Hokies Stifled by Seminoles, Bounce Back vs Bucs

No, not the Hokies, but the Seminoles of Florida State. 

That's not to say the Hokies can't go on a run, but on a cold weekend in Blacksburg it was clear that the road warriors from Tallahassee had some guys get off the bus that the Hokies just couldn't match up with. It was a bad time to catch the 'Noles as well. They were coming off getting swept at Wake Forest and losing a close game to rival Florida in the midweek. Generally, you don't want to take on a team with 2 MLB-caliber starters and some elite offensive players when their back is against the wall. 

In fairness to the Hokies, they competed and were somewhat unlucky. The Hokies hit deep flies to the warning track six times over the weekend, including a couple on Sunday that on a normal day at English Field leave the park and would've resulted in a Hokies win. And the pitching was very good outside of one bad inning on Saturday evening. Renfrow, Marciano, and Crowl in particular were all very good. But Florida State was just a little bit better in every facet of the game. They were able to hit a couple solo homers, got some huge strikeouts with men on base, and turned a whopping six inning ending double plays over the weekend. 

This is life in the ACC. It's not going to be easy. Every team has to pick themselves up out of the mud once or twice a season. Last weekend the Seminoles did just that, next weekend it's the Hokies's turn. 

Brett Renfrow stepped up in a huge way on Friday, striking out 5 in a row over the first two innings and giving the Hokies a chance to jump out on top early. But with two men on and no outs in the bottom of the second, Hudson Lutterman hit a liner right at the right fielder during an attempted hit and run that ended in an unfortunate double play. Next at bat, Anderson French flew out to deep right. That would pretty much sum up the Tech offense over the weekend.

Florida State's starter Joey Volini has been impeccable this season, and he continued his stellar pitching by holding the Hokies to just two hits over seven innings of work. The Hokies just couldn't find the outfield grass and struck out at some inopportune times. Florida State's defense behind him was sensational.

This was just a grudge match, and the Hokies couldn't break through. In the bottom of the 9th inning, the Hokies were able to get singles from Ben Watson and Henry Cooke to bring the winning run to the plate. But the inning ended without much fanfare as McCann and Lutterman both flew out to end the game.

The second game of the double header started similar to the opening game. And just like the weather, the Hokies offense continued to stay cold when it should've been heating up. 

Florida State was throwing projected top 10 draft pick, Jamie Arnold. Arnold has been one of the best arms in the country this season, and he showed it. Henry Cooke was able to knock in a run in the fourth with a double, but that was it for the Tech offense. The Hokies weren't able to grab a lot of free bases, very few extra base hits (or hits at all), and no real action on the base paths. 

Offensively, the Seminoles used 4 (four!!) solo home runs to get out to a 4-1 lead over the first 6 innings. The Hokies bullpen collapsed in the 7th, and the game suddenly was out of reach. It was a tough end to a hard fought day for the Hokies. Truthfully, the score doesn't accurately reflect the pace of the game. It never felt over the first two games that the Hokies were out of it until the 7th inning. The big inning just never happened for the Hokies. 

This team really misses Garrett Michel. Not only is he a solid first baseman, but his tendency to get a hit at the right moment in the middle of this lineup is being sorely missed. The Hokies are overly reliant now on Watson and Tackett to get the extra base hits for this team, and it's not working. Similarly, Tech has slowed down it's aggression on the base paths, putting more pressure on the lineup to string together 3-4 singles in order to score some runs. You understand the need to be cautious when you're working with a relatively beat up team, but the Tech offense looked very vanilla over the weekend (and in fact, vs Troy as well in the midweek). 

You can go ahead and just re-read the summary of game 1 for this one. 

The Hokies were, no exaggeration, a combined 4 feet away from winning this game. Multiple deep fly balls caught right on the outfield fence and some inning ending double plays saved Florida State pitcher Wes Mendes from a pretty awful stat line. That's how baseball goes sometimes, and unfortunately it happened twice in the same weekend for the Hokies. However, it should also be pointed out that yet again the Hokies were unable to muster anything in the bottom of the 9th down just a few runs. It's been a theme in home losses for the Hokies this season, as their hasn't been much late inning magic at English Field this season. In their five losses by 2 or less runs at home, the Hokies are hitting 5-20 (.250) with 2 doubles, 1 walk, and 0 runs in the bottom of the ninth. 

The the second straight week, the Hokies picked up a really solid midweek win vs a projected Regional team. This time, the Hokies walked into Johnson City, Tennessee and smoked a very talented ETSU Buccaneers team that is one pace to win the SoCon. The offense was finally able to get the long ball going, as Henry Cooke and Ben Watson both homered early in the game. To supplement, Hudson Lutterman, Clay Grady, Ethan Gibson, and Watson all had RBI doubles that helped the Hokies pull away. It was the best offensive showing for the Hokies in a while, and it came against an ETSU pitching staff that has been very good this season. Remember, these Bucs beat Tennessee in Knoxville earlier this season and also have an ACC series win vs Pitt under their belt. 

On the mound, Jacob Exum got the midweek start in place of the injured Chase Swift. Exum had his best stuff of the season, facing only 8 batters through the first two innings. After that, the Hokies were able to grab solid innings from Josh Berzonski (2.1 IP) and Mathieu Curtis (4.2 IP) to shut down a Bucs offense that is 5th in the country in home runs, 6th in slugging percentage, and 16th in batting average.

It's also a big win for the tourney resume, as the Hokies move to 10-9 in Quad 1 RPI games this season. The Hokies moved up 5 spots to #34 in the latest RPI rankings, and are 25th in D1 Baseball's "Diamond Sports Ranking" (a measure that is recognized by the NCAA Selection Committee). Overall, the series sweep at the hands of Florida State is less than ideal, but hardly a killer for the Hokies. There are plenty of chances for big ACC wins, and the non-conference slate is providing more and more key opportunities vs Regional teams. 

The Hokies are sitting at 9-9 in the ACC along with a slew of other teams floating around the .500 mark. Luckily, Duke, Virginia, and Wake Forest continue to be up and down enough for the Hokies to have survived being swept over the weekend. I would also say that the Hokies have faced one of the tougher schedules in the conference so far.  Tech has not played 5 of the bottom 6 ACC teams, which is hurting their ACC record but coincidently helping out their RPI metrics. The Hokies will not play Miami, Cal, Stanford, or Boston College this season...yeah...I told y'all it was going to be a brutal schedule. Regardless, here's what the ACC Tournament seeding looks like at the moment:

And here's an update to my power rankings, with movement from last week's rankings in parenthesis:

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

Ain't no rest for the wicked.

The Hokies will host #12 North Carolina this weekend in Blacksburg in what will be a pivotal game in the ACC standings. North Carolina dropped their first two ACC series vs Stanford and Louisville, but since have been on a run of four consectuive series wins, including a sweep of Wake Forest. They have played a relatively easy ACC schedule, however. Series wins against Miami, Duke, and Boston College have certainly helped propel them to an 11-7 ACC record. Still, this is a very talented team that is deserving of their national ranking. The Heels are a veteran team led by 1B Hunter Stokely and SS Alex Madera who are both hitting north of .300. Starting pitchers Jake Knapp and Aidan Haugh are both very good, but the entire staff is solid boasting a WHIP of 1.20 which is good for 8th in the nation. It will be up to the Hokies bullpen to throw strikes, as this is not a terrifying UNC offense that ranks 12th in the ACC in OPS (Hokies rank 5th in OPS).

In the midweek, the Hokies will travel to Richmond to play VCU in what is a can't lose game against a struggling Rams team.