Three Takeaways From Virginia Tech Baseball's 2026 ACC Tournament Stint

Virginia Tech's stay in the 2026 ACC Tournament lasted two games, though the Hokies still provided plenty to analyze during their time in Charlotte. Here are three takeaways from the tournament:

No. 1: Ethan Ball is one of Virginia Tech's most dangerous hitters.

That's been evident throughout the course of the season, but that was especially clear in Tuesday's 17-10 second-round victory over Notre Dame. Ball received a cutter down the middle on his first at-bat that he pounded 409 feet to left-center field.

On his second at-bat, the same pitch approached the zone, and Ball followed suit by cranking it 413 feet to nearly the same location.

“Beach balls, probably,” Ball said when asked what he saw on the pitches. "First at-bat, I was just looking for one pitch at one spot. Got it and just handled it well. Second at-bat, got deeper into the count, worked some pitches, fouled some off. Just trying to keep it simple and I got cutter down the middle. Hung it up there, and just did what I should have done with it.”

This year, the sophomore is hitting .310 and has mashed a team-high 16 home runs. Against Notre Dame, he was 2-for-2 with two walks (one intentional), two hit-by-pitches and a pair of home runs.

𝘽𝘼𝙇𝙇-𝙞𝙣' 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙚 🔨

The rookie's reached base six times this evening:

≫ Solo home run
≫ Two-run home run
≫ Walk
≫ Intentional walk
≫ Hit batsman
≫ Hit batsman#Hokies 🦃⚾️ pic.twitter.com/zAFPTEVZR0
— Virginia Tech Baseball (@HokiesBaseball) May 21, 2026

Though he went 1-for-4 two days later against North Carolina, he again went yard.

No. 2: Pitching was OK at the ACC Tournament.

On Wednesday, Ethan Grim was tagged for four runs before an out was recorded. Sophomore Logan Eisenreich stepped on and proceeded to throw 4.2 innings of five-run, one-run, six-strikeout ball. In relief, Preston Crowl yielded five runs in two frames, though Luke Craytor and Madden Clement tossed a scoreless final 2.1 innings.

The output was less stellar Friday, though that's to be expected against a team of the caliber that No. 2 North Carolina is. Griffin Stieg was tagged for three hits, five runs (all earned) and a career-high five walks. Though he struck out four, North Carolina forced the junior into three first-inning three-ball counts and seven total.

In relief, Grim — fresh off the aforementioned four-run, 24-pitch outing two days prior — pitched 3.2 frames of one-run baseball departing after the seventh, where he set the Tar Heels down in order.

Brendan Yagesh, Crowl and Danny Lazaro manned the mound for the final frame for Tech. Virginia Tech yielded a triple to shortstop Jake Schaffner, then a single to center Owen Hull that elevated the gap to 8-4. For good measure, designated hitter Macon Winslow smashed a 423-foot jack over the center-field wall to give UNC a 10-4 advantage that held at game's end.

While Virginia Tech's bullpen proved occasionally leaky — Crowl and Yagesh were each tagged for two hits and two runs in 0.1 frames apiece — the Hokies took care of manageable competition in Notre Dame.

No. 3: The Hokies should be NCAA Tournament locks.

Virginia Tech sat in a position where little was lost from its contest with No. 2 North Carolina, a 10-6 affair where the Hokies threatened but could never quite challenge. Virginia Tech ceded a 4-3 lead that it snagged thanks to a Ball homer, but never got it back.

Still, thanks to their 17-10 victory over the Irish Wednesday, Virginia Tech should be well set for an NCAA Regionals berth for the first time since the 2022 season. As of May 22, D1Baseball projects Virginia Tech as the 3-seed in the Morgantown Regional, hosted by 12-seed West Virginia.

Virginia Tech has not played on the road for a regional under Szefc. The 64-team field will be announced on Selection Monday — Monday, May 25 — at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

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