Freshman Pitches Gem in Hokies Win

Freshman Rob Whitley picked up the first win of his career pitching six shutout innings and striking out six Highlanders as the Hokies ended their seven-game losing streak with an 8-3 win over Radford.

“I felt right out there tonight,” said Whitley. “I hit most of my spots and the guys played well behind me.”

It was a tough night for Radford pitchers as the Highlanders sent seven guys out to the mound, none lasting more than two innings.

Catcher Matt Foley highlighted the night on offense for the Hokies crushing his second homerun of the season deep over the left field fence.

Nate Clark started for Matt Hacker at second base and played flawlessly in the field and produced at the plate going 2-for-4 with a run and a RBI.

Leading 2-0, the Hokies broke the game open in the fifth inning as shortstop Warren Schaeffer hit a two-run double and then scored when Jose Cueto followed with a double himself.

Tech added one more run in the sixth and then Foley delivered his two-run blast in the seventh to make it 8-0.

Radford ended the Hokies’ shutout bid in the eighth scoring three runs but that was overshadowed by the superb pitching of Whitley.

Coach Hughes was happy with the win and talked about how it was a good morale booster for the team heading into their upcoming three game series at Boston College.

Tech improved to 18-24 overall with the win while Radford’s record fell to 8-29.

The Hokies (4-17 in the ACC) sit two games behind Duke for the fifth spot in the ACC Coastal Division, so a strong showing in Boston this weekend could bump them out of the cellar.