Hokies Baseball Hosts Stingy Stony Brook To Begin Eight-Game Home Stand

The Hokies return home for the first three games of eight in a row at English Field as they welcome Stony Brook to Blacksburg on Friday for the first-ever meeting.

The Seawolves (3-5) are in their 33rd year under head coach Matt Senk and are in their second season in the CAA. Previously a member of the America East, Stony Brook had won three consecutive regular-season titles before transitioning, including a trip to an NCAA Regional in 2019. 

In its first season in a new conference, Stony Brook had just its fifth-ever losing season in Division I, going 23-29 (14-16). It was picked to finish eighth in the CAA (48 votes) in the 2024 preseason poll.

Despite a 3-5 start to the season, the Seawolves are riding the high of their highest-ranked victory in program history, knocking off No. 2 LSU 5-2 in Baton Rouge, La. on Friday, Feb. 23. They also took a game from Purdue, 10-8, in their second game of the season.

Stony Brook has 17 new players, 10 of whom are freshmen, but it also has a solid core of established talent. 

Senior utility player Evan Fox, a preseason All-CAA Selection and D1Baseball’s No. 33 second baseman in the country, leads the way. Fox is coming off a 2023 campaign which saw him break the program record for stolen bases in a season (39) and a career (91) — which was previously held by World Series champion Travis Jankowski — en route to being First-Team All-CAA. Fox is off to a slow start offensively in 2024 with just a .749 OPS but still has the speed and defense to make a massive impact.

Other key contributors include a pair of preseason All-CAA honorable mentions in outfielder Matt Brown-Eiring and infielder Brett Paulsen. Brown-Eiring, the team’s premier power bat, has had a stellar start to his senior season and leads the team in OPS (1.071), hits (12) and RBI (11). Meanwhile, Paulsen has had a lackluster first seven games, recording just five hits in 23 at bats (.217 avg) with only one extra-base hit. 

Some of the offensive slack has been picked up by outfielder Cam Santerre, a grad transfer from Rhode Island College (DIII). He ranks second on the team with a 1.045 OPS and has a team-best .500 on-base percentage. 

On the mound, the Seawolves have rotated a trio of solid starters: Eddie Smink, Ty Saunders and Nicholas Rizzo. Smink, the team’s ace, played a key role in upsetting LSU, tossing five innings of one-run ball while striking out seven Tigers. Rizzo won CAA co-Rookie of the Week on Monday after going eight innings against Northwestern State and giving up just one run. Saunders, a grad transfer from the University of Portland, leads the team in WHIP (1.22), but is the lone member of the rotation to not have a win under his belt in 2024.

Meanwhile, Virginia Tech (6-2) is red-hot and is riding a four-game winning streak after sweeping Rhode Island last weekend by a combined score of 39-7 and crushing Radford 14-4 on Tuesday. 

Chris Cannizzaro has led the way on offense with a 1.480 OPS — one of seven Tech hitters above 1.000. The former Bucknell standout also leads the team in batting average (.467), hits (14), home runs (4) and RBI (14). 

Ben Watson has been stellar in his first few games at the D-I level with a .414 avg and 11 RBI. Last Friday, he nearly hit for the cycle with two doubles, a triple and his lone home run of the season.

But the hottest bat in the lineup belongs to Garrett Michel, who has homered in three straight games. The sophomore has an OPS of 1.392 and ranks second on the team in hits (13) and RBI (12) while being tied with Cannizzaro’s four longballs. 

Tech’s rotation should look similar to the past two weeks; the same can be said about the catchers. Head coach John Szefc mentioned that he feels very comfortable about the Hokies’ batteries.

It helps that freshman ace Brett Renfrow has delivered back-to-back stellar outings, Rutgers transfer Wyatt Parliament has been excellent and Griffin Stieg bounced back from a tough first start with a career performance on Sunday. It’s also a positive to have a trio of catchers in Henry Cooke, Gehrig Ebel and David McCann that have combined for five home runs and 14 RBI through eight games.

Forecasts of rain this weekend have already impacted start times as Friday’s contest has been moved up four hours while Saturday’s was pushed up one hour. The Hokies dealt with a bit of cold and inclement weather against Rhode Island, making this the second time in as many home series that first pitch times have been moved.

Times and Streaming Designations:

Friday, March 1: Noon ET on ACC Network Extra
Saturday, March 2: 3 p.m. ET on ACC Network Extra
Sunday, March 3: 1 p.m. ET on ACC Network Extra

Projected Pitching Matchups:

Friday: RHP Eddie Smink (3.60 ERA in 10 innings) vs. RHP Brett Renfrow (2.70 ERA in 10 innings)

Saturday: LHP Ty Saunders (5.93 ERA in 10 ⅔ innings) vs. RHP Wyatt Parliament (3.12 ERA in 8 ⅔ innings)

Sunday: LHP Nicholas Rizzo (5.93 ERA in 13 ⅔ innings) vs. RHP Griffin Stieg (6.43 ERA in seven innings)