Virginia Tech holds off Virginia late, wins 6-3

Virginia brought the tying run to the plate in the eighth and ninth innings, but Virginia Tech held on for a 6-3 victory on Saturday at English Field in the second game of a three-game set.

After the Hokies (23-16, 16-13 ACC) built a 6-0 lead over the first three innings, Virginia (21-20, 12-17 ACC) chipped away in the final third of the game with a run in each of its last three trips to the plate. The Cavaliers left the bases loaded in the eighth and runners were stranded at second and third in the ninth.

Virginia Tech scored three runs on four hits in the bottom of the second and then plated three unearned runs all with two outs in the third inning, to account for all of its scoring on the night. Meanwhile on the mound, Hokies starter Anthony Simonelli kept the Virginia bats at bay.

The righthander worked 4.2 perfect innings before surrendering back-to-back two-out hits to Nic Kent and Chris Newell. He allowed an unearned run over seven innings of work and struck out seven batters.

The duo of Brandon Neeck and Matt Wyatt combined for 5.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen for Virginia. Cavalier relievers have not surrendered a run in the last 17.1 innings. Neeck recorded the final out of an eight-batter third inning and went on to strike out four over a career-high 2.1 innings of work. The four strikeouts also were the most by Neeck in a Cavalier uniform.

Wyatt pitched the final three innings of the game and matched a career-best established earlier this week against Liberty with six strikeouts. He sat down nine of the 11 batters he faced, allowing a hit and a walk.

Freshman Kyle Teel recorded his fifth RBI of the series with a run-scoring groundout in the seventh, the first Virginia run of the night. He scored on a wild pitch in the ninth and went 1-for-4 in the contest.

Classmate Jake Gelof was responsible for the second UVA run of the game after he scored on a wild pitch in the eighth. Gelof reached on a walk earlier in the frame and has now scored three runs in two games against the Hokies.

The final game of the series is scheduled for Sunday at 6 p.m. on ACC Network. Lefty Nate Savino (1-2) will be on the mound for Virginia. A starting pitcher for Virginia Tech has yet to be announced.