March 20, 2016
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THE FLATS – Georgia Tech’s Kel Johnson and Matt Gonzalez combined for two home runs and nine RBI as the 22nd-ranked Yellow Jackets completed the series sweep with a 16-8 win Sunday over Virginia Tech.
Johnson hit his second career grand slam and drove in a career-high five RBI. Gonzalez hit his fourth homer of the season and tied a career high with four hits.
With the win, Georgia Tech (15-4, 3-3) completed its first ACC series sweep since 2014 vs. Duke. The Jackets handed Virginia Tech (10-11, 1-5) its sixth straight loss. Georgia Tech, which is 13-1 at home this season, has now won 20 of its last 23 home games.
THE LINEUPS
Virginia Tech – Saige Jenco CF, Grant Maiorana DH, Phil Sciretta 1B, Nick Anderson LF, Mac Caples RF, Ryan Tufts SS, Andrew Mogg C, Matt Dauby 2B, Sam Fragal 3B, Jon Woodcock P
Georgia Tech – Wade Bailey 2B, Connor Justus SS, Matt Gonzalez LF, Kel Johnson RF, Joey Bart C, Trevor Craport 3B, Tristin English 1B, Ryan Peurifoy CF, Arden Pabst DH, Jonathan Hughes P
THE BASICS
• Georgia Tech, which is 13-1 at home this season, has now won 20 of its last 23 home games.
• Georgia Tech collected its first ACC series sweep since 2014 vs. Duke (April 4-6 in Atlanta).
• Georgia Tech used the same defensive lineup and batting order for the first time this season. The Yellow Jackets opened 2016 with 18 different lineups. On Sunday, Tech went with its same lineup from Friday night’s win. • Georgia Tech is now 9-1 vs. starting LHP this season.
• The Jackets are 13-0 when leading after the 6th, 7th and 8th innings.
• Tech is 9-2 when hitting at least one home run in a game.
• Georgia Tech is now 29-15 all-time vs. Virginia Tech.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Georgia Tech took a 1-0 lead in the 1st when Kel Johnson drove home Connor Justus on an RBI single through the right side.
• Tech’s lead increased to 2-0 in the 2nd after Ryan Peurifoy scored on a wild pitch.
• Virginia Tech would cut the Jackets’ lead in half in the 3rd, 2-1. Saige Jenco collected the Hokies’ first hit of the day with an RBI double to right-center.
• Justus gave the Jackets a 3-1 lead on an RBI single to center to score his double-play partner Wade Bailey.
• Georgia Tech’s offense broke the game open with a 3-run 5th to take a 6-1 lead. After leading off with a double, Johnson scored on a throwing error by the second baseman. Trevor Craport later scored on Peurifoy’s RBI groundout. Tristin English scored Tech’s third run of the inning on a wild pitch.
• Johnson’s grand slam to left-center gave Georgia Tech a 10-1 lead in the 6th.
• Virginia Tech plated a run with an RBI infield single in the 7th.
• After the Yellow Jackets added two runs in the 7th for a 12-2 lead, the Hokies battered Tech’s bullpen for 6 runs to cut the Jackets’ lead to 12-8.
• But in Georgia Tech’s half of the 8th, the Jackets put the game away with a 4-run inning to take the 16-8 win.
QUOTE BOARD
“It was nice bounce back for us after losing four in a row. It was good to see. I felt like we swung the bat really well. Jonathan Hughes pitched well, pitched out of trouble. He left the game with a little forearm tenderness, so Micah Carpenter came in for him and did a really nice job.” – Georgia Tech head coach Danny Hall on Sunday’s sweep-clinching win over Virginia Tech
“It feels really good to get that sweep. We changed our mentality. We were a little passive coming into this week. I think we saw the ball well and were hitting it to all fields really well which was good to see.” – Senior Matt Gonzalez on Georgia Tech’s first ACC sweep since 2014
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Sophomore Kel Johnson extended his career-best hit streak to 14 games, going 3-for-4 with a grand slam and a career-high five RBI.
• Johnson hit his second career grand slam in the sixth inning, his 13th career home run.
• Senior Matt Gonzalez tied a career high with four hits, going 4-for-5 with a home run and four RBI.
• Joey Bart’s career-best 9-game hit streak came to an end as the freshman went 0-for-4.
• Freshman RHP Jonathan Hughes struck out a career-high five batters, allowing one run on three hits in 4.0 innings of work.
• Freshman RHP Micah Carpenter earned his career-first win, allowing just 1 hit with 3 strikeouts in 2.0 innings of relief.
• Georgia Tech stole a season-high 3 bases Sunday.
• Trevor Craport tied a career high with 3 hits, finishing 3-for-5.
• Tristin English hit two doubles for the second time in the series.
UP NEXT
Georgia Tech travels north on I-75 to face the Kennesaw State Owls at 6 p.m. Tuesday on ESPN3 and 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.
