May 10, 2015
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TECH STARTERS: Innis/LF, Bailey/2B, Gonzalez/3B, Murray/RF, Johnson/DH, Smith/1B, Peurifoy/CF, Justus/SS, Pabst/C, Gold/SP.
PITT STARTERS: Wright/LF, Leblanc/SS, Vazquez/RF, Kowalczyk/C, Yarnall/DH, Schnurbusch/CF, Sherman/3B, Hess/1B, Pazos/2B, Mersing/SP
THE BASICS:
• Georgia Tech spotted Brandon Gold an early lead, and the sophomore pitched another gem as the Yellow Jackets cruised past Pitt 10-3 in a series-clinching victory Sunday afternoon at Russ Chandler Stadium.
• Gold improved 7-2 overall, which includes a 5-1 mark in rubber games.
• With the win the Yellow Jackets are now 32-18 and 13-14 in the ACC, while the Panthers fell to 17-31, 7-20.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• The Jackets struck early and often to put Sunday’s rubber-game on ice quickly.
• Tech plated two in the first thanks to Kel Johnson’s RBI infield single and a Pitt infield error.
• Senior A.J. Murray — playing his final regular-season at Russ Chandler Stadium — scorched his ACC-leading 14th home run of the season to left, doubling the Jackets’ cushion to 4-0 in the third.
• Keenan Innis smacked an RBI double down the right-field line and a sacrifice fly from Wade Bailey made it 6-0 in the fourth.
• Innis and Bailey produced again during the Jackets’ four-run fifth inning thanks to a two-run single from Innis and an RBI double from Bailey.
• Connor Justus added an RBI when he was hit by a pitch with the bases-loaded in the fifth.
• Gold was in command on the mound, tossing six innings and scattering five hits with one walk and three strikeouts.
• The Panthers plated a pair of unearned runs in the sixth to end the shutout bid — the only inning a Panther advanced past second base versus Gold.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
• Tech’s middle infield duo of Bailey and Justus turned two more highlight-reel double plays — one erased a lead-off single in the fifth and the other ended Pitt’s seventh inning.
• Matt Gonzalez extended his hit streak to 13 games as he went 2-for-4 with two runs, while Murray’s hitting streak reached seven games.
• Gold registered his eighth quality start of the 11 he’s made this year and improved to 7-2. He is 5-1 in ACC rubber-games, while Tech is 8-1 in weekend rubber-games (6-1 in ACC play).
• Visiting starter Sam Mersing, making his first career ACC start, was tagged with the loss (3-3). He tossed four innings and allowed six runs on six hits.
• Murray’s career-high 14 homers have him leading the ACC. Seven of his 14 have come over Tech’s last 11 games.
• Innis finished the game 2-for-5 with a career-high three RBI.
• Trevor Craport pitched two innings of relief and senior Devin Stanton closed it out with a scoreless ninth.
• Innis, Johnson, Gonzalez and Ryan Peurifoy each had two of Tech’s 11 hits. Justus and Gonzalez scored twice.
QUOTABLE:
“He (Gold) just stabilizes a lot of things. He threw strikes; just one walk. It’s a pretty common theme if you look at our box scores and we’re not walking people, we have a pretty good chance to win. We always have a lot of confidence in him (Gold) throwing, and today was another day where he just battled and got outs when we needed them. And some phenomenal plays between Justus and Wade today and Gonzo made a great play to his backhand with guys on. We can play defense, and we needed to today.”
–Head Coach Danny Hall
UP NEXT: Georgia Tech heads to Turner Field Tuesday night at 7 p.m. for its annual showdown versus Georgia in the Kauffman Tire Spring Classic for Kids. The Yellow Jackets are looking to sweep the season series after winning 13-6 in Athens in March. Tickets for the game are $12 and can be purchased via TicketMaster.
