COLLEGE BASEBALL
Anthony Arguelles and Brady Kirtner combined to pitch a shutout Friday as Virginia Tech blanked North Carolina 7-0 to start a series in Blacksburg.
Arguelles (2-1) picked up the win for the Hokies (25-14, 11-10 Atlantic Coast Conference), pitching 7 1/3 innings while giving up five hits to the Tar Heels (26-16, 9-11), walking two and striking out seven. Kirtner finished the game with three strikeouts in 1 2/3 no-hit innings.
Tech senior David Bryant went 2 for 3 with a home run and three RBIs. Christian Martin was 2 for 3 with a home run, a walk and an RBI. Brody Donay homered and singled.
No. 20 Duke blasts No. 13 Virginia
No. 20 Duke went ahead early in a rain-delayed game and went on to rout No. 13 Virginia 17-5 in a series opener at Disharoon Park in Charlottesville. Giovanni DiGiacomo was 4 for 6 with a pair of doubles and four RBIs, and MJ Metz had three RBIs and was just a triple short of the cycle.
Metz’s two-run homer off Brian Edgington in the first inning set the tone for the Blue Devils (30-12, 13-8 ACC), who preserved their Coastal Division lead over the Cavaliers. Cox High graduate Ethan Anderson pounded a homer for UVA (34-10, 12-10) in the second that closed the gap to 2-1, but the Blue Devils regained control with a three-run third to go ahead 5-1. A five-run seventh all but ended UVA’s hopes.
Ethan O’Donnell’s RBI hit in the seventh and Casey Saucke’s two-run single in the eighth made it 11-4, but Duke plated six more runs in the ninth.
Anderson finished 3 for 5 and O’Donnell had two hits.
The series continues with a 4 p.m. game Saturday.
UMES overcomes Norfolk State
Maryland Eastern Shore (14-26, 10-9 Northeast Conference) scored four runs in the ninth inning to overtake host Norfolk State 10-8 in a series opener. The Hawks capitalized on three errors in the inning by the Spartans (8-31, 5-14). A throwing error allowed the tying run to score, and a two-out double by Bryan Widdowson gave UMES a 9-8 lead, handing John Horton a defeat.
NSU’s Tommy Woods and Dominic Joseph drove in two runs apiece, Justin Journette and Steven Shaffer scored twice each, and Journette had two of NSU’s eight hits.
Texas State routs ODU in series opener
Texas State dominated a series opener at Old Dominion, winning 11-1 as Levi Wells (7-2) held the Monarchs to two hits and two walks in seven innings, striking out 10.
The Bobcats (28-15, 11-8 Sun Belt), playing ODU (27-14, 10-9) for the first time, built a 7-0 lead by the fourth inning, dooming starter Blake Morgan (3-4) to defeat. ODU pinch hitter Jay Tarkenton averted a shutout in the ninth by singling home Camden Grimes.
Chase Mora and Ryan Leary each had a homer and two RBIs for Texas State, which will meet ODU again at 3 p.m. Saturday in the middle game of the three-game series.
Delaware overcomes W&M
Fast-starting Delaware (21-21, 10-9 Colonial Athletic Association) won 6-3 at William & Mary (25-18, 9-10) despite Nate Goranson’s two doubles and Tank Yaghoubi’s two hits and an RBI for the Tribe.
Conference games have become critical. Delaware is fifth and the Tribe is sixth, a half-game ahead of Stony Brook and one game ahead of Hofstra and North Carolina A&T.
Nate Pierce (4-4) took the loss. He gave up a three-run, four-hit second inning, and Andrew Amato’s two-run homer in the fourth moved the Blue Hens ahead 5-0.
Delaware pitchers Bryce Greenly (3-3) and Eli Atiya, who pitched the final four innings for his third save of the year, combined for a five-hitter.
The teams will play a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday to conclude the series.
UVA sophomore on list of top relievers
Virginia sophomore right-hander Jay Woolfolk was one of 56 pitchers, including seven from the ACC, featured on the midseason watch list for the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year, which goes to the nation’s top reliever.
Woolfolk has appeared in a team-leading 19 games this season and has recorded six saves. He is 2-0 with a 2.38 earned-run average in 22 2/3 innings, and he also is a quarterback on the football team.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Syracuse sweeps pair vs. UVA
Host Syracuse (22-22-1, 6-12-1 ACC) swept Virginia 8-3, 4-0 in a doubleheader, extending the Orange’s winning streak to seven games.
In Game 1, the Orange’s six-run third inning proved decisive. In the fourth, UVA’s Gabby Baylog coaxed a bases-loaded walk and Leah Boggs hit a two-run single to cut the deficit to 6-3, but the Cavaliers (29-20, 8-15 ACC) didn’t score again.
In Game 2, Madison Knight homered, scored two runs, drove in two and pitched a two-hit shutout to outduel Savanah Henley, who threw a complete game. Angel Jasso scored the Orange’s other two runs.
UVA’s Hylton named among nation’s best freshmen
Virginia infielder Jade Hylton was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association D1 National Freshman of the Year Top 25 list.
Entering the doubleheader with Syracuse, Hylton led UVA in batting average (.321), RBIs (25), hits (50) and stolen bases (21). She was tied for the team lead with 10 home runs.
No. 6 Clemson, No. 24 Hokies interrupted by rain
No. 6 Clemson (44-6, 17-4 ACC) and No. 24 Virginia Tech (33-16, 12-9) were scoreless in the top of the third inning Friday when rain made the field in Blacksburg unplayable. That game was scheduled to resume at 2 p.m. Saturday, followed soon after by another contest and the Hokies’ Senior Day festivities.
The series will conclude with a noon game Sunday.
No. 6 CNU’s doubleheader at No. 1 Salisbury postponed to May 6
Christopher Newport (24-6), which dropped four spots to No. 6 in Division III in this week’s poll, saw a doubleheader against No. 1 Salisbury (34-2) postponed from Sunday to Saturday, May 6, because of a bleak weather forecast.
COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL
Former ODU player signs with Hokies
Former Old Dominion basketball standout Mekhi Long made it official Friday, signing to play as a transfer for Virginia Tech after three years as a Monarch and one with Rhode Island.
Long committed in late March to the Hokies after averaging 10.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game last season. In four college seasons, he has averaged 6.9 points and 5.5 rebounds.
The 6-foot-7, 200-pounder from Bryans Road, Maryland, joined a team with returnees Hunter Cattoor, Sean Pedulla, Rodney Rice, Mylyjael Poteat, MJ Collins and Lynn Kidd, plus transfer Tyler Nickel (from North Carolina), among others.
Meanwhile, George Washington landed a commitment from Virginia Tech transfer Darren Buchanan Jr. The 6-foot-7 freshman forward from Washington, D.C., redshirted this season, but had many high-major offers out of high school.
COLLEGE MEN’S TENNIS
No. 2 W&M upset in CAA quarterfinal
Seventh-seeded Monmouth stunned second-seeded William & Mary 4-0 Friday in a Colonial Athletic Association quarterfinal at the Tribe’s McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center.
The Hawks (18-6) from New Jersey, who won six consecutive Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championships before their CAA debut, captured straight-sets victories at Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 6 singles to hand one of the Tribe (9-11) an early exit. W&M and Monmouth did not face each other in the regular season.
W&M’s Bill Duo trailed 3-2 in the third set when his match was abandoned, and teammate Joseph Brailovsky was about to begin a third set.
Also in the quarterfinals, top-seeded UNC Wilmington ousted ninth-seeded Hofstra 4-0 and No. 4 Drexel shut out No. 5 North Carolina A&T 5-0.
NSU falls in MEAC semifinal
Top-seeded South Carolina State eliminated fifth-seeded Norfolk State 4-1 in a MEAC semifinal indoors in Cary, North Carolina.
NSU’s Federico Rebecchini, playing his final college match, defeated Aissa Benchakroun 7-5, 6-0 at the No. 1 spot. But two Spartans retired because of injuries and two others lost in straight sets, so S.C. State advanced to Saturday’s title match. Benjamin Niv defeated Boris Lunin 6-2, 6-4 at No. 5 in the decider.
The Spartans advanced Thursday night with a stirring 4-3 victory over Howard in which Rebecchini and Adam Kaczmarek won a decisive tiebreaker 7-6 (7-4).
C2C semifinals Saturday at CNU
The Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Tournament began in Newport News, with fourth-seeded Salisbury shutting out fifth-seeded Pratt Institute of Brooklyn, New York, 5-0 at James River Country Club to advance to Saturday’s 3 p.m. semifinal against top-seeded UC Santa Cruz at Christopher Newport’s Eyre courts.
The other semifinal, also at 3, will feature third-seeded Christopher Newport trying to defeat second-seeded Mary Washington for the second time this season.
COLLEGE WOMEN’S TENNIS
Top-seeded ODU advances to Sun Belt semifinals
Top-seeded Old Dominion dismissed Texas State 4-0 in a Sun Belt quarterfinal in Peachtree City, Georgia.
Singles were played first to expedite the match, and No. 2 Sofia Johnson, No. 3 Shahar Biran, No. 5 Alexandra Viktorovitch and No. 6 Allison Isaacs won in straight sets against the Bobcats (8-15) to send the Monarchs (16-4) — ranked 33rd nationally — into Saturday’s semifinals. They will play at 10 a.m. against Georgia Southern, which rallied past Appalachian State 4-3.
The other semifinal will pit No. 2 James Madison against Marshall.
CNU women await UC Santa Cruz’s semifinal visit
As in the Coast-To-Coast men’s event, fourth-seeded Salisbury shut out fifth-seeded Pratt 5-0 to advance to Saturday’s semifinals.
Weather permitting, the tournament will move to CNU’s Eyre courts Saturday for two 11 a.m. matches. The second-seeded Captains face third-seeded UC Santa Cruz, while the Sea Gulls meet top-seeded defending champion Mary Washington.
AUTO RACING
Virginia Motor Speedway cancels Saturday program
Virginia Motor Speedway, a dirt track in Middlesex County, canceled Saturday’s races because rain saturated the grounds.
VMS next will host the Fastrak Touring Series on May 6 for a $5,000-to-win event.
