It didn’t matter where Pitt placed its fielders on Sunday vs. Virginia Tech.
Whether in their usual spots, moved up, nudged a hair back or even shaded towards a left-handed hitter’s shift, it didn’t stop Cade Hunter. Simply put, his production and resurgent season behind the plate just won’t stop.
Not this weekend. Not in the midst of his eight game hit-streak. And not at any point so far this season, really, aside the two games he hasn’t recorded a hit. It’s that consistency he’s displayed in all 17 of his games this season that has put him in the centerpiece of the Hokies’ potent offensive production through their first 18 games this season.
It also pushed Virginia Tech to a 7-1 series-clinching win over the Panthers at English Field, bumping its record to 12-6 overall, 2-4 in the ACC. It, too, gave VT its first ACC series win — it had lost six in a row — since April 11 of last season when the Hokies swept Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C.
A breath of fresh air, really.
“Like I said yesterday,” Tech head coach John Szefc said after his team’s win on Sunday, alluding to their series victory, “it’s long overdue.”
At the center of it was Hunter in Tech’s two bounce-back wins.
He dug in the left-handed batter’s box and pulled a no-doubt home run over the visiting bullpen in right field Saturday. For an encore on Sunday, he roped an eight-inning double to left-center that scored the final two runs of the afternoon, putting the game out of reach.
But how Tech got there, well, that was a little unconventional.
The Hokies used four pitchers en route to their win, but only threw Ryan Okuda — who’s moved from the Saturday start into the Sunday role — for two-plus innings. He set down the first five hitters he faced before hitting Pitt’s Bryce Hulett with a pitch, but induced a fielder’s choice ground ball to Tanner Schobel at shortstop to end the small threat.
He went back out for the third, but that’s where his start ended. He plunked Brock Franks and then walked CJ Funk on six pitches. That’s where Graham Firoved — and a well-rested bullpen that bullied Pitt for seven innings — provided a springboard for the rest of the afternoon.
Firoved, making his first appearance since surrendering two runs in ⅓ of an inning in the March 11 loss to GT, started off a little shaky. He yielded a walk, but from there he locked in. With a one run lead — supplied by Conor Hartigan’s second home run of the season in the second inning — Firoved struck out the next three hitters to keep the Panthers scoreless in the third.
“It’s a little weird for me, you know, I haven’t had much success early on,” Hartigan said about adjusting to his new platoon role after transferring from James Madison. “It all comes down to the same thing. It’s about believing in yourself, erasing any sort of self-doubt.”
Just like Firoved picked Okuda up in the third, lefty Henry Weycker did the same for Firoved after he loaded the bases with two outs via two singles and a walk. Weycker snuck two strikes on Kyle Hess before getting him to pull a weak ground ball to first base, and for the second inning in a row, Pitt left the bases loaded.
“All those guys did a really good job,” Szefc said of his bullpen. “Would you rather have your starter go five scoreless? Yeah, but it didn’t happen today. The guys behind [Okuda] picked him up and we didn’t use all of our best arms.”
The offense gave Weycker a little more of a cushion when Jack Hurley extended his 17-game hit streak with a single to center field that scored Schobel in the fourth. An inning later, Schobel singled home Carson DeMartini to extend the Hokies’ lead to three.
And from there, it was relatively smooth sailing for Weycker, who would last for another three innings. He surrendered a solo home run to Hess in the seventh, but that was all Pitt was able to muster offensively.
Nick Biddison countered the solo home run with a two-run bomb of his own to left field — his second in as many days — gave VT a 5-1 lead, while Hunter’s two-run double in the next inning put the game on ice.
“It’s definitely rewarding, it feels good,” Biddison said. “I was in a little slump last year, but that’s just baseball.”
Kiernan Higgins recorded the final six outs after replacing Weycker, who threw 49 pitches, in the eighth inning. He mowed down hitters with his fastball, striking three out, inducing a double-play and a flyout.
As the bullpen — and the rest of the pitching staff — goes, so do the Hokies. As long as it’s throwing strikes, it’ll continue to get favorable results.
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“plunked”?
plunked = hit by pitch
Love the quotes from the players and coaches!
What a great atmosphere on Saturday! I took my 2 boys to the game and we had a blast!!!!