May 14, 2006
ATLANTA – Whit Robbins homered and drove in five runs to lead No. 8 Georgia Tech (39-13, 17-10 ACC) to an 18-6 win and three game sweep of visiting Duke (14-39, 6-24) on Sunday afternoon at Russ Chandler Stadium.
Georgia Tech extended its winning streak over Duke to 19 games dating to 2001.
The Yellow Jackets broke open a 6-6 game with a nine-run sixth inning.
Robbins went 3-for-5 with his team-leading 12th home run of the season. Mike Trapani, Matt Wieters, Steven Blackwood and Jeff Kindel added two RBI.
Tech outhit Duke, 18-8, as 11 different players had at least one hit in the game. Trapani, Wieters, Blackwood, Kindel and Wes Hodges each had two hits.
Brad Rulon (4-0) earned the win in relief, working 1.2 scoreless innings. Tech’s bullpen of Rulon, Ryan Turner and Michael Hutts worked 5.2 innings and allowed just one run.
Andrew Wolcott (1-5) took the loss out of the Duke bullpen, allowing four runs in two innings.
The Blue Devils took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning on a RBI single from Nate Freiman and a RBI groundout from Javier Socorro.
The Yellow Jackets tied the game at 2-2 in the third inning. Mike Trapani and Michael Fisher had back-to-back doubles and Whit Robbins added a two-run single.
Duke scored three runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a 5-3 lead. Matt Williams had a RBI single, Jonathan Nicolla had a RBI double and Daniel Palmer drove in a run with squeeze bunt.
Tech answered with three runs in the bottom of the fourth on a two-run single from Matt Wieters and a bases loaded walk to Trapani to tie the game at 5-5.
In the fifth inning, Luke Murton was hit by a pitch and scored on Trapani’s two-out RBI double to give the Yellow Jackets a 6-5 lead.
The Blue Devils tied the game at 6-6 in the top of the sixth inning when Matt Williams singled and scored on a RBI single from Jimmy Gallagher.
Tech broke the game open with a nine-run sixth inning that made the score 15-6. The Yellow Jackets sent 13 batters to the plate and were aided by three Duke errors that led to seven unearned runs. Whit Robbins had a RBI triple and a sacrifice fly in the inning, Jeff Kindel had a two-run double and Steven Blackwood had a RBI single.
The Jackets added three runs in the eighth inning, including a two-run homer from Robbins and a RBI single from Jason Haniger, to provide the final 18-6 margin.
Neither starting pitcher figured in the decision. Tech’s John Goodman and Duke’s Jimmy Gallagher each allowed five runs in 3.1 innings.
Georgia Tech hosts Wofford on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
