Bison Baseball kicked off their season with a three-game series against Virginia Tech. The Bison faced defeat in the first and third games but won the second.
The Hokies took control of game one. Within Virginia Tech’s first three at-bats, two Bison defensive miscues occurred and set the tone for the game. The Hokies continued to score throughout the game, leading to a final score of 19-0.
Tyler Dunn ’25, Garrison Bullock ’26 and Matthew Alexander ’25 supplied base hits. Bullock’s pinch-hit was his first hit as a Bison after transferring from Emory & Henry. Michael Chiaravallo ’27 reached base twice with a single and a walk. Opening-day designated hitter Ryan Facinelli ’26 walked twice.
Tyler O’Neill ’25 started on the mound and allowed six runs, four of which were earned, in three innings. Three first-year pitchers, AJ Murray, Frankie Bilecki and Samuel Janik, made their collegiate debuts; all allowed runs but showed promise nonetheless. Ryan DeLaney ’26 pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
In game two, the Orange and Blue rebounded with an 8-6 victory. The Bison started strong, scoring a run in the top of the first inning and three more in the second, giving them an early 4-0 lead.
The Bison’s first run of the season came from a two-out rally in the top of the first. Billy Kender ’25 walked with two outs, Dunn cranked a double to left, and Kender made it home from first base.
In the second inning, Luke Nascimento ’27 reached second base from an infield hit and throwing error. Billy Fluharty ’27 whacked an RBI double, followed by Brady Karp ’25 walking and a Chiaravallo single allowing Fluharty to score. A fielder’s choice grounder from Michael Trommer ’26 added another run for the Bison.
Each team tacked on a run in the fourth. The Orange and Blue scored off of an RBI double by Trommer. The Hokies took their only lead in the fifth, up 6-5.
In the seventh inning, two Bison batters walked, generating a pitching change. Dunn walked to load the bases, followed by a shallow fly ball from Alexander. Chris Morabito ’27, down in the count 1-2, pulled a ball down the right-field line and cleared the bases, bringing the score to 8-6.
Nick Mulvey ’25 and Tyler Hawkins ’28 made clutch outs, relieving Jake Schultz ’27. Jonathan Adelmann ’27 delivered two more outs, retiring the first two batters before allowing a triple. Fluharty came close to making a diving catch on the warning track in center, but the final out came from a ground ball to second instead. Adelmann walked two batters in the eighth but made a big play retiring the 2024 ACC batting champion on a ball to first. In the ninth, Hadley Maxwell ’26 worked the strike zone facing the heart of the Hokies’ lineup and struck out two batters to get the final out from a roller to first.
The Hokies out-hit the Bison, but the Orange and Blue drew seven walks from six different Hokie pitchers. Bison pitchers retired the leadoff batter in all nine innings, aiding the 8-6 Bison victory.
The Hokies took game three of the series 27-1. The 22 hits and 10 walks led the Hokies to their success over the Bison. Kender’s RBI single in the fifth led to the Bison’s lone run of the game. Kender and Morabito had the only two hits for the Orange and Blue. Trommer reached base in all three of his plate appearances from three walks.
Although it wasn’t the best day for the Bison on the mound, senior Ben Magovern ’25 pitched for the first time in two seasons after missing all of 2024 due to injury. None of the six runs against him were earned.
Up next the Bison travel to Davidson for a three-game series on Friday, Feb. 21.
