Box Score

VT 4, NC State 3

 

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Virginia Tech battled back from a 3-0 deficit in the fifth inning and defeated North Carolina State 4-3 in ACC baseball action Saturday evening at English Field.

The Hokies trailed 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning, but took the lead when right fielder Klint Reed (Jr., Chesterfield, Va.) walked to lead off the inning. He came around to score on second baseman Austin Wates' (Fr., Richmond, Va.) second home run of the season, a drive to straightaway center field off of Wolfpack reliever Drew Taylor.

This came after the Hokies cut the lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning. With one out, designated hitter Matt Blow (r-Fr., Richmond, Va.) was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a passed ball. Shortstop Tony Balisteri (Fr., Lexington, Va.) reached on a strikeout and passed ball before first baseman Sean O'Brien (r-Sr., Chappaqua, N.Y.) singled in Blow. Then Balisteri, who went to third on O'Brien's single up the middle, scored on a sacrifice fly by center fielder Sean Ryan (Jr., Ashburn, Va.).

NC State started the scoring in the top of the first inning when left fielder Devon Cartwright doubled down the left field line and advanced to third on a fly out to right field. Following a walk to right fielder Matt Payne, Cartwright scored on a single up the middle by center fielder Marcus Jones.

The Wolfpack added another run in the top of the second inning when catcher Nate Cockman reached on a fielder's choice before moving to second on third baseman Drew Martin's single up the middle. Martin then scored on a two-out double down the left-field line by Cartwright. Payne led off the top of the fifth inning with his fourth home run of the season off of Tech starter Justin Wright (Fr., Chesterfield, Va.).

Tech reliever Josh Wymer (So., Ft. Worth, Texas) moves to 5-4 after picking up his second win in three games. He set a new career high as a Hokie with eight strikeouts in 4.2 innings of work. Taylor took the loss for the Wolfpack and falls to 2-2.

O'Brien and Wates each had two hits to lead the Hokies (17-22, 4-16 ACC), while Cartwright and Payne had two hits each for the Wolfpack (26-12, 11-8 ACC). Tech struck out 11 NC State batters and allowed just one Wolfpack hit in the final five innings.

The game was delayed 24 minutes due to rain in the bottom of the third inning. The series concludes on Sunday, as the two teams meet at 1 p.m.