Hokies Avenge Loss to No. 3 Yellow Jackets

By Casey Richey
March 22, 2009

There was no doubt the Hokie baseball players had nothing on their minds Saturday evening but tying the series and forgetting about a painful ninth inning loss to the Yellow Jackets. The Hokies scored nine runs on seven hits to beat the no. 3 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 9-5 in front of a crowd of 859 at English Field.

Virginia Tech (13-7, 2-5 ACC) started the game with a first inning performance that dictated the tone for the rest of the game. Austin Wates, RF, reached on an infield single and later advanced to second base by stealing his eighth base of the year. Steve Bumbry, 2B, put another runner on for the Hokies with a walk, bringing junior catcher Anthony Sosnoskie to the plate. Sosnoskie wasted no time in taking a 2-0 pitch from Georgia Tech pitcher Zach Von Tersch and sending it over the left field wall for a 3-0 Hokie lead and his fifth homerun of the season.

Georgia Tech (15-2, 5-1 ACC) got a homerun of its own in the top of the second inning when third baseman Matt Skole put a pitch from Mathew Price over the fence to cut the lead down to two. Skole was the hero the night before when he hit a three-run homerun to put the Yellow Jackets on top in comeback win. Skole was the best offensive force for the Yellow Jackets in this game, going 4-5 with two RBI and the homerun.

In the bottom of the third, Bumbry doubled to lead off the inning and advanced to third on a passed ball. Steve Domecus plated Bumbry with a RBI single to put the Hokies lead back to three runs.

Virginia Tech used a four-run bottom of the fifth to add some insurance to its lead. Sosnoskie walked with one out, Domecus was hit by a pitch, and Marc Zecchino walked to load the bases for first baseman Ronnie Shaban. Shaban drove in all three runners with a double, and put himself in scoring position for Mike Kaminski. Virginia Tech benefited from loss of control by Von Tersch as Shaban advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a passed ball, giving the Hokies a 8-1 lead.

Virginia Tech escaped a potentially harmful situation in the top of the sixth inning. The bases were loaded with one out for Georgia Tech centerfielder Jeff Rowland, but Price induced a ground ball to turn a double play and end the inning. Price had a strong outing for the Hokies and earned his second win of the year after pitching 6.2 innings, allowing five runs on nine hits, and struck out six against a highly talented Yellow Jackets lineup.

The potential four runs avoided in the sixth inning were eventually scored in the top of the seventh. Price allowed one run before being pulled for reliever Sean McDermott. McDermott allowed a two-run double to Jason Garofolo, 2B, and Thomas Nichols, DH, scored on a passed ball to put the game at 8-5 in favor of the Hokies. Dave Zappacosta entered in relief of McDermott and got Derek Dietrich to pop out in foul territory to end the inning and prevent any further damage.

The Hokies got one back in the bottom of the eighth when Wates scored on a RBI single by Sosnoskie. There would be no ninth inning comeback this time for the Yellow Jackets as Brandon Fisher pitched two full innings, striking out two, for his first save of the year and a big win for the Hokies after the heartbreaker on Friday night.

Virginia Tech looks to take the series Sunday when they face Georgia Tech at 1 p.m. at English Field.

Win: Mathew Price (2-1)

Loss: Zach Von Tersch (4-1)

Save: Brandon Fisher (1)