hokies holding a one-run deficit they still had a shot to erase. What came out of that delay was something else entirely. Ryan singled to load the bases, Head was hit by a pitch to score Johnson, and McHugh added a sacrifice fly. Already up three, the lead grew even larger when Berzonski plunked Bargo and Fraasman struck out on a dropped third strike — a wild pitch that let Serrano score from third. Lanphere then singled to center to score two more. Five runs, the game was effectively over at 14-7 before Tech even got to bat in the eighth. Nixon added a 430-foot solo shot in the ninth to close the scoring.
Ryder Garino earned the win with three scoreless frames of relief. The Hokies stranded eight and were held hitless over the final two innings. Whatever energy the series had was reset completely — Sunday would be a rubber match, same as the week before.
Game Three: Virginia Tech 5, NC State 4
In one of, if not Virginia Tech’s most important game of the season so far, associate head coach Kurt Elbin was ejected by third base umpire Dylan Bradley in the bottom of the third after repeatedly pointing out that NC State starter Luke Hemric was not making contact with the pitching rubber when facing left-handed hitters, a violation that should result in a balk at any level of baseball. Bradley didn't see it that way and tossed Elbin. Whatever the intent, it sent a charge through the Tech dugout at a moment when the Hokies needed something to hold onto.
Griffin Stieg had been excellent from the jump, keeping NC State hitless through five innings on just 58 pitches. Virginia Tech scored first in the second — Ball led off with a double down the left-field line, moved to third on a Lutterman flyout to center, and came home on a Willie Hurt groundball to third. One nothing.
The Wolfpack broke through in the sixth. Johnson singled, Nixon singled to right moving Johnson up, and McHugh's fielder's choice to short pushed Johnson to third. Virginia Tech intentionally walked Ty Head to load the bases with one out. Sherman Johnson — sitting on a 0-0 count — doubled to right-center and cleared the bases. All three runners scored. NC State led 3-1.
What came back in the bottom half was the defining swing of the series. Grube singled up the middle. Gibson flied out. Cooke drew a four-pitch walk, moving Grube to second. NC State called a mound visit. With a 1-2 count and two on, Ethan Ball — who had managed just one hit with four strikeouts through the first two games — drove a 414-foot home run down the right-field line, his tenth of the season, to flip the lead to 4-3. Lutterman doubled to left immediately after, but the Wolfpack changed pitchers and stranded him.
Stieg worked a scoreless seventh to end his day — seven innings, five hits, three runs, three strikeouts, 90 pitches. The best outing of his season by any measure.
Preston Crowl took over in the eighth and walked Johnson immediately. Nixon bunted him to second and McHugh flied out. Then Head doubled to right-center, scoring Nixon from first and tying the game at four. NC State challenged the play, claiming Gibson scored before the final out, but the call stood. Tied with one inning to play.
Ball finished it in the bottom of the eighth. Gibson singled to left. Cooke hit a ground-rule double to left that bounced into the bullpen netting, sending Gibson to third. NC State brought in Michael Ragusa. Ball lifted a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Gibson — who was ruled to have tagged legally from third even after the Wolfpack challenged. Tech led 5-4.
Chase Swift entered for the ninth and needed just 12 pitches to close it. Sherman Johnson fouled out to first. Pinch hitter Vincent DeCarlo flied to right. Pinch hitter Brandon Novy struck out swinging on a Swift changeup. Series clinched, and Swift had his first career save.
Ball finished Sunday with two hits, a homer and four RBIs after being largely invisible the first two games. Stieg and Renfrow combined for 15 innings of three-run ball across the two wins. Back-to-back home series victories for the first time all year, and the Hokies have quietly won six of their last eight games.
Virginia Tech now turns its attention to Tuesday, April 28, as they welcome James Madison to English Field with a first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. ET. The Hokies won the two teams' first meeting, 5-4, on February 24.
