Game Notes: No. 3 Virginia Tech to host Kansas State on Tuesday

No. 3 Virginia Tech baseball team will begin its final chapter of the 2022 regular season on Tuesday when the Hokies host Kansas State during non-conference play at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park.

Tuesday’s game between the Hokies and the Wildcats will air live on ACC Network with coverage beginning at 7 p.m. Fans may also tune into WRAD-FM 101.7 to listen to the game as called by the radio play-by-play voice of Tech baseball, Evan Hughes.

Probable Starters

• Tuesday:  Matthew Siverling (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Griffin Hassall (4-5, 6.14 ERA)

Virginia Tech Notes

• Hokies at a Glance:  Virginia Tech climbed in each of the six leading college baseball polls on Monday, setting a new program record with its No. 3 ranking per D1Baseball while peaking at No. 2 in Perfect Game‘s top 25. Coming off a top-10 series victory against then-No. 7 Louisville – Tech’s program record, eighth consecutive ACC series win – the Hokies stayed rooted inside D1Baseball‘s top 10 for the fifth consecutive week as they continue to pad their postseason resume. Tech is steadily honing in the opportunity of hosting an NCAA Regional for the first time since 2013 and has its sights set even higher on claiming a top-eight national seed in the NCAA tournament for the first time during its program history. Entering the final week of the regular season, Tech ranks No. 5 in the NCAA Division I Baseball RPI, having compiled 36 victories with a top-45 strength of schedule, including a 19-9 mark against the RPI top 100. The Hokies pull into Tuesday’s tilt against Kansas State having won 26 of their last 31 regular season games, including 10 consecutive non-conference victories. Tech’s 2022 club is also the program’s winningest at English Field during its ACC era, flexing a 25-5 record in Blacksburg.

• A Glimpse of Siverling:  Tuesday has the potential to mark third-year sophomore Matthew Siverling’s debut on the mound for Virginia Tech. Recovering from thoracic outlet syndrome, Siverling was a key contributor in Tech’s 2021 bullpen, tying for the team lead in appearances (22) while toeing the second most innings (29.1) among the Hokies’ relievers who did not make a start. Tech’s southpaw came up electric during the Hokies’ February 2021 series at No. 6 Miami, where he backed Peyton Alford with six strikeouts across four relief innings, holding the Hurricanes to a lone hit. Siverling went on to match his season high, six strikeouts again during Tech’s March sweep at No. 15 Pitt, finishing his second year in Blacksburg with a 4-1 record on the mound. During his recovery, Siverling was named the male recipient of the 2022 Skelton Award for Academic Excellence in Athletics, having earned Dean’s List and Athletic Director’s Honor Roll praise during every semester for which he has been enrolled at Virginia Tech.

• Blacksburg Homecoming:  Besides signifying the third all-time meeting between Virginia Tech and Kansas State, Tuesday’s game will mark the return of former Tech head coach Pete Hughes to Blacksburg. Hughes – who has won 748 games across his 25 head coaching seasons – led the Hokies for seven seasons between 2007 and 2013 and was at the helm when the program made its two most recent trips to the NCAA tournament (2010, 2013). In the present hands of fifth-year head coach John Szefc, Virginia Tech’s 2022 squad is pursuing – and in some ways, has already surpassed – many of the accomplishments set by Hughes’ 2013 club. Entering Tuesday, the Hokies’ 36 wins this season are the most the program has earned since 2013 when Tech finished 40-22. As a team, the 2022 Hokies are slugging more than 100 points higher than the 2013 squad (.557 to .440), having already mashed 33 more home runs than their 2013 counterparts. On the mound, Tech’s 2022 staff holds the comparative edge in ERA (4.09), strikeouts (445) and opposing batting average (.256) – all with a week remaining in the regular season. The 2022 Hokies are also actively chasing their best ACC regular season finish since Hughes’ 2013 team placed sixth in the year-end standings.