Friday, February 14
Blacksburg, Va.
1 p.m.
Bucknell University
0-1
0
at
19
Virginia Tech
1-0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Bucknell
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
3
Virginia Tech
4
2
0
4
4
3
2
0
X
19
18
0
Photo by: Lauren Medeiros
Baseball Beats Virginia Tech 8-6 in Nightcap to Earn Opening Day Doubleheader Split
2/14/2025 9:14:00 PM | Baseball
BLACKSBURG, Va. – Hardly demoralized by a tough start in game one of an opening-day doubleheader at Virginia Tech, the Bucknell baseball team bounced back for an 8-6 win over the Hokies in the nightcap on a frigid Friday at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park. Reigning Patriot League Rookie of the Year Chris Morabito delivered a clutch two-strike, two-out, three-run triple to give Bucknell the lead in the top of the seventh, and the bullpen slammed the door as four relievers combined to allow just an unearned run over 5.1 innings.
The Bison defeated Virginia Tech for the first time in six all-time meetings, and it was Bucknell's first win over an Atlantic Coast Conference team since beating Duke by an identical 8-6 score in 2022.
Two of Bucknell's four relief pitchers hit milestones in the game-two win, which came on the heels of a 19-0 defeat in the opener. Freshman Tyler Hawkins got four big outs and earned his first win in his collegiate debut. Junior Hadley Maxwell, who was limited to five appearances last season due to injury, was impressive in the ninth inning en route to his first career save.
The two teams played a doubleheader on Friday with rain in the forecast for Saturday. The three-game series will resume on Sunday at 1 p.m., with the rubber game streaming on ACC Network Extra.
Game 2: Bucknell 8, Virginia Tech 6
Bucknell quickly shook off the game-one blowout, scoring a run in the top of the first inning and three more in the second for an early 4-0 lead. Virginia Tech used a couple of long balls to draw even and then took its first lead with an unearned run in the fifth. But that would be the Hokies' final run of the game, and Morabito's clutch hit in the seventh gave the Bison the lead for good.
Virginia Tech reliever Andrew Sentlinger worked a 1-2-3 sixth inning but then got wild in the seventh. He walked two straight batters with one out, and then Preston Crowl came on with a 2-0 count on Tyler Dunn and issued another walk to load the bases. Crowl retired pinch-hitter Matt Alexander on a shallow fly ball to center, and then down in the count 1-2, Morabito pulled a ball down the right-field line that eluded a diving Ben Watson, plating all three runs for an 8-6 lead.
Nick Mulvey and Hawkins had picked up clutch outs in relief of Jake Schultz, and then Jonathan Adelmann came out of the pen and hung two more zeroes in the seventh and eighth innings. He retired the first two batters in the seventh before allowing a triple – Billy Fluharty almost made a spectacular diving catch on the warning track in center – but he got the final out on a weak ground ball to second.
Adelmann walked two batters in the eighth, and then in one of the biggest moments of the game retired Watson, the 2024 ACC batting champion, on a tapper to first base.
Maxwell pounded the strike zone against the heart of the Hokies batting order in the ninth. He struck out David Lewis and David McCann to start the inning. Garrett Michel flipped a ground ball inside the bag at third for a double, but Maxwell ended it by retiring pinch-hitter Jackson Cherry on a slow roller to first base.
Bucknell's first run of the season came on a two-out rally in the top of the first. Billy Kender walked with two outs, and then Dunn sliced a double to left, scoring Kender all the way from first.
One inning later, Luke Nascimento reached on an infield hit and went to second on a throwing error. Fluharty followed with an RBI double, Brady Karp walked, and then Michael Chiaravallo singled home Fluharty to end the day early for Virginia Tech starter Grant Manning. Michael Trommer's fielder's choice grounder made it 4-0.
Sam Tackett hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the second, and then McCann tied it at 4-4 with a solo shot in the third. Both teams scored single runs in the fourth – Bucknell on an RBI double by Trommer and Virginia Tech on a run-scoring double by Treyson Hughes – and then the Hokies took the lead in the 6-5 lead in the fifth on a two-out throwing error.
Virginia Tech outhit Bucknell 8-6 in the nightcap, but the Bison drew seven walks from six different Hokies pitchers. A big key for Bucknell's pitching staff was retiring the leadoff batter in all nine innings.
Game 1: Virginia Tech 19, Bucknell 0
Game one did not go Bucknell's way, as two defensive miscues within the first three at-bats in the bottom of the first set an ominous tone. Virginia Tech went on to score four runs in the inning, with the big blow a two-run double by McCann.
The Hokies went on to score multiple runs in five more innings, all while four pitchers combined to blank the Bison on four base hits. Virginia Tech rapped 18 hits in the game, eight of which went for extra bases. Jered Davis drove in four runs, while McCann, Nick Locurto, and Hughes knocked in three each. Hughes hit the game's only home run.
Chiaravallo reached base twice with a single and a walk, and Dunn, Garrison Bullock, and Alexander also delivered base hits. Ryan Facinelli, the opening-day designated hitter, walked twice. Bullock's pinch hit was his first knock as a Bison after transferring from nearby Emory & Henry.
Tyler O'Neill started and allowed six runs, four earned, in three innings of work. Three freshmen pitchers made their collegiate debuts. AJ Murray, Frankie Bilecki, and Samuel Janik all had bright spots, even though all allowed runs against the potent Virginia Tech lineup. Ryan DeLaney worked a scoreless eighth inning.
Brett Renfrow started for the Hokies and allowed one hit while striking out six in four innings. Jake Marciano tossed three shutout innings in relief and earned the win.
The Bison defeated Virginia Tech for the first time in six all-time meetings, and it was Bucknell's first win over an Atlantic Coast Conference team since beating Duke by an identical 8-6 score in 2022.
Two of Bucknell's four relief pitchers hit milestones in the game-two win, which came on the heels of a 19-0 defeat in the opener. Freshman Tyler Hawkins got four big outs and earned his first win in his collegiate debut. Junior Hadley Maxwell, who was limited to five appearances last season due to injury, was impressive in the ninth inning en route to his first career save.
The two teams played a doubleheader on Friday with rain in the forecast for Saturday. The three-game series will resume on Sunday at 1 p.m., with the rubber game streaming on ACC Network Extra.
Game 2: Bucknell 8, Virginia Tech 6
Bucknell quickly shook off the game-one blowout, scoring a run in the top of the first inning and three more in the second for an early 4-0 lead. Virginia Tech used a couple of long balls to draw even and then took its first lead with an unearned run in the fifth. But that would be the Hokies' final run of the game, and Morabito's clutch hit in the seventh gave the Bison the lead for good.
Virginia Tech reliever Andrew Sentlinger worked a 1-2-3 sixth inning but then got wild in the seventh. He walked two straight batters with one out, and then Preston Crowl came on with a 2-0 count on Tyler Dunn and issued another walk to load the bases. Crowl retired pinch-hitter Matt Alexander on a shallow fly ball to center, and then down in the count 1-2, Morabito pulled a ball down the right-field line that eluded a diving Ben Watson, plating all three runs for an 8-6 lead.
Nick Mulvey and Hawkins had picked up clutch outs in relief of Jake Schultz, and then Jonathan Adelmann came out of the pen and hung two more zeroes in the seventh and eighth innings. He retired the first two batters in the seventh before allowing a triple – Billy Fluharty almost made a spectacular diving catch on the warning track in center – but he got the final out on a weak ground ball to second.
Adelmann walked two batters in the eighth, and then in one of the biggest moments of the game retired Watson, the 2024 ACC batting champion, on a tapper to first base.
Maxwell pounded the strike zone against the heart of the Hokies batting order in the ninth. He struck out David Lewis and David McCann to start the inning. Garrett Michel flipped a ground ball inside the bag at third for a double, but Maxwell ended it by retiring pinch-hitter Jackson Cherry on a slow roller to first base.
Bucknell's first run of the season came on a two-out rally in the top of the first. Billy Kender walked with two outs, and then Dunn sliced a double to left, scoring Kender all the way from first.
One inning later, Luke Nascimento reached on an infield hit and went to second on a throwing error. Fluharty followed with an RBI double, Brady Karp walked, and then Michael Chiaravallo singled home Fluharty to end the day early for Virginia Tech starter Grant Manning. Michael Trommer's fielder's choice grounder made it 4-0.
Sam Tackett hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the second, and then McCann tied it at 4-4 with a solo shot in the third. Both teams scored single runs in the fourth – Bucknell on an RBI double by Trommer and Virginia Tech on a run-scoring double by Treyson Hughes – and then the Hokies took the lead in the 6-5 lead in the fifth on a two-out throwing error.
Virginia Tech outhit Bucknell 8-6 in the nightcap, but the Bison drew seven walks from six different Hokies pitchers. A big key for Bucknell's pitching staff was retiring the leadoff batter in all nine innings.
Game 1: Virginia Tech 19, Bucknell 0
Game one did not go Bucknell's way, as two defensive miscues within the first three at-bats in the bottom of the first set an ominous tone. Virginia Tech went on to score four runs in the inning, with the big blow a two-run double by McCann.
The Hokies went on to score multiple runs in five more innings, all while four pitchers combined to blank the Bison on four base hits. Virginia Tech rapped 18 hits in the game, eight of which went for extra bases. Jered Davis drove in four runs, while McCann, Nick Locurto, and Hughes knocked in three each. Hughes hit the game's only home run.
Chiaravallo reached base twice with a single and a walk, and Dunn, Garrison Bullock, and Alexander also delivered base hits. Ryan Facinelli, the opening-day designated hitter, walked twice. Bullock's pinch hit was his first knock as a Bison after transferring from nearby Emory & Henry.
Tyler O'Neill started and allowed six runs, four earned, in three innings of work. Three freshmen pitchers made their collegiate debuts. AJ Murray, Frankie Bilecki, and Samuel Janik all had bright spots, even though all allowed runs against the potent Virginia Tech lineup. Ryan DeLaney worked a scoreless eighth inning.
Brett Renfrow started for the Hokies and allowed one hit while striking out six in four innings. Jake Marciano tossed three shutout innings in relief and earned the win.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Jake Marciano (1-0)
L: O'Neill, Tyler (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Mycah Jordan 1 ; Ben Watson 1 ; David McCann 1 ; Jackson Cherry 1 ; Sam Tackett 1 ; Clay Grady 1
3B: Nick Locurto 1
HR: Treyson Hughes 1
RBI: Treyson Hughes 3 ; Mycah Jordan 2 ; Nick Locurto 3 ; David Lewis 1 ; David McCann 3 ; Garrett Michel 1 ; Jared Davis 4 ; Jackson Cherry 2
SF: David McCann 1 ; Garrett Michel 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Treyson Hughes 3 ; Mycah Jordan 1 ; Ben Watson 3 ; David Lewis 3 ; David McCann 1 ; Jared Davis 1 ; Cam Pittman 1 ; Sam Tackett 2 ; Clay Grady 3 ; Ryder Kirtley 1
CS: Jared Davis 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
1
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballC
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
1B
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
IF/OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
IF/RHP
/ BaseballIn The Herd: Lehigh Game Preview And Sam Milligan Feature
Wednesday, September 17
In The Herd: Patriot League And Home Opener Preview And Cameron Lloyd Feature
Wednesday, September 17
In The Herd: World Championships Preview And Evelyn Bliss Feature
Tuesday, September 16
(Coaches Camera) Salem Men's Water Polo Vs. Gannon (9/21/25)
Monday, September 15