Virginia Tech Comes Up Short Against Pitt, Series Tied 1-1 (3-29-24)
By: Joey Raymond
All Photo Credit: Katie Lovell-LMS Network
Blacksburg, VA —Coming into this matchup off of an eight-game winning streak, the Virginia Tech Hokies and Pittsburgh Panthers met on the diamond for the second game in a three-game series. On the Friday before Easter, both of these teams would look to hop into the final game of the series with a win. Virginia Tech would also find themselves ranked #13th in the country before the first pitch, in large part thanks to having the best start to their season since 2005. This game would prove to be a battle for both sides, where the Hokies saw themselves crawling back, and Pitt had to fight them off.
The Pitt Panthers would find themselves in the driver’s seat on the first pitch of the second inning. The Panthers managed to start the inning getting two hits on two pitches. Immediately on the next at-bat, Justin Fogel would rocket a home run into right field, giving Pitt a 0-3 lead before the Hokies could record an out. On the next pitch, Jake Kendro would hit a home run into left, giving Pitt back-to-back jacks, and stretching their lead to 0-4. The bats continued to be hot after the homer, as Pitt would get a single, followed by another home run from Jayden Melendez. After the red-hot Pitt offense would come to an end, they’d find themselves with a 0-6 lead.
The Hokies would try to formulate a response in the bottom half, managing to get across a run, but not before some interesting antics would occur. Early in the inning, the Hokies would get a single from Eddie Micheletti. The next batter, Chris Cannizzaro would technically reach base on a fielder’s choice to second. Then he’d be thrown out on the return to the bag, despite running into an umpire. Whereas it could’ve been classified as interference, they called him out and the game played on. Ben Watson would double on the next at-bat, giving the Hokies a runner, who would then be brought home after a single from Gehrig Ebel. The second inning would end with Pitt leading 1-6.
The Hokies continued to battle back, getting 2 singles to open the fourth inning, followed by a double from Ben Watson to drive in a run. The Hokies’ offense would continue cooking, with a sacrifice fly from Ebel the next at-bat. A single from David McCann shortly after would give the Hokies runners at first and third. Another sacrifice fly would follow, bringing the score to 4-6. Pitt would respond in the top of the fifth by scoring a run of their own. After working to get a couple of runners on base, the Panthers would manage a sacrifice fly, giving them a 4-7 lead. The war that was this game wouldn’t be done yet, as the Hokies would continue their fight in the bottom of the sixth, scoring another run on a sacrifice fly. That would bring the score to 5-7 heading into the seventh.
The rest of the game would be fairly quiet, as the only other run would be a Carson DiMartini home run to bring the score to 6-7. That would be Carson’s 14 home run on the season. The Hokies would leave the tying run on base in the last three innings, even managing to leave DeMartini at second base when the final out was in the books. If you just enjoy baseball this was the game for you, a battle from both sides till the very end. If you’re a Hokies fan this wasn’t the outcome you wanted, but regardless it was still an incredible game to watch. Ultimately Pitt would come out on top 6-7 in game two, but the Hokies and Panthers will meet again on Saturday, March 30th. Currently, the series is tied at 1-1, the team who wins the Saturday game will win the series.
