March 10, 2015
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TECH STARTERS: Spingola/CF, Smith/1B, Johnson/RF, Murray/C, Innis/LF, Bailey/2B, Gonzalez/3B, Gold/DH, Justus/SS, Parr/SP.
GS STARTERS: Adams/LF, Duffie/3B, Mizell/RF, Griffin/C, Thomas/DH, Sheffield/1B, Busby/SS, Howard/2B, Baldwin/CF, Geiger/SP.
THE BASICS:
• Georgia Tech unleashed a 20-hit attack on Georgia Southern and routed the Eagles, 22-6, at Russ Chandler Stadium Tuesday night to sweep the season series.
• Of Tech’s season-high 20 hits, nine were for extra bases including home runs from Kel Johnson, Matt Gonzalez and Blake Jackson.
• The Yellow Jackets improved to 12-4 overall and have won seven of eight. The Eagles, who had won six of their last seven, slipped to 11-6.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• Georgia Southern grabbed a quick 1-0 lead in the first, but Tech answered back in the home half when Johnson launched his ACC-leading sixth home run of the season to right for a 2-1 lead.
• Gonzalez followed with a solo shot in the second inning as Tech’s lead grew to 4-1 and the Jackets broke the game open with a seven-run uprising in the fourth.
• Another seven-run inning in the seventh made it 18-5 and the scoring was capped with Tech’s four-run eighth.
• Reliever Matt Phillips picked up his second win (2-0) by tossing 1.2 innings in relief of starter Ben Parr with three strikeouts. Four Tech relievers followed Phillips.
• The loss fell to Eagles’ starter Matt Geiger (0-2), who was on the hook for four hits and three runs in 1.0 innings.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
• The 22 runs and 20 hits were each season-highs for the Yellow Jackets, who had not reached the 20-run mark since a 25-6 win at Georgia on April 14, 2010.
• Every starter in Tech’s lineup recorded at least one, with Thomas Smith and Keenan Innis each finishing 3-for-6. Smith drove in three runs, while Innis scored three times.
• Jackson, Gonzalez, Bailey and A.J. Murray had two hits apiece, with both of Bailey’s being doubles.
• Gonzalez has homered in two of his last three games and has doubled in four straight. • Jackson’s second career home run was a grand slam in the seventh inning.
• The first-inning run scored by the Eagles was the first allowed by Tech in the first inning since February 14 vs. Fordham, snapping a streak of 13 straight games without allowing a run in the first.
• Johnson extended his hitting streak to seven games with his first-inning home run. He had a game-winning grand slam in Tech’s 7-4 victory at Georgia Southern on February 17.
• Tech swept the season series from the Eagles for the first time since 2010 and the Jackets have out-scored Southern 35-8 in their last two visits to Russ Chandler Stadium.
• The Jackets’ last two pitchers of the night were brothers Patrick (eighth) and Joe (ninth) Wiseman.
• Tech batted around three different times in the game.
QUOTEABLE:
“Georgia Southern had been playing very well coming in, so it’s definitely a good win and nice to get the series from those guys. We had some really good at bats tonight. Their two side-arms really handled us down there and I thought we did a much better job against them tonight. It was key to answer their run in the first. Kel hit a big home run to give us the lead and we put two more on them in the second to give us a cushion.”
— head coach Danny Hall
UP NEXT:
Georgia Tech is back in ACC play this weekend with a series at Coastal Division rival Duke. All three games are on ESPN3 and the series begins Friday at 6 p.m. in Durham.
