Blacksburg, Va. – (February 26, 2022) – Virginia Tech's Conor Hartigan drove in three runs, while Eric Malinowski and Tanner Schobel each homered, as the Hokies took game two of a three-game series against the Fordham Rams by a score of 8-2 in Blacksburg, Virginia.
For the second straight day, the Hokies built an early lead, taking a 4-0 edge by the third inning. In the first, Eric Malinowski had an RBI-double, while Conor Hartigan had an RBI-single for a 2-0 lead. Then in the third, Malinowski connected on a solo home run to center with Hartigan picking up his second RBI-single of the game.
Fordham then cut the lead in half in the fourth, when
Zach Selinger hit a two-run home run to left, his first of the season, making it a 4-2 game.
The Rams threatened to cut into the deficit more in the fifth, as
Michael Taylor led off with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice by
Richard Grund. After a pitching change,
Cian Sahler entered as a pinch-hitter and drew a walk to put two on with one out.
Chris Genaro pinch-ran for Taylor, and tried to score on the next play, as
C.J. Vazquez singled through the left side, but Genaro was thrown out at home, keeping the score at 4-2.
The Hokies then grabbed the momentum, scoring once in the fifth, twice in the sixth, and once in the seventh to come away with the 8-2. The highlight of those innings was a two-run home run by Tanner Schobel in the sixth.
For Fordham,
Brooks Ey (0-2) took the loss, allowing four earned runs over five innings of work with four strikeouts, while
Cameron Knox gave up three runs over the final three innings.
The same two teams will play the finale of the series on Sunday at 1:00 PM.
