Hokies rally to split doubleheader with Yellow Jackets

Aaron McGarity picks up win in second game after four scoreless innings of relief

April 21, 2017

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Georgia Tech (19-18)	0	0	0	0	0	2	5	5	1	13	16	1
Virginia Tech (19-21)	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	3	8	2
EF at Union Park - 197 Box Score

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Georgia Tech (19-19)	2	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	4	8	2
Virginia Tech (20-21)	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	5	X	8	11	0
EF at Union Park - 159 Box Score Photo Gallery

BLACKSBURG – Tom Stoffel enjoyed his day at the plate and Aaron McGarity tossed four scoreless innings of relief in game two to help the Virginia Tech baseball team salvage a split in a doubleheader against Georgia Tech – lost game one 13-3, won game two 8-4 – in ACC action at English Field at Union Park on Friday afternoon.

Stoffel had seven hits combined in the two games, which included four doubles, and knocked in four runs to lead the offense. However, it was a two-out, five-run eighth-inning rally in game two that gave the Hokies the split.

Trailing 4-3 and facing the Jackets’ closer Zac Ryan, Nick Anderson and Mac Caples drew back-to-back walks. Pinch hitter JD Mundy then laced a single to center that scored pinch runner Grant Maiorana that tied the game and Matt Dauby’s RBI single that scored Caples gave them a 5-4 lead. Rahiem Cooper plated Mundy and Dauby with a double and scored on a Jack Owens single.

McGarity, who came into the game in the sixth, allowed a two-out double, but got the final out on a popup to end the game. His line included four strikeouts as he improved to 2-3 on the season.

In the first game, the Hokies took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Stoffel’s first double of the day that scored Ryan Tufts, who drew a walk. The same scenario played out in the third frame, but Tufts was held at third and Virginia Tech would not get either home, two of the 11 base runners the Hokies left on in the first game.

The Hokie starter in game one was Kit Scheetz and he held the Jackets scoreless through the first five frames. In the sixth, though, he surrendered two RBI singles as Georgia Tech took a 2-1 lead.

Kyle McCann led off the seventh with a solo home run, chasing Scheetz, and the Jackets then tagged the Hokies’ bullpen for four more runs to take a 7-1 lead.

Stoffel added a two-RBI single to his effort in the seventh that provide the final runs for the Hokies, who actually left the bases loaded in the frame, with the score 7-3. The Jackets responded with five more runs in the eighth and one in the ninth to cruise to the victory.

GT (19-19, 5-15 ACC) opened game two with a two-run home run off the bat of Trevor Craport in the first, McCann hit his second home run of the day in the second frame and an RBI single by Ryan Peurifoy in the fourth gave the Jackets an early 4-0 lead.

Virginia Tech (20-21, 8-12 ACC) scored three in the fourth as Tufts tripled, Stoffel doubled scoring Tufts and Sam Fragale singled, putting runners on the corners. Anderson followed with a sac fly and a Joe Freiday, Jr. single brought home Fragale, which is where the game stood until the Hokies’ rally.

Inside the box score – Game 1

• Caples: hit by his 14th pitch this season, two shy of the most by a Tech player (Steve Domecus, 16, 2009) since the team joined the ACC.
• Scheetz: 6.0 innings pitched, pushing his career total to 231.0, the third-most ever for a Tech pitcher in the ACC; 35th career start, the second most ever, and 161 career strikeouts, the fifth-most, for a Hokie pitcher in the same time period; five scoreless innings, 35 for the season, 163 in his career; two perfect frames, 12 for the season, 66 for his career; second quality start of the year, 17 in his Tech career.
• Stoffel: two doubles, 13 for the season, 29 for his career, fifth time in his career with two doubles in a game; four hits, 14th multi-hit game of the season, 32nd of his career, third game this season, fourth time in his career with at least four; three RBI, 11th multi-RBI game of the season, 24th of his career, fourth time this season and eighth time in his career with at least three RBI.
• Tufts: double, 17th of the season, 39th of his career; two runs, 14th multi-run scoring game of the season, 29th of his career.

Inside the box score – Game 2

• Cooper: double, sixth of the season, 13th of his career; two hits, 10th multi-hit game of the season, 20th of his career; two RBI, eighth multi-RBI game of the season, ninth of his career.
• Connor Coward: struck out the side once, for the first time this season and third time in his career; struck out five total, the fifth time this season and eighth time in his career he’s struck out five or more; pushed his career strikeout total at Tech to 100.
• Mundy: was just his second pinch hit of the season.
• Stoffel: two doubles, 15 for the season, 31 for his career, sixth time in his career with two doubles in a game; three hits, 15th multi-hit game of the season, 33rd of his career, 10th game this season, 16th time in his career with at least three; three RBI, 11th multi-RBI game of the season, 24th of his career, fourth time this season and eighth time in his career with at least three RBI.
• Tufts: triple, second of the season, third of his career.

More Tech notes

• ­­­Since joining the league, Tech has played 20 doubleheaders and are 2-7-11 in those. Half of them have been at home and the Hokies are 2-3-5 in those.
• The Hokies have scored five or more runs in an inning 14 times this season.
• This was the first game Tech won when trailing after the seventh inning – the team is now 1-17.
• Entering the game, Tech pinch hitters had knocked in just five runs.
• The hit by pitch in game one was the 70 for the team this season, tied for the second-most by a team in an ACC season (2012) and trails only the 2010 team that had 73.

Up next

• The Hokies and Yellow Jackets will look to play the final game of the three-game ACC series on Saturday at Noon (a schedule change), weather permitting.

For updates on Virginia Tech baseball, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_Baseball