Blacksburg Bombers Get Their Groove Back, Enter Top 25

And it wasn't just the weather which was cold, windy, and wet in classic northern Indiana fashion. No, it was more because the Hokies were soaking in the their second straight defeat to an inferior opponent after the Irish were able to grab game one. Dealing with injuries, weather, and an offensive slump the Hokies needed a jolt of energy to get their groove back. They got that with a top of the third inning where their slugging percentage leader laid down a sac bunt, and a freshman rising star ripped a double down the left field line.

It hasn't been pretty at times, but the Hokies are battling through every wave of adversity that rolls in. Now, the top 25 Hokies aren't just building a resume to make a Regional, they're looking to host for the second time in 4 years.

It was a cold and rainy day...and that did not bode well for the Hokies. A trio of errors allowed Notre Dame to get some offense rolling, and the Hokies found no such luck themselves. Both teams played in the same conditions, but it was clear that Notre Dame handled them better. On another weekend, that game is delayed or moved to another day, but the rest of the weekend wasn't much better.

The bigger story to come from the game other than the result was the removal of ace pitcher Brett Renfrow in before the start of the 4th inning. Renfrow was cruising, but rainy conditions and a less than stellar pitching mound gave the Hokie staff some fright, and they made the decision to pull Renfrow out of an abundance of caution. Was it the right move? Hard to blame them, but it did set the tone for the rest of the game. The Irish were making things happen, while the Hokies look like they wanted to get back to the hotel as quickly as possible. 

It's not an awful loss, per se. The Irish now have wins over the Hokies and nationally ranked Wake Forest and Florida State. But this is a rebuilding year for Notre Dame, and they should remain towards the bottom of the ACC standings.

That third inning I mentioned in the intro was truly the turning point of the series, but the story is Jake Marciano. The freshman arm was one of a handful of true freshman who had great weekends. His 6.2 innings pitched and 9 K's to 1 BB were wildly impressive. The Hokies needed him to step up, and he did. 

At the plate, Jackson Cherry continued his quiet run of excellent play with a 2-3 day and a couple of walks, exclamated by his second homer in as many days. In the absence of Garrett Michel, Cherry has added the consistent pop that the Hokies need to bring guys home. 

Speaking of filling in for injured first baseman, Michel, Anderson French put together a surprisingly stellar weekend defensively. Not because French isn't a talented freshman, but because French is a catcher by trade and was never really on the radar to play first this season. But he played very well, and his 6'6" frame was a factor in stretching to secure outs. He got the start on Saturday, and he may not give it up until Michel comes back. Another true freshman who came up big for the Hokies was Hudson Lutterman. Lutterman has been a solid defender on the hot corner at third, but his clutch hitting has shown up time and time again over the past month. On Saturday, he was able to rip an RBI double down the left field line to get the Hokies rolling. He has that "it" factor in big moments, which is outstanding for a true freshman. 

Looking for their third consecutive ACC series win, the Hokies turned to another freshman arm, Logan Eisenreich. Eisenreich has been on the comeback from a minor injury, so we hadn't seen him go deep into starts in a few weeks. But the Hokies needed him, and he delivered.

Eisenreich, much like Marciano, was hammering the strike zone on his way to a career high seven strikeouts. He had the zip that we saw early in the season, and looked very confident throwing his offspeed pitches early in counts. He very well may have been on a pitch count, so things are looking up for the rest of his season.

At the plate, the Hokies drew 8 walks and hit 5 doubles. That's been their receipe for success this season. They do sit 5th in the ACC in homers hit, but doubles have really been the bread and butter of this offense. Discipline at the plate is a big key in that, as pitchers have been forced into hitter-friendly counts time and time again. 

Sunday's win brought the Hokies to 9-6 in the ACC. Things are crowded at the middle, but with series wins over Louisville and Wake Forest, the Hokies have set themselves up well to be one step ahead of the pack as we move to the second half of the conference slate.

In the marquee non-conference game of the week across the nation, the Hokies did something that many thought they couldn't do: win a bullpen battle.

Chase Swift, another true freshman, was a beast to start this game. His 3 innings of 6 strikeout pitching was some of the most dominant stuff the Hokies have seen this season. His offense got things going early, too, with some aggressive base running from Jared Davis, a couple of doubles in the second inning, and a Ben Watson single in the third. Watson, last season's ACC batting champ, is heating up to all-conference levels again.

Unfortunately, Swift was the next in line of a slew of Hokies who have dealt with injuries issues. He exited during his fourth inning warm up pitches with some muscle soreness in his back. Coach John Szefc said postgame that he should be fine, but it's not a welcome development for a team that is starting to see meaningful players drop like flies.

Stepping in was a slew of Hokie bullpen arms that all had great performances. On the night, the Hokies tossed 17 strikeouts and allowed just 5 hits. Troy never got much going on offense, but when they did the Hokies came up with big strikeouts time after time.

At the plate, the Hokies found themselves grounding out way too much. Troy has a talented bullpen, but the Hokies just weren't able to elevate the ball all night. They left 5 runners on base between the second and fourth innings, which really kept Troy in the game. But this night was all about the pitching, and the Hokies are, against all odds, pitching lights out. 

Things are heating up in the ACC, as ten teams feel like they're jockeying for position. Florida State has started to falter a bit, Wake Forest is heating back up, while North Carolina and NC State remain steady. Oh yeah, and Georgia Tech and Clemson may both be death machines at the top of the ACC. Here's how I'd power rank the conference, with movement vs last week's rankings:

1. Clemson (-)
2. Georgia Tech (+1)
3. Florida State (-1)
4. Virginia Tech (-)
5. North Carolina (-)
6. Wake Forest (-)
7. Louisville (-)
8. North Carolina State (-)
9. Duke (+1)
10. Virginia (-1)
11. Miami (+3)
12. Boston College (+1)
13. Stanford (-2)
14. California (-2)
15. Pittsburgh (1)
16. Notre Dame (-1)

Florida State comes to Blacksburg for maybe the biggest series of the season. Enough said.