Virginia Tech celebrates walk-off win over Duke following error
Saturday evening’s ACC showdown on the mound between the Duke Blue Devils and Virginia Tech Hokies was a pitching duel and defensive battle that required extra innings to name a victor. And while the game featured some top-notch defensive plays and next-level pitching, it was a late mistake by the Blue Devils that gave the Hokies the win at home.
With runners on the corners and two outs down and the bottom of the 11th inning, Virginia Tech’s Riley Martin hit a ground ball straight to the Duke second baseman, who easily fielded the ball and tossed it to the first baseman for what would have been seemingly an easy out and close the inning. Unfortunately for the Blue Devils, their first baseman dropped the easy pitching catch, allowing Martin to reach first and the Virginia Tech runner on third to cross home and score the game-winning run.
The video below shows the Duke error that propelled Virginia Tech to victory and their ensuing celebration.
Pitching was the name of the game for Virginia Tech on Saturday night. The Hokies bullpen combined 12 strikeouts and held the Blue Devils hitters to just four hits on the day. Hokies senior pitcher Grant Manning was given the win out of the bullpen, which moved him to 2-0 in the season.
Offensively, Virginia Tech fared a little better than Duke, finishing the night with six hits and two runs. The Hokies batters battled all night, and we were able to force five walks from the Duke pitching stat. Virginia Tech’s top offensive player on the night honors went to senior Ben Watson. Watson went 2-3 in the game and was a recipient of two of the five aforementioned walks the Hokies caused on Saturday night.
Sunday will be the series’ final game between Duke and Virginia Tech. With the series tied at one apiece, the winner of the Sunday afternoon showdown takes the series. So far, both contests have required extra innings, with both ironically ending in the 11th inning. In Friday night’s contest, Duke was able to pull off the one-point victory, beating Virginia Tech 9-8 thanks to an RBI single from third baseman Ben Miller.