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Virginia Tech Comes Out Flat After Rain Delay, Falls 14-7 To NC State

Virginia Tech baseball came out flat after an hour-plus lightning delay and conceded six runs post-delay.
Josh Poslusny|
Blacksburg, VA — Hudson Lutterman celebrates a tying home run in game two vs NC State, 2026.
Blacksburg, VA — Hudson Lutterman celebrates a tying home run in game two vs NC State, 2026. | Virginia Tech Athletic

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Virginia Tech and NC State went back in fourth in a rain-delayed game, but the Hokies fell short with a 14-7 loss to force a game three rubber match.

On paper, this game may look like some of the ones from earlier in the season, like the run-rule losses to teams like Mississippi State or Texas A&M, where the Hokies (21-20, 10-13 ACC) would pepper in runs late in games to make the score look better than it was.

This was the opposite.

The Hokies — behind starter Logan Eisenreich — got things started in the first inning. A one-out double and a walk allowed runners to the corners with one out. That was where Tech beautifully executed a double-steal, plating Ethan Gibson from third.

NC State (27-15, 10-10 ACC) responded quickly in the second inning, where a five-pitch walk to lead off the inning was followed by a two-run blast to right field that bounced off the foul pole for a home run.

This began a very back-and-forth stretch of baseball.

The Hokies answered emphatically in the bottom half of the second, plating four runs on four hits.

Hudson Lutterman and Nick Locurto both reached base to start the frame before Pete Daniel pulled off a fake-bunt-swing that he muscled over the head of the first baseman for an RBI double.

Sam Gates, with runners on second and third, was looking to bring in the go-ahead run on a sacrifice squeeze play.

Instead, he laid a beauty of a bunt down the third-base line, scoring Nick Locurto and putting runners on the corners after he reached first.

The Hokies weren't content with just a one-run lead, though.

Gibson saw a pitch that he liked and he roped it into right field for a two RBI double, plating both Gates and Daniel, giving the Hokies a commanding 5-2 lead in the second inning.

The Wolfpack wouldn't go away.

In the top half of the third, a lead-off double and an infield single set up for Chris McHugh to blast a two-rbi double of his own into the right-center field gap.

An errant throw on a back pick attempt and a sac fly later, McHugh was pushed across the plate, tying the game once again.

Weather began playing a big factor at this point in the third inning.

After a pair of strikeouts, a five-pitch walk was issued to Nick Locurto before he took second on a wild pitch. A 25-minute weather delay then began and play resumed at 1:42 p.m.

Owen Petrich took advantage of his RBI opportunity, knocking a two-out RBI single into center field, giving the Hokies the lead once again.

NC State regained control against Ethan Grim in the top of the fourth with the help of Ty Head, who hit a 359-foot — the same distance as Dalton Bargo's first-inning blast — home run into right field, plating himself and Rett Johnson and giving the Wolfpack a lead that they would not relinquish.

The Hokies made an effort and tied the game in the sixth after Hudson Lutterman pulled a ball into the Virginia Tech bullpen to lead off the inning.

That ended NC State starter Cooper Consiglio's day. He allowed seven runs over four innings of work.

The NC State bullpen was nails, striking out 10 of the 16 combined batters that they faced — including Ryder Garino, who struck out seven of the nine batters he went up against.

Garino was the first out of the pen. He inherited a runner on first, but struck out the next three batters he faced to end the inning.

Virginia Tech did not have another baserunner until Garino's day was done.

NC State pushed the winning run across in the sixth, where a Pete Daniel error and a single from Luke Nixon set up Mikey Ryan to knock in a go-ahead sac fly, scoring Rett Johnson.

Things went quiet for a few innings from there until the top of the eighth, where lightning struck in Blacksburg.

Quite literally, lightning struck. Runners were held on first and second for NC State and the teams went to their respective locker rooms while they were in a weather delay.

After an hour and a half break, Ethan Grim's day came to a close. He finished with four earned runs in four innings of work.

NC State broke it open when Aiden Robertson came into the game, the first of three pitchers that the Hokies would use to get through the eighth.

A bases-loaded HBP and a sac fly plated a pair of runs, which were both credited to Grim. Robertson tallied a pair of outs before he was pulled.

Josh Berzonski was brought in for a lefty-lefty matchup against Dalton Bargo, but Berzonski plunked Bargo on his first pitch.

He handled Bayden Fraasman rather easily for the third out, but a dropped third strike/wild pitch — with the bases juiced — allowed every runner to advance and the inning to continue on.

If the out was made, the bleeding would have been stopped at 10-7.

Drew Lanphere hit the dagger into center, a two-RBI single that gave the Wolfpack a 13-7 lead, which felt insurmountable.

Anderson Nance would finish the game for NC State in place of Ryder Garino; he surrendered just one single in his outing.

NC State added on another run with a lead-off home run from Luke Nixon in the ninth, a 430-foot jack to right-center field.

After an incredibly eventful 14-7 loss, the Hokies will turn around and look to clinch the series on Sunday. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. ET.

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Josh Poslusny
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.

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