Chad Pinder, Virginia Tech hammer Virginia in ACC baseball tournament

DURHAM, N.C. — Whatever happened Wednesday at the ACC baseball tournament, it was going to top Virginia Tech’s experience the previous two years.

“It was terrible,” said Tech junior shortstop Chad Pinder, who had never played in an ACC tournament before this year. “I couldn’t even watch it on TV.

“Missing it by one game both years … it was a tough pill to swallow. Being here this year was really special, so you want to make the most of it.”

The Hokies couldn’t have asked for much more from Pinder, who hit a two-run homer in a six-run second inning and then added a grand slam in the sixth as the Hokies clobbered seventh-ranked Virginia 10-1 at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

It was Tech’s third victory in four games this year with Virginia, which opened the ACC tournament with a loss for the first time in the nine years it has been conducted at pool play.

Third-seeded UVa (45-10) will meet seventh-seeded Georgia Tech (34-23) at 11 a.m. today. The Yellow Jackets, who join the Hokies as the only two teams to win a series from the Cavaliers this year, scored two runs in the top of the ninth Wednesday in a 4-3 victory over second-seeded Florida State.

Sixth-seeded Virginia Tech (36-19) will face Florida State at 7 p.m. today.

Tech starting pitcher Joe Mantiply got out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the first inning and received all the run support he needed before Pinder stepped to the plate in the second.

After Tyler Horan legged out a bloop double to start the inning, Andrew Rash grounded to UVa shortstop Nick Howard, whose throw sailed high over the head of first baseman Jared King and didn’t stop until it hit the back wall of the Tech dugout.

It was the 16th error of the season for Howard, a first-team All-ACC utility player who moved over from third after regular shortstop Brandon Cogswell suffered a broken finger on his throwing hand in a Saturday practice over exam break.

Because of Howard’s error, which followed his inning-ended groundout in the first, four of the six runs allowed by UVa freshman Brandon Waddell were unearned.

“It’s all part of the game,” said Waddell, who watched one of his fielders lose a ball in the sun and later gave up a 200-foot ground rule double.

“As a pitcher, your job is to get bat contact from the hitters. You’ve got to keep doing what you’re doing and take the odds and the numbers that come along with baseball.”

No ACC pitcher has won as many conference games without a loss as Mantiply, who missed his first three starts of the season because of shoulder stiffness and has since gone 6-0, all against ACC opposition.

“I feel really good,” said Mantiply, a 6-foot-4, 217-pound left-hander from Tunstall High School.

“The last five starts, I’ve felt unbelievable — the best I’ve ever felt.”

Mantiply pitched seven innings before giving way to relievers Eddie Campbell and Jake Joyce, neither of whom allowed a hit.

A second-inning triple by Kenny Towns accounted for UVa’s only run and Towns was subsequently gunned down by Pinder when he attempted to score on an infield grounder. The Cavaliers did not have another runner reach third base until the ninth inning.

“You have that big, six-run inning and it takes a lot of pressure off your dugout and kids can play relaxed in a bigger venue,” said Hokies coach Pete Hughes, whose 2010 team won two games out of three in pool play, narrowly missing the championship game.

“More importantly, I thought we played very well with the lead, especially that guy on the mound. Every pitch was like a one-run game. That was his approach.”

The Hokies entered the tournament with the No. 15 RPI in the country and Wednesday’s win over the Cavaliers, who had the No. 3 RPI, seemingly would remove most of the pressure of making the NCAA field.

“Not for me, man,” said Hughes, who wants to be at home on the first weekend of NCAA play.

“I want to host. This was huge. We’ve got to keep building and building and make it really hard for the NCAA not to let us host a regional.”

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