Feb. 24, 2016
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STATESBORO, Ga. – Junior first baseman Brandon Gold’s three-run home run to dead center in the top of the 16th inning helped deliver No. 17 Georgia Tech to a 6-5 win Wednesday night at Georgia Southern.
The 16-inning contest is the longest game by innings in school history, eclipsing the previous mark of 15 innings set in 1933 vs. Oglethorpe and later tied in 2011 vs. NC State.
Georgia Tech (4-0) is 4-0 to start the season for the first time since 2013.
THE LINEUPS
Georgia Tech – Wade Bailey 2B, Ryan Peurifoy CF, Matt Gonzalez LF, Kel Johnson RF, Trevor Craport 3B, Tristin English DH, Brandon Gold 1B, Connor Justus SS, Joey Bart C, Cole Pitts P
Georgia Southern – C.J. Ballard LF, C.J. Brazil C, Jordan Wren RF, Ryan Cleveland 1B, Tarez Miller DH, Will Hudgins 3B, Kent Rollings 2B, Logan Baldwin CF, Evan McDonald SS, Landon Hughes P
THE BASICS
• Georgia Tech is now 97-31 all-time vs. Georgia Southern, including a 43-15 mark in Statesboro.
• Wednesday was only the sixth extra-inning game in 128 series meetings.
• Tech improved to 157-48 all-time in the month of February under head coach Danny Hall.
• Georgia Tech has now won eight straight true road games in the state of Georgia.
• Senior LF Matt Gonzalez made his 125th consecutive start of his career.
• Junior SS Connor Justus made his 43rd consecutive start, while sophomore 2B Wade Bailey tied his career long streak of 26 consecutive starts.
• Since starting on the mound the season opener Feb. 19, junior Brandon Gold made his first appearance in lineup, starting at first base.
• Georgia Tech is 4-1 in its last five extra-inning games and 6-4 in its last 10 extra-inning contests.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Georgia Southern scored first in the bottom of the second on an RBI sacrifice fly by Evan McDonald.
• Georgia Tech tied in the fourth inning on Matt Gonzalez’s monster solo home run to left field.
• The Eagles plated two runs on the fifth. C.J. Brazil plated Logan Baldwin with an RBI single up the middle and Jordan Wren followed with an RBI triple to left center.
• Tech cut it to 3-2 in the seventh on Kel Johnson’s RBI ground out.
• Tech pushed across the game-tying run on Gonzalez’s two-out RBI double to center field.
• After six innings of scoreless baseball, Gold cleared the bases with a 3-run home run to dead center, playing Coleman Poje and Keenan Innis.
• Southern cut the deficit to one with a two-RBI double down the left field line by Zach Cowart.
• However, reliever Jake Lee forced C.J. Ballard to ground out to Bailey who flipped it to Gold for the win.
QUOTE BOARD
“I thought we really hung in there. Our relief pitching was really outstanding, putting up zeros for us. Gonzalez’s hit in the ninth to tie it was big. Of course, Gold’s home run was huge in the 16th. For a minute there, it looked like we were going to make it more interesting, but we got that last out. It was good road win and I was impressed by Georgia Southern. They played really well.” – Georgia Tech head coach Danny Hall on the win
“I was looking for a pitch to drive. Coleman Poje put in a good at bat before me. I got a pitch I could handle. The wind helped me a little bit, but I’m glad we’re leaving with the win.” – Brandon Gold on his game-winning home run
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Starter RHP Cole Pitts went 2.0 innings, allowing one earned run on four hits with two strikeouts.
• Tech relievers Ben Parr, Bobby Gauvreau, Matthew Gorst, Micah Carpenter and Keyton Gibson combined to scatter three hits and strikeout 10 batters in 10.0 innings of scoreless relief.
• Freshman Keyton Gibson earned his career-first win, allowed one hit in 2.0 innings of work.
• Freshman Jake Lee picked up his career-first save, allowing two runs on two hits in 1.0 inning.
• It was Gonzalez’s 61st multi-hit game of his career and his 19th 3-hit game as a Yellow Jacket. It was also Gonzalez’s 29th career multi-RBI game (12th with 3+ RBI).
• Gold recorded his 17th career multi-hit game and it was Gold’s second career home run.
• Gold tied a career high with three RBI, which he set against St. John’s in 2015.
UP NEXT
No. 17 Georgia Tech returns to Russ Chandler Stadium for a seven-game homestand beginning with a three-game series this weekend vs. UMBC. First pitch for Friday’s game will be 4 p.m. Fans can watch the game on RamblinWreck.com or listen live on WREK 91.1 FM.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on Twitter (@GTBaseball), Facebook (facebook.com/GTbaseball) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.
