Virginia Tech Baseball: Hokies face upcoming test against Liberty Flames
The Virginia Tech Hokies 27-17 (11-13) are soon to face the Liberty Flames 25-19 (7-11) tomorrow evening, in what could be a reset for the Hokies' season.
Since the last preview was done, 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.
The dropoff, however, is still unexpected; the Hokies have been able to consistently topple teams ranked in the top 25. Heading into those aforementioned series, the Hokies were 6-1 against ranked opponents.
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.