LEXINGTON, Va. – Sophomore Cade Hunter put together a brilliant performance at the plate Tuesday, hitting two home runs and driving in five runs to help propel the Virginia Tech Hokies past the VMI Keydets 13-4. The win was Tech’s fifth straight.
Senior Kiernan Higgins (1-0) picked up the victory out of the bullpen for Virginia Tech (15-6). The right-hander went 2.2 shutout innings while giving up two hits, allowing three walks and striking out three. Junior Graham Firoved also made an impact on the mound for the Hokies, throwing 1.1 shutout innings while allowing no hits with no walks and four strikeouts.
Hunter went 5-for-5 at the plate, supplementing his two home runs with a double while driving in five runs. Senior Conor Hartigan added to Hunter’s awesome power-hitting performance by going 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs along with one walk. Sophomore Tanner Schobel also chipped in for the Hokies, going 1-for-3 with two walks and two RBIs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Hokies got on the board immediately, starting their scoring with four runs in the top of the first inning that included Hunter’s first home run of the game.
In the third inning, Tech picked up three more runs including a Hunter home run, which upped the score to 7-1 in favor of the Hokies.
VMI narrowed Virginia Tech’s lead to 7-3 in the third before the Hokies stretched the advantage to 9-3 in the sixth inning on Hartigan’s two-run home run.
The Keydets closed the gap to 9-4 before VVT added some insurance in the ninth with a four-run outburst highlighted by Hunter’s two-run double. That put the 13-4 final on the scoreboard.
GAME NOTES
Every Virginia Tech starter reached base safely in the win.
The Virginia Tech pitching staff combined to strike out 14 VMI hitters.
Virginia Tech’s highest scoring inning was the ninth when the Hokies pushed four runs across.
VT took a 4-1 lead in the top half of the first and never trailed in the game.
Virginia Tech hitters hit three home runs and put together 15 total hits for the game.
The Hokies went 6-for-18 (.333) with runners in scoring position.
Virginia Tech pitchers faced 48 VMI hitters in the game, allowing six ground balls and seven fly balls while striking out 14.
The Hokies drew 11 walks from VMI pitching.
VMI was led offensively by junior Will Knight, who went 3-for-5 with an RBI.
