March 9, 2007
ATLANTA – Greg Fryman held the Yellow Jackets to just two runs on five hits through 6.2 innings and Bryan Thomas added a three-run home run to lead Virginia Tech (9-5, 1-0 ACC) to a 5-3 victory over Georgia Tech (8-7, 0-1 ACC) in the series opener Friday evening at Russ Chandler Stadium.
Fryman (2-1) allowed just two runners past first base through the first six innings, and gave up only one earned run while striking out five and walking two to earn his second win of the season. Rhett Ballard recorded his first save by tossing the final 2.1 innings, allowing no runs on two hits while striking out three.
David Duncan (3-2) took the loss, giving up five runs on eight hits in seven innings of work. Relievers Jared Hyatt, Tim Ladd and Brad Rulon tossed the final two innings, giving up just one hit while striking out two.
A three-run home run by Bryan Thomas gave the Hokies a 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning. Nate Parks led off the frame with a double down the third base line and moved to second when Matt Hacker reached on a sacrifice bunt which resulted in a throwing error by Duncan. Thomas then hit sent his first home run of the season over the left field wall to break the scoreless tie.
Virginia Tech added a run in the fifth inning to make the score 4-0 when Matt Foley hit a one-out double down the leftfield line, advanced to third on a single by Parks, and scored on a wild pitch. A solo home run by Warren Schaeffer in the sixth inning pushed the score to 5-0 in favor of the Hokies.
The Jackets’ offense came alive in the seventh inning when Patrick Long led off the frame with a triple and scored on an RBI groundout by Curtis Dupart. After Chris House reached base on an error and Danny Payne earned a two-out walk, both Michael Fisher and Matt Wieters hit RBI singles to plate House and Payne, pulling Georgia Tech to within two runs at 5-3.
First pitch for the second game of the series between the Hokies and Yellow Jackets will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, with live video available on ACC Select (gatech.playonsports.tv) and radio coverage on WREK-91.1 FM (www.wrek.org). Live stats for all Georgia Tech baseball games can be found at www.ramblinwreck.com.
