ACC Network
The Virginia Tech baseball team took down ACC rival North Carolina at home on Saturday, 10-6. The Hokies blasted five home runs, three of which came in the bottom of the first frame.
Tempers flared following one of those dingers causing tensions to rise between the two foes. Things came to a head at the end of the game when both coaches were ejected.
The Tar Heels took Game 1 of the series on Friday before Virginia Tech answered in a big way. The fireworks started immediately for the Hokies thanks to a two-run bomb off the bat of Henry Cooke.
Two batters later, Sam Tackett cranked a 461-foot moonshot to grow the team’s lead to 4-0. He celebrated the no-doubter with a bat flip upon leaving the batter’s box.
𝙈𝙍. 𝙃𝘼𝙈𝙈𝙀𝙍 🔨
≫ @samtackett2 #Hokies 🦃⚾️ pic.twitter.com/xLlTrOyUVd
— Virginia Tech Baseball (@HokiesBaseball) April 19, 2025
North Carolina catcher Luke Stevenson took offense to that disrespectful act. He hopped up out of stance to confront Tackett before he made his way around the bases.
It would set into motion a series of events that eventually led to the ejections of both coaches and two players.
Virginia Tech baseball nearly brawled with North Carolina.
The Tar Heels cut the lead to 8-6 in the eighth inning after digging itself into an initial 5-0 deficit. The home team then slammed the door shut in the bottom of the frame.
Hokies pinch hitter Jared Davis smacked a two-run homer over the fence in left field to build the lead to 10-6. Davis was ejected for spiking his bat into the ground before making his way around the basepaths.
𝘽𝙍𝘽 𝙜𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙖 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙤𝙛𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙠 🏃♂️
≫ @Jd_Daviss_ #Hokies 🦃⚾️ pic.twitter.com/umQJHpxLDQ
— Virginia Tech Baseball (@HokiesBaseball) April 19, 2025
North Carolina pitching then appeared to throw at the next Virginia Tech batter intentionally. That pitch, which sailed behind the back of Anderson French, was accidentally put in play as the batter attempted to avoid getting hit.
French believed the pitcher purposefully threw at him. He gave him a piece of his mind as he returned to the dugout. He, too, was then ejected!
A video breakdown from D1 Baseball’s Bradley Smart provided context to the entire situation.
Here’s a (relatively short) video overview of today’s drama between Virginia Tech and North Carolina, which started in the first inning with warnings and ended with both head coaches ejected as well as the Hokies’ Jared Davis & Anderson French.
Rubber match tomorrow at 1 p.m. pic.twitter.com/M7fRiGw85k
— Bradley Smart (@fridaystarters) April 19, 2025
Virginia Tech baseball coach John Szefc was also upset with the North Carolina pitching. He got into a heated shouting match with Tar Heels manager Scott Forbes after the inning ended. Both coaches were tossed for their actions. That’s two players and two coaches in just two pitches’ time for those keeping count!
The Hokies evened the series at a game apiece with their 10-6 win. They’ll be a bit shorthanded with those ejected players being forced to miss Sunday’s rubber match. Both rivals will try to pick up a series-clinching win in Game 3.