BLACKSBURG, VA — Midway through last season, the question wasn’t whether Virginia Tech would make a regional for the first time since 2013; the question was whether or not the Hokies could host one. On April 11, Tech was sitting pretty at 19-9 overall and 14-7 in the ACC, with quality series wins at Miami and vs. North Carolina, plus road series sweeps of Pitt and Wake Forest.

And then the wheels came off. The Hokies lost their final five ACC series and ended the season on an eight-game losing streak, making them 27-25 overall and 16-20 in the league. Needless to say, they did not come close to hosting a regional, and they found themselves outside the NCAA tournament once again. 

But Virginia Tech coach John Szefc knows his program is close to being postseason-caliber, and last year’s Hokies showed enough flashes of excellence during that strong first half to reinforce the notion that the talent level in the program has risen steadily under Szefc’s watch. Last year’s club was Virginia Tech’s most talented yet, and Szefc hopes to channel the bitterness of that garish finish into valuable life lessons that will make his players tougher and more equipped for what faces them in 2022 and beyond.

You might expect Virginia Tech to take a step back in 2022 after losing the top four arms from last year’s staff. For the first time in a while, Tech enters this season without an established ace, or even a proven workhorse starting pitcher at all...