Virginia Tech Falls Short in 5-4 Loss To Pitt

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Virginia Tech baseball carried the lead into the late innings in game two against Pitt and appeared in control. But a three-run eighth inning swung the momentum as the Panthers narrowly inched past the Hokies to steal a narrow 5-4 win.

"We were up 4-1 going into the eighth," said Virginia Tech head coach John Szefc after the game. "We blew the game."

𝙍𝙪𝙗𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙩𝙤𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙬#Hokies 🦃⚾️ pic.twitter.com/0iCT5dNHps
— Virginia Tech Baseball (@HokiesBaseball) April 19, 2026

The Panthers (24-13, 7-10 ACC) — led by a three-hit day from Trey Fenderson — struck first. After a pair of one-out singles, runners were on the corners for Sebastian Pisacreta, who skied a ball to right field, deep enough to bring in Fenderson for the game's opening run.

Virginia Tech (18-19, 8-12 ACC) starter Griffin Stieg cruised from there, keeping the Panthers off the board for the next four innings of work. He finished the day with 93 pitches across six innings, where he surrendered a single run on nine hits. He struck out three batters.

"[Griffin Stieg] pitched great — that’s what we expect him to do," said left fielder Hudson Lutterman after the game. "He’s a really good pitcher. We’ve just got to do better... it puts a sour taste in your mouth."

The Hokies wouldn't strike back until the bottom of the fourth — against Pitt's third and fourth pitcher of the game.

A dropped third strike allowed Ethan Ball to reach and be followed by a walk from Henry Cooke before Lutterman bunted over both runners to second and third.

Sam Grube then lifted a pitch to left field, allowing Lutterman to tag up and score to tie up the ball game.

“They’re bringing lefties in to face him," Szefc said of Grube. "That tells you what you need to know.”

Virginia Tech took its first lead of the game in the fifth, when a walk and a throwing error put runners on the corners with nobody out. Pete Daniel then grounded into an untimely double play, but the play brought in Owen Petrich for the go-ahead run, 2-1.

The Hokies piled on in the sixth, where Lutterman got things started with a one-out solo shot to left field — 387 feet for his seventh jack of the season. By that point, Pitt was onto its sixth pitcher of the game, and it would bring in Michael Savarese to be the seventh after the solo shot.

“I was kind of just looking first-pitch fastball, and I got one right down the middle," Lutterman said. "I was just trying to hit it hard and far.”

The Hokies added another run in the sixth.

Grube punched a full-count single up the middle before Nick Locurto roped a ground-rule double to put runners on second and third.

That ground rule double proved costly — for the Hokies. Grube was rounding for home as the outfielder was getting to the ball, and Locurto was rounding for third.

Ethan Gibson pushed a flyball to center field, deep enough to score Grube on the sacrifice fly. That tagging runner would have been Locurto — giving the Hokies a 5-1 lead — if his double didn't bounce over the wall.

The Hokies ended up losing by one run.

In the top of the seventh, Chase Swift was the first arm out of the pen. He tossed a scoreless frame, working around a two-out walk to AJ Nessler. He struck out two batters in the outing.

That was the end of his his day, though. Logan Eisenreich — who ended up recording an unofficial blown save and the loss— entered the game, where he surrendered four runs on five hits and a single free pass.

"[Chase Swift] hadn’t pitched in like 10 days," Szefc said. "That was about as much as we were going to get out of him. I wish we could’ve gotten more, honestly, but he was probably good for about three outs, and that’s what we got.”

The Hokies had a chance to punch back in the fifth, where Willie Hurt roped a two-out pinch-hit double to the right-center gap, putting the tying run in scoring position.

Lutterman took to the plate and scorched a ball to third, but it wasn't too much for Pitt's substitute third basemen Anthony LaSala, who corralled the ball and fired it to first to end the game.

Going into Sunday, the Hokies are in desperate need of a series win. They are the likely favorite heading into the game; Pitt was required to use eight pitchers in today's matchup, including their arguable best bullpen arm in Eddie Smink.

The Hokies will have Preston Crowl and Luke Craytor — among others — available for tomorrow's game, and Ethan Grim figures to be the likely starter on the mound. Game three is set for 1 p.m. ET.

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