April 5, 2015
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TECH STARTERS: Spingola/CF, Wruble/RF, Gonzalez/3B, Murray/DH, Smith/1B, Justus/SS, Bailey/2B, Innis/LF, Pabst/C, Gold/SP.
VT STARTERS: Jenco/CF, Cooper/RF, Perez/SS, Payne/3B, Hayden/DH, Caples/LF, Keselica/1B, Mogg/C, Fragale/2B, Scheetz/SP.
THE BASICS:
· Daniel Spingola was 4-for-5 and Matthew Gorst fired 3.1 innings of scoreless relief to lead Georgia Tech past Virginia Tech, 7-6, in the rubber-game of an ACC series Sunday at English Field in Blacksburg.
· A five-run second inning gave the Jackets an early 5-0 lead and the visitors held off the Hokies to pick-up a crucial series win on the road.
· Georgia Tech improved to 21-11 overall and 7-8 in the ACC, while the Hokies fell to 17-16, 7-8.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
· The Yellow Jackets struck for five runs on five hits in the second inning, and after the Hokies plated three in the third, the visitors went right back to work with two more in the fourth.
· The Hokies pushed three across in the sixth and were threatening for more with runners at second and third before Gorst entered and ended the threat.
· Gorst fanned six in his 3.1 innings in relief of starter Brandon Gold and preserved the win for Gold (4-1) while recording his first save.
· Spingola ripped doubles in both the first and second innings and his second-inning, two-RBI two-bagger to right made it 5-0.
· In the fourth, Wade Bailey launched a leadoff homer to left — his first career bomb — that made it 6-3 and Spingola followed later that inning with an RBI single that tacked on much-needed insurance for the Jackets.
· Andy Perez’s two-run single with two outs in the sixth knocked Gold from the game and made it 7-6.
· Gorst struck out the side in the seventh, fanned two in the eighth and stranded two Hokies in the ninth by getting pinch-hitter Phil Scrietta looking for the final out.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
· Spingola extended his reached-base streak to 23 games by going 4-for-5 with two doubles and three RBI. His four hits matched a career-high that had been set on two previous occasions, with his last four-hit game coming versus Virginia Tech last season.
· Arden Pabst extended his hitting streak to seven games by going 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs.
· Bailey’s hitting streak reached 11 games. The rookie was 2-for-4 with a homer and two runs.
· Thomas Smith and Matt Gonzalez each extended hitting streaks to five games.
· Gorst’s 3.1 innings were a season-high and matched a career-high he set last season at North Carolina. The save was the first of his career and his six strikeouts were also a career high.
· Gold won his fourth game and his eight strikeouts were one shy of a career high.
· The Yellow Jackets improved to 15-1 when scoring first and 6-2 in one-run games.
· Tech went 4-4 over its season-long eight-game road trip that ended Sunday. The Yellow Jackets now play 15 of their next 19 at home.
QUOTEABLE:
“It’s been a tough grind for us over the last two weeks with our two longest bus trips of the year back-to-back and two more road games during this past week. And after an emotional loss yesterday, I thought our response today was really good. Give Virginia Tech credit. They responded every time we scored. Matthew Gorst pitched great in relief. He really settled the game by throwing a lot of strikes.”
–Head Coach Danny Hall
UP NEXT: The Yellow Jackets return home to begin a stretch of playing 15 of their next 19 game at Russ Chandler Stadium beginning with Mercer Tuesday night. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
