Freshman Pitches Hokies To Baseball Victory Over Radford, 11-1 win

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Freshman pitcher Jeff Landing picked up his first collegiate victory as Virginia Tech defeated Radford University 11-1 in college baseball Tuesday afternoon at English Field. Tech improved to 17-16 with the win, while Radford now stands 12-21 for the season. (Box Score)

Landing (Jamestown, N.C.) went the distance and allowed just six hits to improve his season record to 1-2. The 6-3 right-hander gave up his only run on a solo homer by Radford center fielder Jerry Fulton with two outs in the fourth inning. From that point on, Landing faced just one batter over the minimum during the final 5 1/3 innings, coaxing two double-plays along the way. He finished the game with four strikeouts and walked just one batter.

Two other freshmen - left fielder Chris Stanton (Centreville, Va.) and second baseman Tom Blaszak (Blacksburg, Va.) - also played key roles in the game for the Hokies, combining for four hits and five runs batted in. Third baseman John West (Thurmont, Md.) and Stanton drove in runs in the first and second innings, respectively, to stake Landing to a quick 2-0 lead. A sacrifice fly by Blaszak and a run-scoring single by Stanton put Tech up 4-1 in the fourth.

Blaszak and Stanton teamed up again in the sixth inning with back-to-back RBI-singles. The two freshmen then came around to score on a three-run homer by first baseman Chris Winterfeldt (Lynchburg, Va.) that capped the five-run inning. The Hokies added two more runs in the seventh, including one on a sacrifice fly by shortstop Spencer Harris (Louisa, Ky.).

Stanton finished the day 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored, whil eBlaszak was 2-for-3 with two runs batted in and one scored. West and catcher Jed English (Alexandria, Va.) also contributed two hits for the Hokies.

Radford starter Justin Tubb was the losing pitcher. Tubb (1-7) pitched six innings, allowing 10 hits and nine runs, eight earned.