Hokies Make a Statement: Virginia Tech Takes Down No. 20 Troy in Ranked Showdown
The Virginia Tech Hokies are on a mission — and they just added another marquee win to their growing résumé. Fresh off cracking the top 25 rankings, the No. 25 Hokies took the field with something to prove and walked away with a hard-earned 3-1 victory over the No. 20 Troy Trojans in a clash of two ranked contenders.
From the very first pitch, it was clear Virginia Tech came ready.
On the mound for Troy, left-handed junior Drew Nelson struggled out of the gate. The Hokies wasted no time attacking his pitches, tagging him for six hits and three earned runs in just two innings of work. Meanwhile, Virginia Tech’s freshman lefty Chase Swift was nothing short of electric in his start, striking out the side in a flawless first inning.
In the bottom of that opening frame, the Hokies struck first blood. Catcher Henry Cooke drove in centerfielder Jared Davis with a sharp single to center, setting the tone early for the home crowd.
The second inning brought more firepower from the Hokies. Shortstop Clay Grady doubled to left field before Ben Watson’s RBI single brought him home, pushing the lead to 3-0. On the other side, Swift stayed locked in, adding two more strikeouts in the second and wrapping up his night with three scoreless innings, six punchouts, and just one hit allowed.
Troy finally got on the board in the fourth, when right fielder Gavin Schrader roped an RBI double to cut the lead to 3-1. But that was all the Trojans would get.
From there, Virginia Tech’s bullpen took over — and they didn’t miss a beat. A collective effort from Josh Berzonski, Preston Crowl, Brendan Yagesh, Mathieu Curtis, and Grant Manning slammed the door shut, combining for six scoreless innings, just two hits, one walk, and 10 strikeouts.
Troy’s bullpen put up a strong fight of their own, but the early deficit was too much to overcome.
With the win, Virginia Tech improves to 6-1 against ranked opponents and continues to turn heads across the college baseball landscape. Next up? A high-stakes three-game series against No. 9 Florida State — and the Hokies are heating up at just the right time.