Making its first postseason appearance since 2013, the Virginia Tech baseball team has earned the No. 4 national seed in the 2022 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship – its highest all-time designation – as the Hokies prepare to host three challengers during this weekend’s Blacksburg Regional at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park.
Within the Blacksburg Regional (double-elimination format), top-seeded Virginia Tech (41-12, 19-9 ACC) will compete against second-seeded [No. 12] Gonzaga, third-seeded Columbia and fourth-seeded Wright State for a spot in next weekend’s NCAA Super Regional round. Tech will contest its Blacksburg Regional opener on Friday, June 3, against Wright State (7 p.m., ACC Network) – a rematch of the teams’ March series in Blacksburg that was won by the Hokies.
The winner of the Blacksburg Regional is pitted opposite the winner of the Gainesville Regional that features top-seeded Florida (No. 13 national seed), second-seeded [No. 22] Oklahoma, third-seeded Liberty and fourth-seeded Central Michigan.
Tech’s 2022 NCAA tournament berth marks the program’s 11th all-time appearance, including its third since joining the ACC (2010, 2013). The Hokies will be making their first NCAA tournament appearance under the leadership of fifth-year head coach John Szefc – the 2022 ACC Coach of the Year – who has now led three programs to eight combined regional berths (Marist – 4, Maryland – 3, Virginia Tech – 1).
Virginia Tech’s 2022 campaign has been nothing short of historic. Champions of the ACC Coastal Division for the first time, the Hokies entered Monday’s selection show ranked No. 5 in the RPI, victors of a program record, nine ACC regular season series (six against D1Baseball’s top 25) and winners of 31 of their last 37 games.
On the field, Tech is led by its two Golden Spikes Award national semifinalists – third-year outfielder Gavin Cross and sophomore shortstop Tanner Schobel – as well as its two Dick Howser Trophy national semifinalists, Schobel and sophomore outfielder Jack Hurley. Eight Hokies also received year-end, all-conference praise from the ACC, highlighted by their record four All-ACC First Team selections: Cross, freshman pitcher Drue Hackenberg, Hurley and Schobel.
Blacksburg Regional
No. 12 Gonzaga (37-16, 20-7 WCC) was in the regional hosting conversation as recently as last week despite finishing runner-up to San Diego during the WCC championship round. The Bulldogs swept their March series at Oklahoma State (No. 7 national seed) on their way to winning their second straight WCC regular season championship.
Columbia (30-16, 17-4 Ivy League) tied Penn for first place in the Ivy League regular season standings prior to finishing off the Quakers in three games to win the best-of-three league championship series. The Lions are making their seventh NCAA tournament appearance all-time and their sixth under head coach Brett Boretti (first since 2018).
Wright State (30-25, 20-9 Horizon League) won its 13th Horizon League regular season title this season before outscoring its conference tournament opponents by the combined 56-7 margin on its home field in Dayton, Ohio. In March, the Raiders knocked off unranked Virginia Tech, 11-5, during the teams’ weekend opener at English Field before the Hokies’ offense surged to win the final two games of the series, 9-3 and 17-1.
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