When Chris Cannizzaro strolled into second base, having just completed the first cycle for No. 14 Virginia Tech since Gavin Cross did it in April 2021, he gave a wave towards the home dugout, looking for the team to verify his feat.
He knew he had a chance at the cycle going into his sixth inning at-bat, right before he doubled down the left field line, because Tech infielder Warren Holzemer told him to “hit a double or something,” Cannizzaro said.
The Hokies’ left fielder drove the baseball out of the ballpark twice on Sunday afternoon. Combined with Carson DeMartini’s and Eddie Eisert’s three RBIs each, it lifted Tech to a 15-8 win over Bryant – and the weekend series victory after Friday’s loss. The Hokies (5-2) won three of their first four outings to kick off a 13-game homestand.
“Our guys showed a lot of fight from behind,” Tech head coach John Szefc told reporters after the victory. “It’s always a tough situation when you lose on Friday, but we’ve done this the last two weekends. It was good to come from behind and win that series.”
Sunday’s win was, as Szefc put it afterward, “a close game” part of a wacky afternoon. Tech trailed 3-1 in the top of the second, led 8-3 at the start of the third and watched its lead dwindle down to 9-7. Yet, it blew out the Bulldogs in the end thanks to six runs in the sixth and seventh innings.
“The one thing we did do was put up big innings, and they didn’t,” Szefc said. “That was the biggest difference – they scored in a lot of innings, but they only scored one or two an inning – and we put up a seven-run inning right out of the box. … Our ability to minimize the game … that’s what got us over the hump there.”
Anthony Arguelles, who yielded five runs (four earned) but didn’t get a ton of help from his defense, lasted 3 ⅓ on 71 pitches and never trailed past the second inning. His offense – with a new-look lineup that included Christian Martin at the top, Eisert hitting cleanup and Eduardo Malinowski back in the lineup at DH – tied a season-high in runs scored with 12. Cannizzaro scored four of them.
The Staten Island native was built for weekends like this after playing four years at Bucknell in New York. Despite it being chilly all weekend, Cannizarro came out in short sleeves on Sunday as he ran around five times in his six at-bats. Playing baseball in 30 and 40-degree days are normal for Cannizzaro – even with the wind blowing and the press box shadows looming over the field – and he showcased his speed and versatility that made Tech so attracted to him in the portal.
He is, in essence, the veteran bat that replaced Cross. And he proved that Sunday as the first hitter to cycle at home since Tim Smalling did it against Columbia in 2010.
His day cycle started with a triple that he drove out to right-center field in the first inning. Then he homered in the second, singled in the fourth and closed it out with his double in the sixth. For good measure, he homered once more in the seventh to finish 5-for-6, raising his average to .433.
“It was one of those days where the ball kind of looks like a beachball,” Cannizzaro said. “I was just really confident in my approach.”
For the first time in his baseball career – Little League, travel ball, high school, and college – Cannizzaro hit for the cycle. He said he’d come close before, but never completed the feat.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do in my career,” Cannizzaro said. “It was really cool to get it done.”
Sandwiched in between was Brody Donay’s first collegiate home run – on an inside the parker, no less – Malinowski’s two-run double in his first start in eight days, multi-hit games from Jack Hurley and DeMartini and the return of the beloved home run hammer, that Tech can now use in the cutout next to the dugout since it’s considered “off the field.”
“It was good to get Malinowski back in the game,” Szefc said. “There’s a contribution that matched up well against a lefty. We’re just trying to get some guys going.”
When Bryant came within two runs in the sixth, it was Brady Kirtner who slammed the door shut when he entered with the bases loaded and one out. Kirter struck out the first hitter he faced, hit the next with a pitch and ended the frame with another punch out. And to top the inning off, Cannizzaro completed the cycle with his double in the bottom half.
“I was just trying to get a feel of the zone coming in,” Kirtner said. “I just wanted to work ahead with the slider and play my fastball off of that.”
Cannizzaro’s efforts, mixed with the rest of the offense, helped the Hokies navigate what became a slugfest. But Szefc wasn’t concerned with the pitching, chalking it up to poor defense, saying that there’ll be days like that – especially on Sundays. After scoring two runs on Friday and four on Saturday, Tech scored 15 in the rubber match.
Four of those were scored – with two more driven in – by Cannizzaro, who’s now just reeling in the spotlight.
Box Score: Link
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While the comments about pitching are legitimate my guess is that it may be difficult to get a feel for the baseball when one pitches in 40 degree weather.
I”m wondering if our Chris Canizzaro is releted to the Chris Canizzaro, Sr., a journeymean Catcher who played w/several an coached MLB teams..
I was wondering about that too. He was an original NY Met in 1962 who The Ol’ Professor Casey Stengel used to call Cannzinerri.
FYI, “outlasts” means you barely won, not that you doubled the score. Thx for the great updates.
It was a two-run game with the bases loaded late – score only looked like that only because Tech scored a bunch late. John Szefc called it a close game because it was. Thanks for reading.
And Bucknell is in PA, not NY.
Watched game; impressive hitting. But, allowing 16 runs over 3-game series (specifically 15 over 2 games), against a supposed inferior opponent, will not cut it. While there was some good & some bad from relievers, pitching in general has got to improve or Hokies will get bombed in conference. Against ACC pitching, can’t expect to out score teams every outing.
^^^ This ^^^