Going into the ACC Tournament this week in Charlotte, the Virginia Tech baseball team was hoping to pick up at least one win to improve its NCAA Tournament chances. The Hokies won their last four ACC series of the regular season to secure a bye in the first round on Tuesday. They put up 17 runs on Notre Dame in the second round on Wednesday night in a 17-10 win to advance to the quarterfinals.
Waiting for Virginia Tech in the quarters on Friday morning was second-seeded North Carolina, which presented a golden opportunity to improve their chances of hearing their name called on Monday afternoon when the 64-team field is announced. However, the win over the Irish was the Hokies' 30th of the season, and with good metrics, it felt they had some wiggle room against the Tar Heels.
After falling behind 2-0 early, the Hokies rallied and took a 3-2 lead before the Tar Heels rallied to regain the lead with a three-run fourth inning and never looked back in a 10-4 win to advance to the semifinals against the winner of Pittsburgh and Florida State on Saturday.
Virginia Tech baseball falls short in bid for ACC Championship
In the overall big picture, the Hokies did what they needed to do; they went to Charlotte and picked up a win. They went toe-to-toe with the Tar Heels and were in the game until UNC blew the game open in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Virginia Tech chased North Carolina starter Jason DeCaro after just 3.1 innings, after six hits and three runs on back-to-back home runs from Ethan Gibson and Henry Cooke in the third innings for a 3-2 lead. However, the Hokies had a golden opportunity to blow the game open with the bases loaded, but a great catch by the Tar Heels in right field ended the frame. Freshman Ethan Ball homered in the fifth inning.
As far as the Hokies go in terms of the NCAA Tournament, they should be in on Monday when the field is announced. Wherever they go, they will be a tough out.
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