Trailing Radford University 1-0 as they came to bat in the bottom of the seventh, the Virginia Tech baseball Hokies batted around and scored three times for their first lead. Zach Brzykcy then got the final five outs to pick up his first save of the year, and Tech held on to defeat the crosstown-rival Highlanders 3-2 at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park Tuesday evening.
Tech improved to 4-3 for the season; Radford dropped to 3-5.
Perfect through the first three innings, Tech starter Ryan Okuda allowed three straight two-out hits as Radford plated the first run of the afternoon on an RBI double by J.D. Mundy. Reliever Matthew Siverling tossed two scoreless frames to keep it a 1-0 deficit.
In the seventh, pinch-hitter Jonah Seagears drew a walk and moved to second on a passed ball. Reagan Teegarden doubled him home, and Fritz Genther followed with his first collegiate RBI on a single to right. With two outs and the bases loaded, Carson Taylor drew a walk to push the Tech lead to 3-1.
Radford’s Garrett Matheny tripled with one out in the eighth and scored on an Anthony Galati RBI single to pull the Highlanders to within one.
Brzykcy was then called in from the bullpen as Tech’s fifth pitcher of the night. He ended the inning by coaxing a double-play ball and finished the game in the ninth with back-to-back strikeouts to pick up his fourth career save. Peyton Alford improved to 1-0 with the win in relief, the second of his Tech career.
Tech improved to 48-12 all-time in the series with the victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE FOR RU: Galati’s eighth-inning single extended his on-base streak to a team-high eight games. Mundy went 1-for-3 with his RBI double against his former school. Each of Radford’s first five hitters (Matheny, Galati, Podaras, Mundy and Will Harless) recorded hits.
FOR TECH: Nick Biddison had two hits, his team-leading third multi-hit game of the season (15 in career). Lucas Donlon made his first collegiate start. Carson Jones had his first collegiate hit. Okuda had a season-high four innings pitched, the seventh time in his career he has thrown 4-plus. He had at least three strikeouts for the twelfth time in his career. Siverling had a season-high two innings pitched with his second multi-strikeout game of the year. Teegarden’s double was his third of the season. His two hits gave him his first multi-hit game of the season, the third in career.
