March 9, 2014
THE FLATS – Matthew Grimes fired two-hit ball over five innings and Elliot Barzilli ripped a pair of doubles as Georgia Tech beat Wake Forest, 5-1, Sunday afternoon at Russ Chandler Stadium to conclude the teams’ ACC opening series.
Thomas Smith had a two-hit effort to extend his hitting streak to 11 games and Keenan Innis also registered two hits for the Yellow Jackets, who improved to 8-7 overall and 1-2 in the ACC. The Demon Deacons slipped to 11-5, 2-1.
A second-inning solo home run from Will Craig was the only damage allowed by Grimes, who yielded two hits and one walk with two strikeouts to pick up a win (2-0) for the second straight Sunday. Today marked Grimes’s first ACC start since early in the 2012 season.
“He’s getting close,” said head coach Danny Hall of Grimes, who had missed nearly two full seasons in recovering from Tommy John surgery. “He threw strikes and got us five innings, which is just what we could have asked for from him. Hopefully he can continue to build on it.”
Sophomore lefty Sam Clay pitched 1.1 scoreless innings in relief of Grimes, and rookie righty Zac Ryan worked himself around trouble over the final 2.2 innings to earn his first save.
“Sam is getting very close to being a go-to-guy for us,” said Hall. “And it was really impressive the way Zac held his poise over the final three innings.”
Ryan entered the game with the bases loaded and one away in the seventh and promptly fanned Jack Carey and Jonathan Pryor for the final two outs. The rookie struck out the final two batters in the eighth, stranding two Deacs on the bases, and dodged trouble again in the ninth as Wake loaded the bases with two outs.
Craig’s solo shot to left put the visitors on the board in the second, but the Jackets seized control with a three-run third inning. Matt Gonzalez’s RBI grounder scored Daniel Spingola to tie the game, and Tech followed with consecutive RBI doubles from Smith and Barzilli to take the lead.
It remained 3-1 until the fifth, when Tech got aggressive on the bases and a pair of Wake errors opened the door for two insurance runs.
Spingola reached on an error and swiped second. Mott Hyde walked in the next at bat and each moved up 90 feet on a double steal. Smith’s RBI single scored Spingola and Hyde sprinted home on the play thanks to a misplay by the right fielder.
Connor Kaden was hung the loss (1-1), allowing five runs (three earned) and six hits over five innings. Craig and Charlie Morgan each had two hits for Wake Forest.
The Yellow Jackets remain home Tuesday night to host Western Carolina on Two Dollar Tuesday. Tickets, hot dogs, sodas and Old Mill Kettle Corn are just $2. For more information, click here or call 1-888-TECH-TIX.
