2017 Virginia Tech Hokies Baseball Preview

Introduction

The Virginia Tech Hokies prepare to take the field on Friday against South Carolina Upstate for their first action of the 2017 baseball season, looking to take a considerable step forward after a rough 2016 campaign.

Entering his fourth season at the helm, head baseball coach Pat Mason will look to cool down one of the hottest coaching seats in the ACC, as his roster hopes to improve upon a 19-36 overall record last season.

The Hokies offense struggled through a tough ACC last season with a majority of the position players gaining significant playing time as freshmen and sophomores. With a year of experience under their belts, many of these position players will look to improve an offense that ranked near the bottom of the conference in just about every offensive category last season, with the low-light being the .273 batting average, good for 10th in the ACC.

Additionally, the pitching staff will look to improve upon a putrid team earned run average of 6.49 from last season. The Hokies hired a new pitching coach to hopefully relieve some of the ills that plagued the pitchers last year, as Jamie Pinzino joins the coaching staff.

Speaking of the pitchers, what better way to start our preview than by taking a look at who the major contributors are expected to be on the mound this season for the Virginia Tech Hokies.