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Nick Chershire, Carter Atherton

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April 19, 2022

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BLACKSBURG — Coming off an impressive weekend series when Virginia Tech took two out of three from then No. 2 Miami, the Hokies beat VMI 9-6 on Tuesday, continuing their winning ways. 

 

No. 8 Virginia Tech (24-9) stormed back from an early 5-0 deficit, riding a five-run third inning to defeat VMI (12-26) for the second time this season in two meetings, the first being a 13-4 Hokies victory. 

 

Ryan Kennedy (1-3, 3.98 ERA) made his third start of the year for

Virginia Tech, but this was his shortest, as he allowed five earned

runs in just an inning and a third, giving the Keydets an early 5-0 lead. 

 

The Hokies responded in the third inning with a pair of doubles from

Nick Biddison and Gavin Cross, followed by a pair of RBI singles to put

the Hokies on the board. They would go on to tie the game after scoring

five runs on six hits in the frame. 

 

VMI briefly regained the lead in the top of the fourth after scoring on a passed ball, but the Hokies once again answered in the bottom of the inning, taking a 7-6 lead and not looking back. 

 

The bullpen stole the show for the Hokies, as Brady Kirtner, Ryan Metz, Graham Firoved, and Kiernan Higgins combined for nearly eight innings of one-run ball, with Metz picking up the win after pitching three innings. 

 

Cross led the way offensively for the Hokies, going 3-5 with a double and an RBI, while RF Conor Hartigan added a pair of doubles of his own, driving in four runs himself. 

 

Next up, VMI travels  to Johnson City for a weekend series at ETSU, while the Hokies return to action Wednesday when they head to Radford for another non-conference, midweek game.