With Carson Jones’s Grand Slam, No. 11 Virginia Tech Blows By Radford

If there was reason to doubt whether or not Virginia Tech right fielder Carson Jones was still able to smoke baseballs the way he did at the end of last season, to believe that maybe his power stroke took a dip, he answered those concerns Tuesday afternoon.

Jones, an extra toy for Tech head coach John Szefc in a sandbox full of them a season ago, punished Radford with a 432-foot grand slam in the fourth inning that pushed the lead, then 7-0, four runs further. That capped off a nine-run fourth inning in No. 11 Virginia Tech’s 17-2 blowout over Radford at English Field.

“Hopefully it’ll keep me on track,” Jones said with a laugh to reporters after Tech’s win.

𝘾𝙅 '𝙎 𝙁𝙀𝙀𝙇𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙂𝙍𝘼𝙉𝘿 💸

≫ @Carson_jones35 🔨#Hokies 🦃⚾️ pic.twitter.com/o1WgI09gwr

— Virginia Tech Baseball (@HokiesBaseball) February 28, 2023

It keyed a 17-hit day for the Hokies. It helped Jones move to his best offensive output this season – a home run, a walk and a hit-by-pitch – all before the sixth inning when he was subbed out. And, maybe most importantly, it allowed for some debuts for younger players such as Jacob Exum, Luke Jackman and Carter Newman.

Since watching most of Saturday’s game on the bench, Jones is two for his last four with a walk and two hit-by-pitches. A small sample size, sure, but it’s still a step in the right direction. With the departure of professional talent from the lineup from last season, Tech depends on Jones to be one of its key contributors.

After losing to Bryant on Friday – a common occurrence in baseball, you’re not going to win them all – the Hokies are 3-0 with 36 runs since. They’re now 6-2 on the year and moved up three spots from No. 14 in D1 Baseball’s Top 25 poll on Monday. 

“I don’t think we’re playing all that well offensively right now,” Szefc said. “But if we weren’t on top of everything we want, I’d actually have no problem with that. I’d rather be on top of things in April or May.”

Ryan Kennedy, one of Tech’s top signees coming into the season, was slated to start mid-week games. He has yet to pitch because of “tenderness in his elbow,” Szefc said. Everything else, though, has gone the Hokies’ way. Kennedy on the shelf for the short-term paved the way for Kiernan Higgins to throw last week and Nick Finarelli to start – and appear – in his first collegiate game against Radford.

“It was good to get a guy like Finarelli to start the game, kind of get him some game experience,” Szefc said. 

Two days after posting 15 runs against Bryant, the Hokies scored a season-high 17 runs against the Highlanders. They started out with a bang when David Bryant crushed a solo home run to lead-off the bottom of the first against his old team. Bryant, who transferred from Radford over the summer, described his first at-bat “almost like an intersquad.”

That’s how Tech scored its first run, and two more came across the score on Eduardo Malinowski’s two-run single with two outs in the inning. Eddie Eisert added the fourth an inning later on a sacrifice fly that scored Bryant, who reached on a bunt.

Two innings later, though, was when the wheels fell off for the Highlanders. Virginia Tech scored the first of its nine runs on Chris Cannizzaro’s RBI single. Then Carson DeMartini – who hit VT’s first grand slam of the season a week ago – doubled home a run. A batter later, with runners on second and third, Eisert walked. 

And then came Jones’s grand slam. Soon after, Bryant reached on a fielder’s choice that scored a run before Cannizzaro picked up his second RBI knock of the inning that scored Malinowski to push the lead to 13-0. 

“These games are important,” Szefc said, “they’re important for guys to continue to make progress.”

By the time Tech’s outburst happened, the game had already turned into a bullpen day for both teams. Finarelli threw 14 pitches – nine for strikes – and recorded four outs before departing in the second. Andrew Sentlinger got the final two outs in the inning with little problem, and then the first out of the third inning before surrendering a walk and a base hit. 

Then Christian Worley entered from the bullpen for five outs, pitching until the end of the fourth inning. He worked his way out of the third inning jam, holding Radford scoreless.

That’s when Szefc used Matthew Siverling for the fifth and Tyler Dean for a clean scoreless sixth that included two punch outs. By that point, seven of Tech’s nine starters had hit the bench. 

Peter Sakellaris yielded two runs on a two-out double in the seventh. He finished out the inning before Jacob Exum made his first collegiate appearance in the eighth. Warren Holzemer collected his first career hit and Newman blasted a three-run shot in his collegiate debut – both in the bottom half. 

“It was awesome seeing [Newman and Holzemer have success],” Jones said. “Those guys work so hard, they’re grinders – and for them to go out there and do that, it really shows how much work they put on top of practice.”

To cap it off, Jackman finished off a perfect ninth inning to slam the door shut on Radford, ending a day full of low-leverage situations. 

“Some people would say yes, but I would say no because a lot of our guys got experience,” Szefc said on whether a run rule would be good for college baseball. “Everybody in our group, they practice hard, they’re prepared just as much as anybody else. … I understand [the reason for a run rule], but I’m not for that – not with a 38-man roster.”

Box Score: Link