DURHAM, N.C. – No. 12 seed Virginia Tech (31-24) scored two runs in the fourth inning and three runs in the sixth to defeat 13-seed Stanford (27-25), 7-4, in the first round of the 2025 ACC Baseball Championship on Tuesday from Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
Stanford took advantage of a wild pitch to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning, only to see the Hokies knot the game up in the bottom half of the frame on a Hudson Lutterman RBI-double to left-center field.
One inning later, Virginia Tech took its first lead of the game with a pair of RBI-singles from Jackson Cherry and Cam Pittman to put the score at 3-1.
Following a solo home run from Trevor Haskins in the fifth inning, the Hokies pushed across three more runs in the bottom of the sixth, capped by a two-run single from Clay Grady that was lost in the sun in center field, and added a solo home run from Mycah Jordan in the seventh to extend the lead to five at 7-2.
Down to its last out and refusing to go away without a fight, Stanford’s Jimmy Nati blasted a two-run home run in the top of the ninth to put the score at 7-4 before Grant Manning got the final out to secure the Hokies’ win.
The home run was Nati’s team-leading 16th of the season, while Haskins finished the year with 14.
Virginia Tech had seven runs on 11 hits, with eight different players accounting for a hit in the win, including a total of seven base hits combined from the top four hitters in the lineup – Ben Watson (2-for-5, run, SB), Grady (2-for-5, 2 RBI), Sam Tackett (2-for-4, BB, run) and David McCann (1-for-3B, B, run).
Five different Hokies drove in a run, led by two each from Grady and Cam Pittman (1-for-3, BB, 2 RBI, 2 runs).
Stanford had four runs on seven hits, highlighted by the homers from Haskins (1-for-3, HR, RBI, run) and Nati (1-for-3, HR, BB, 2 RBI, run).
Virginia Tech reliever Preston Crowl (2-0) picked up the win, facing just three batters over 0.1 of an inning, striking out one to end the fifth inning. Manning earned the save, his fifth of the season, throwing 2.2 innings to seal the win.
The loss fell to Stanford’s Joey Volchko (3-4), as the starting hurler gave up five runs on seven hits, four walks and four strikeouts over five innings of work.