@CofCBaseball Rolls Past Virginia Tech

Wednesday, March 4

Blacksburg, Va.

3:00 PM

College of Charleston

Virginia Tech

3/5/2015 12:27:00 AM | Baseball

By: CofCSports.com

Box Score

BLACKSBURG, Va. – College of Charleston baseball picked up a road win over Virginia Tech, 8-3, in the Cougars' first midweek action of the season at English Field on Wednesday evening.

CofC (6-3 overall) has now won four of its last five after outhitting the Hokies, 11-9, with nine different Cougar bats recording hits.

The College benefitted from timely hitting, going 6-for-17 (.353) with runners on base and 6-for-14 (.429) with runners in scoring position.

After the Hokies struck first on a solo homerun, the Cougars plated four to command a lead in the third inning, and blew the game open with another crooked-number in the fifth.

Nathan Helvey (2-1) earned the win after starting the game and pitching effectively for 3.0 innings in a predetermined split. Wade Arduini, Jake McBreairty, Brandon Glazer, and Chase Henry all took the mound and collectively limited the Hokies to one run on three hits without issuing a walk in six innings.

“Our pitching staff did a really good job today,” said head coach Monte Lee. “They pounded the strike zone and really limited our free passes today. We got production from every guy in the lineup, with several guys giving us multiple quality at bats. We did a really good job of hitting with two strikes; we only struck out four times today which put a lot of pressure on their defense.”

After both teams went down in order in the first, Blake Butler doubled to left center to represent the first base runner of the game in the second inning, but was eventually stranded. In the bottom half of the inning, the Hokies' first runner came by way of a solo homer off the bat of cleanup hitter Brendan Hayden, giving the Hokies a 1-0 lead.

Charleston's response was immediate, and aided by three Virginia Tech fielding errors which led to four unearned runs in the top of the third. Bradley Jones led off the inning with a single up the middle, and the Hokies committed a fielding error trying to set up a double play two batters later. The Cougars then scored a run on each of their next four plate appearances, first on an RBI single to right by Tommy Richter. With runners on the corners, Carl Wise sent a would-be sacrifice fly to left, and an error on the Hokie leftfielder allowed Ryan Brown to score unchallenged. Nick Pappas and Butler then sent back-to-back RBI singles to right to put CofC up 4-1.

The Hokies started the bottom of the third with back-to-back, seeing-eye singles with one out, and the Cougars elected to pitch around Hayden with an unoccupied base. Helvey put a hitter down on strikes for a pivotal second out, but Miguel Ceballos squeaked a single through the left side to cut the lead to 4-2.

The score held there until the Cougars went back to work in the fifth, ultimately plating three runs on three hits in the inning. Brown led off the inning by legging out an infield single, followed by a hit-by-pitch and an RBI single by Wise. A free pass to Pappas loaded the bases with no outs, which allowed a run to score on an ensuing double play ball. With two outs and Wise on third, Morgan Phillips sent an RBI single to right, putting the Cougars up 7-2.

With Helvey pitching in a predetermined split, Wade Arduini replaced him in the fourth and dealt two blemish free frames, retiring the first seven hitters he faced to get the Cougars into the sixth. The Hokies got to him later in the sixth, however, chipping away at the lead on singles by Ceballos and Andrew Mogg to cut the lead to 7-3.

CofC quietly produced a scoring opportunity by waiting out back-to-back two-out walks in the eighth, and Champ Rowland singled through the left side to take the run back.

Through the middle-late innings, Jake McBreairty allowed only one baserunner in 1.0 innings of work, and Brandon Glazer retired all five hitters he faced in the 1.2 innings he dealt between the seventh and eighth innings. Chase Henry closed out the game in the ninth.

“Overall we were very good in all facets of the game,” said Lee. “It was the best, most-complete game we've played this year, and I'm very proud of my guys for that.”

The Cougars are now set for a three-game series at nearby Radford, with game one slated for Friday, March 6 at Radford Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.