After a rout of Fordham last weekend in Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is one of 18 NCAA Division I schools still unblemished, and one of five in the ACC. The Hokies hit for extra bases on 21 of their 32 hits against the Rams, slugging.726 in the series and outscoring them 27-5. At the outset of the season, Tech’s offense is among the most flashy in the country. The Hokies are second in the country in slugging percentage (.708), fourth in home runs per game (2.33), tied for fifth in doubles per game (3.50), and seventh in batting average through six games (.366).
The Hokies’ tenacious approach at the bat is reflected in the regularity with which they score; as of Monday, they have scored in 26 of their 48 offensive innings (54 percent). Tech’s pitching staff has been just as dominant as its lineup, with a 2.17 team ERA entering the third week of the season.
Few bats in the country are as hot as Tech sophomore Jack Hurley’s, who has hit.923 (12-for-13) in his previous four games. Hurley was awarded one of the 15 National Players of the Week by College Baseball Newspaper on Monday for his incredible weekend versus Fordham. Tech’s second-year outfielder hit.900 (9-for-10) in three games versus the Rams, including three doubles, a triple, and three home runs for a 2.300 slugging percentage. Hurley also got two walks and was hit by a pitch, allowing him to reach base safely in 12 of his 13 plate appearances.
In the middle game of Saturday’s doubleheader, he recorded his first outfield assist of the season, saving a run at the plate to keep the Hokies’ two-run advantage alive. Hurley has the second greatest batting average (.636) and the third best slugging percentage among NCAA Division I players as of Monday (1.318). He’ll be one of two Hokies with six-game hitting streaks or longer entering Tuesday’s game against the Panthers (Eduardo Malinowski).
Eduardo Malinowski, a fifth-year infielder who is making the most of his first season in the ACC, comes into Tuesday’s midweek game having hit three home runs in a row. After transferring to Tech after a four-year career at Penn, the 2018 Ivy League Rookie of the Year has already established early team leaders in home runs (four), RBIs (ten), batting.391, and slugging.
At his first six games in Blacksburg, he scored 957 points. Malinowski has hit safely in 15 straight collegiate games dating back to his freshman year with the Quakers in 2021. More impressively, the six-foot native of Spring, Texas, has a hit in 28 of his previous 29 collegiate games, dating back to the season’s last game.
