Virginia Tech NCAA Tournament blog from Columbia, S.C.
Game one: Tech vs. The Citadel
UPDATED (Virginia Tech trails 7-2 after seven innings)
Some quick thoughts through seven innings.
*It is unbelievably hot here in the open press box at Carolina Stadium. I’m craving some AC right now, or maybe a ceiling fan. Already finished off five bottles of water.
*Announced attendance for the Hokies game is 5,075.
*Center fielder Sean Ryan hit a home run over the left field wall in the seventh to break the shutout. It was Ryan’s second homer of the season.
*Virginia Tech starting pitcher Justin Wright was pulled with one out in the sixth inning. He was relieved by Marc Zecchino. Wright’s final line: 5 1/3 innings, 10 hits, six earned runs, one walk, five strikeouts.
*Wright threw 94 pitches. Here’s the rundown by inning (11, 27, 10, 13, 26, 7).
*Hokies outfielder Austin Wates routinely makes spectacular plays in the outfield, which is funny because I’ve read in places that some professional scouts have questioned his fielding ability. I have no questions. The kid can cover ground quickly and he rarely misjudges fly balls. He made another huge play in the fifth inning of today’s game, charging fast on a Nick Orvin fly ball before making a diving grab. According to ESPN’s Keith Law, Wates is the No. 24 prospect for next week’s amateur draft. Here was the quick scouting report Law wrote: “Can hit, can run a little, controls the zone, but has a long way to go in the outfield.” Here’s my scouting report: “Can hit a ton, can run extremely well and seems more than comfortable in right field.” I think he has a bright professional future.
*Not to be outdone by Wates, Ryan saved at least one run, maybe two, with his diving grab of Bryan Altman’s hard hit liner in the fifth inning. Runners were on first and second and were taking off on the pitch. If that ball had rolled to the wall, both possibly could have scored.
*The Citadel first baseman Justin Mackert has dropped two pop fouls in this game. Neither were particularly costly, though the Hokies had two runners on with two outs in the fifth when Mackert made his second drop. Steve Domecus flied out to end the threat.
*Hokies third baseman Tony Balisteri is 3-for-3 with three singles. It’s his fourth multi-hit game of the season.
.........................................................................................

UPDATED (Virginia Tech trails 4-0 after four innings)
Some quick thoughts through four innings …
*Tech has committed an error in 10 straight games. Michael Seaborn misplayed a fly ball today in the second inning. He was running out to catch the pop up while leftfielder Austin Wates was running in. The two appeared to get crossed up and the ball fell in between them. Grant Richards scored on the play.
*Hokies starting pitcher Justin Wright allowed four second-inning runs. It’s only the third time this season he’s allowed as many runs in one inning [four vs. Maryland on 3/12 and eight (six earned) vs. Kentucky 2/19].
*Wright threw 27 pitches in that inning. He threw no more than 13 in the other three frames (11 in the first, 10 in the third and 13 in the fourth).
*Hokies catcher Steve Domecus hit the longest single I’ve ever seen into the left-center field gap to start the fourth. The ball landed behind Citadel right fielder Matt Simonelli, but Domecus held up at first without attempting to advance any further.
.........................................................................................
I’M BLOGGING from Carolina Stadium in sweltering Columbia, S.C. I’ll be giving periodic updates from Virginia Tech’s NCAA Tournament baseball game today against The Citadel, so keep checking back.

This baseball park is amazing. I’d heard good things about it from News & Advance copy editor Matt Cobbs, who used to cover University of South Carolina. No words can do this place justice.

It opened in 2009 and still has that new stadium smell. The press box is spacious and open to the elements, which would be awesome if it weren’t so humid. I’ll get over it. Another cool detail is the center field grass has been cut into a palmetto design. The palmetto is South Carolina’s state tree.

This place is like a mini major league ballpark. The bleachers hold more than 8,000 fans. The field is not terribly big. It’s 325 feet down the right and left field lines and 390 feet to center field.

We could see some more long balls from the Hokies, who had a field day last week at NewBridge Bank Park in Greensboro, which was small in its own right.

Here are the starting lineups for both teams.

The Citadel (No. 3 seed, 42-20 overall record)
1. CF Nick Orvin
2. DH Brad Felder
3. RF Matt Simonelli
4. 2B Bryan Altman
5. 1B Justin Mackert
6. SS Kyle Jordan
7. 3B David Greene
8. C Grant Richards
9. LF William Ladd
Pitcher: Matt Talley (lefty, 7-3, 3.79)

Virginia Tech (No. 2, 38-20)
1. CF Sean Ryan
2. SS Tim Smalling
3. C Steve Domecus
4. RF Austin Wates
5. 1B Ronnie Shaban
6. LF Andrew Rash
7. 2B Michael Seaborn
8. DH Buddy Sosnoskie
9. 3B Tony Balisteri
Pitcher: Justin Wright (lefty, 8-4, 3.59)

One lineup observation. Andrew Rash, who crushed the ball last week while batting in the seventh and eighth spot in the lineup, is batting sixth today.

Buddy Sosnoskie is batting in the eighth spot, which Hokies coach Pete Hughes called “the magic eight hole” last week in Greensboro.

We’ll see how these lineup changes translate today against the Bulldogs.