Virginia Tech Baseball Holds Off Virginia To Take Game 3 and Avoid Sweep
Virginia Tech used a pair of big middle innings and a strong start from Griffin Stieg to secure a 6–3 win over the Virginia Sunday afternoon in Charlottesville.
𝙏𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙬𝙚'𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚 🏡
— Virginia Tech Baseball (@HokiesBaseball) March 15, 2026
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Virginia Tech (9-9) scored all six of its runs across the fourth and fifth innings and leaned on a combined 13-strikeout pitching performance to earn the road victory and avoid being swept in Charlottesville.
The Hokies were quiet through the first three innings as Virginia starter John Paone held them hitless while striking out two. Virginia Tech’s only early baserunner came in the second inning when Sam Gates doubled to right field, but Paone stranded him with a strikeout of Owen Petrich.
Meanwhile, Stieg settled in early on the mound for the Hokies. The right-hander worked around a hit-by-pitch and single in the opening inning before inducing a double play to escape the frame. He followed with two clean innings, striking out two and allowing just one baserunner through the third.
Virginia Tech broke through in the fourth inning.
Ethan Ball started the rally with a single through the right side, and Treyson Hughes followed with a walk. With one out and two runners aboard, Hudson Lutterman delivered the biggest swing of the day, launching a three-run home run deep to left field. The blast — his team leading fourth of the season — carried 366 feet and gave the Hokies a 3–0 lead.
Stieg continued to cruise on the mound, stranding a pair of Cavaliers in scoring position in the fourth inning after Noah Murray singled and stole second base. The Hokies quickly extended their lead in the fifth.
Anderson French drew a leadoff walk before Pete Daniel was hit by a pitch to put two runners aboard. Sam Grube then lined a double to right field that scored French and moved Daniel to third.
Nick Locurto followed with an RBI groundout to plate Daniel, and moments later, Grube crossed the plate on a wild pitch to extend the Hokies’ advantage to 6-0.
Virginia finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth when Eric Becker launched a solo home run to right field, trimming the deficit to 6-1.
Stieg continued to dominate after the homer. The Hokies’ right-hander worked six strong innings, allowing just three hits and one run while striking out seven. He issued three walks and held Virginia’s lineup to one extra-base hit during his outing.
The Cavaliers threatened again in the seventh after Virginia Tech turned to Luke Craytor out of the bullpen. Kyle Johnson tripled down the right-field line to start the inning, and pinch hitter Antonio Perrotta followed with a two-run homer to right field that cut the Hokies’ lead to 6–3.
Virginia Tech quickly stabilized the game from there.
Brody Roe entered and recorded two quick outs to end the seventh before working into the eighth. Preston Crowl then handled the final four outs of the game, striking out three to earn his first save of the season.
The Hokies’ bullpen limited Virginia to just two runs after Stieg’s departure and prevented the Cavaliers from mounting a late rally.
Offensively, Virginia Tech made the most of limited opportunities, finishing with five hits but capitalizing on key moments. Lutterman led the way with three RBIs on his fourth-inning home run, while Grube added a double and RBI as part of the Hokies’ three-run fifth inning.
Ball and Lutterman each scored a run, and the Hokies manufactured additional offense with situational hitting and aggressive baserunning.
Virginia managed five hits of its own but struggled to generate sustained offense against Virginia Tech’s pitching staff. Becker’s solo homer in the fifth accounted for the Cavaliers’ first run, while Perrotta’s two-run pinch-hit blast in the seventh provided the final margin.
Paone took the loss for Virginia after allowing five runs on three hits across four innings. He struck out four and walked two before the Cavaliers turned to their bullpen.
The Hokies finished with 10 strikeouts at the plate but offset that with timely power and run production in the middle innings.
With the win, Virginia Tech snapped Virginia’s momentum and secured a valuable road victory against its in-state rival.
-6a5b43e289498e1daf5a7229ef5b8a73.jpeg "Josh Poslusny")
Joshua Poslusny - who goes by Poz - is a Radford University sophomore in the School of Communication. He graduated from Ocean Springs High School in Mississippi in 2024. He has previously done work for The Tech Lunch Pail, Tech Sideline, and Sons of Saturday, among others. He specializes in baseball coverage, which he has been doing for the last year. He also has experience covering football, basketball, and softball.