Virginia Tech’s baseball season came to an end on Sunday night with a 10-2 loss to host team South Carolina in the NCAA Regionals. The Hokies finished the season 40-22 and will likely be in the postseason Top 25 at the conclusion of the College World Series.
The game was tied 2-2 after five innings, but a big six-run sixth inning put South Carolina on top for good. Starting Hokie pitcher Matthew Price pitched 5.2 innings and was effective early on, but ran into major trouble in the sixth. The Tech bullpen has been under a lot of stress over the last few days, and the Hokies tried to get through the sixth with Price, but it didn’t work out. He allowed 11 hits and seven earned runs.
Catcher Steve Domecus hit a two-run homer for the Hokies in the first inning, but that was all the runs Tech scored. Fielding was a problem yet again, with VT making four errors during the game, but only one South Carolina run was unearned.
With 40 wins, this season marked the first 40-win season for Virginia Tech since 1999. The Hokies finished 42-17 that year, making the NCAA Regionals after winning the Atlantic 10 tournament.
Tech loses seven seniors off this year’s team: center fielder Sean Ryan, catcher Steve Domecus, closer Ben Rowen, utility player Luke Padgett, catcher Anthony Sosnoskie, outfielder Mike Kaminski and pitcher Kyle Cichy. Only Ryan, Domecus and Rowen were everyday players by season’s end. The Hokies could also lose several juniors to the MLB Draft, such as pitcher Jesse Hahn and right fielder Austin Wates.
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