The Virginia Tech Hokies and head coach John Szefc had their smiles and an early 5-0 lead over the Duke Blue Devils wiped away with a huge six-run rally in the bottom of the third inning.
As the two squads prepared for the 4th inning, the ACC network crew caught up to Szefc to get his thoughts on starting pitcher Wyatt Parliament’s first two innings on the mound.
“He was,” said Szefc when asked if Parliament was good to open the contest. “He was good early; he was in the zone, got some carry to his fastball, and he did a good job for us out of the gate. And, as you said, that last inning kinda just blew up on us.”
Virginia Tech was able to get the scoring barrage rolling in the second inning following a series of walks by the Duke pitchers. The Blue Devils gave up four straight walks to the Hokies, followed by a few hits, one of which was a three-run home run to put Virginia Tech on top early.
After taking a 5-0 lead in the second inning, Virginia Tech finds themselves down by one. With this extreme shift in polarity, what is Szefc telling his Hokies players in the dugout?
“It’s just about coming from behind now. We just gave up six, you know. In that inning, it was really good. It’s kind of rare that you see straight walks. (Henry) Cooke’s at-bat in that inning was especially good… he barely laid off that last one to give us a run. And then (Carson) DeMartini gave us a big swing,” said Szefc.
Virginia Tech is down by one, but given the way both teams have shown an ability to explode offensively early in Tuesday night’s contest, the Hokies are far from out of this game. Szefc’s pitchers must find themselves on the mound while their hitters remain active at the plate.
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