How did Virginia Tech's series loss to the Blue Devils affect their RPI
The Virginia Tech Hokies 27-17 (11-13) are in a limbo in terms of their season. During some games, the Hokies look solid. Heading into their last three ACC series, Tech was 6-1 in ranked matchups. However, after last weekend's tumble to Duke, the Hokies have fallen to 11th in the ACC. This wasn't the only change, the Hokies saw themselves fall to 37th in the RPI. Last week, the Hokies were in a firm 32nd, the week before.
How it happened
The Hokies dropped a rubber match Sunday afternoon to the Blue Devils. Tech fell flat in a seven-inning loss that saw the Hokies lose 14-0 and match a season-low two hits.
In the two games before, each went to extra innings. Tech fell in the first thanks to a walk-off three-run homer, which saw the Hokies fall 6-3.
The next day, Tech responded with a vengeance. After a lengthy weather delay while already seven runs behind, things looked dire. However, after a fifth and sixth inning, which saw the Hokies tally eight runs.
It required a valiant eighth inning Duke run for the game to go to extra innings. After two grueling innings, the Hokies were able to mark a sole run while also keeping Duke away from tallying a tying or winning run.
What's next?
The Hokies have begun to slip in a lot of the major hitting stats. As it stands, the Hokies rank 11th in batting average with a .274. Virginia Tech has also dropped to the fourth-worst hits stats in the league with 393 hits.
Over the last three ACC series, Tech has mustered just 32 runs. While, they have faced competition that hosts all three of Tech previous opponents inside the ACC's top six, in FSU, who swept the Hokies rank as the second-best team in the ACC, UNC who won the series in a rubber match, places third, and Duke who did the same are currently sixth.
While the offense has slipped for the Hokies, Tech's pitching has been able to keep opposing offenses at bay. Tech sits 10th in the ACC for ERA with a 4.90 even. These stats don't pop out as eye-catching, yet a number of the runs conceded by the Hokies are in short spurts over an inning or two, rather than an extended peppering.
When you look at Liberty, the Conference USA side, the Flames look eerily similar to the Hokies. Liberty ranks second to last in batting with a .252 average. The Lynchburg side also places the fourth-worst run total with just 284 runs scored. However, Liberty finds itself with the second-best conference ERA with 4.65
The Flames also rank second in the conference with a .981 fielding percentage, further exuding their ability to defend in important situations.
Virginia Tech holds a 14-11 record at home, not giving the Hokies a platform for success necessarily, at English Field. Yet Tech holds a 10-3 record against teams outside of the ACC when playing at home. While Liberty sits 7-11 away from home this season
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Connor is a recent graduate from the esteemed Sports Media and Analytics program at Virginia Tech. He first found himself writing for recruiting database Rivals.com for just about two years before moving to Virginia Tech On SI. Connor has interviewed some of the highest-ranking members of Virginia Tech Athletics and looks to one day be a full-time writer covering Manchester United, his favorite soccer team.