Virginia Tech second baseman Jared Davis flashed the leather to end an inning twice Tuesday afternoon. The second instance was arguably the most impressive when he made a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch in shallow center field to leave the bases loaded and end the top of the sixth inning.
The Hokies made sure Davis鈥 highlight play didn鈥檛 go to waste.
Twelfth-seeded Virginia Tech scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to seize control as it defeated 13th-seeded Stanford 7-4 in the opening round of the ACC baseball tournament at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, North Carolina.
鈥淭he catch he made behind second base was probably the play of the game. It kept two runs off the board,鈥 Hokies coach John Szefc said on a video conference after the win of Davis鈥 sixth-inning catch. 鈥淯sually, he鈥檚 putting runs on the board with his offense. Today, he took runs off the board with his defense.鈥
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Virginia Tech second baseman Jared Davis makes a throw from shallow right field to retire Charlie Saum and end the top of the fourth inning. Davis also had an inning-ending catch in the sixth inning to highlight the Hokies鈥 7-4 win over Stanford in the first round of the ACC baseball tournament at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
The triumph is Tech鈥檚 first postseason win since the 2022 Blacksburg Super Regional, and it advanced the Hokies (31-24) into Wednesday鈥檚 second round and a matchup with fifth-seeded Clemson (41-15) at 1 p.m.
鈥淲e did enough,鈥 Szefc said. 鈥淵ou get to this point in the season and you鈥檙e kind of playing for your lives, so I was really happy for our guys and happy for their success.鈥
Tech and Clemson are meeting for the first time since the 2023 ACC tournament when the Tigers ended the Hokies鈥 season in pool play.
鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to win every single time that you鈥檙e out there because at this point it鈥檚 a brand new season and you can鈥檛 just think about, oh, if we鈥檙e not playing well, we鈥檒l get after them tomorrow because it鈥檚 already over at that point,鈥 Hokies closer Grant Manning said. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to go out there and give it everything you can.鈥
Tech entered the ACC tournament having lost its last five ACC series and went 3-12 in those contests. It atoned for the late-season struggles by taking the lead for good in the fourth inning against the Cardinal (27-25), getting 4 2/3 innings from starter Jake Marciano on three days rest and having Davis shine at second base.
鈥淲e鈥檝e run into a lot of adversity, but it鈥檚 just really important for everybody to stay focused, stay locked and be ready game by game,鈥 Manning said.
Virginia Tech closer Grant Manning (right) receives a high-five from teammate Anderson French during the Hokies鈥 7-4 win over Stanford in Tuesday鈥檚 first round of the ACC baseball tournament at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
Davis鈥 play to end the sixth inning allowed Tech to hold onto a 3-2 lead, and the offense took advantage of walks and a sun-ball single to extend the advantage to four runs.
Mycah Jordan scored when Cam Pittman reached on a fielder鈥檚 choice. Pittman and Ben Watson, who extended his hitting streak to 20 games with a sixth-inning single, both scored when Clady Grady reached on a sun-ball single that Stanford center fielder Charlie Bates lost in the sun.
Watson, Gray and Sam Tackett had two hits apiece and accounted for six of Tech鈥檚 11 hits.
Virginia Tech first baseman Sam Tackett went 2 for 4 in the Hokies鈥 7-4 win over Stanford in Tuesday鈥檚 ACC baseball tournament first-round game at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
鈥淲e had some luck. Obviously the bloop that fell that should have been caught in center field and got in the sun, that was probably a big play in the game. It goes from 4-2 to 6-2,鈥 Szefc said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 baseball, you know? Sometimes it goes for you, sometimes it goes against you, and today we got a break there.鈥
Another break came in the following half inning when the Cardinal loaded the bases against Cameron LeJeune and Grant Manning.
Manning settled in after walking the bases loaded by striking out Temo Becerra and Rintaro Sasaki as Stanford left the bases loaded for a second straight inning.
鈥淵ou go out there, be competitive, have trust in your pitches, and thankfully threw a pretty good changeup to be able to get the strikeout for the end of that ending,鈥 Manning said. 鈥淎fter that I felt confident, and it was smooth sailing from there.鈥
Manning recorded his fifth save by throwing the final 2 2/3 innings. He struck out six and allowed two hits.
Jimmy Nati hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning, but that was all the damage the Cardinal could manage against Manning.
鈥淚 thought they played a very good ballgame,鈥 Stanford coach David Esquer said of Tech. 鈥淲e were struggling to get that one moment to go our way.鈥
Esquer said the Hokies did the little things right in Tuesday鈥檚 game.
That included Marciano鈥檚 4 2/3-inning outing after he started last Friday鈥檚 game against Virginia.
The freshman southpaw allowed two earned runs on four hits and struck out five.
Virginia Tech freshman Jake Marciano delivers a pitch in Tuesday鈥檚 ACC baseball tournament first-round game against Stanford at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Marciano allowed two earned runs on four hits and struck out five over 4 2/3 innings.
Preston Crowl (2-0) struck out the final batter in the fifth and pitched into the sixth to record the win.
鈥淢arciano gave us a really good start,鈥 Szefc said. 鈥淭hat really got the game going in the right direction.鈥
Jackson Cherry and Pittman each had RBI singles in the fourth inning as the Hokies broke a 1-all tie and took a 3-1 lead.
Jordan hit his first homer in the seventh inning to put the Hokies ahead 7-2.
鈥淭hat was a big knock for him in a postseason game,鈥 Szefc said of Jordan.
The Hokies are expected to start Brett Renfrow against Clemson. He started last Thursday in the series opener against UVa and allowed two runs on eight hits over six innings.
鈥淲e were able to give Renfrow another day,鈥 Szefc said. 鈥淲e were kind of saying all along if we get it to Wednesday, we would feel much better about it on the mound.鈥
VIRGINIA TECH 7, STANFORD 4
Stanford 001 010 002 鈥 4 7 0
Va. Tech 001 203 10x 鈥 7 11 0
Volchko, Keenan (6), Uber (8) and Saum; Marciano, Crowl (5), LeJeune (6), Manning (7) and Cooke. W鈥擟rowl (2-0). L鈥擵olchko (3-4). S鈥擬anning (5). HR鈥擲tanford: Haskins (14), Nati (16); VT: Jordan (1).
