March 27, 2015
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TECH STARTERS: Spingola/CF, Innis/RF, Gonzalez/LF, Murray/DH, Smith/1B, Gold/3B, Bailey/2B, Justus/SS, Pabst/C, King/SP.
UL STARTERS: Whiting/SS, Solak/LF, Ray/RF, Lucas/3B, McKay/DH, Smith/C, Rosenbaum/1B, Hariston/2B, Summers/CF, Funkhouser/SP.
THE BASICS:
• Kyle Funkhouser pitched seven strong innings and No. 7 Louisville beat Georgia Tech, 4-1, Friday in the opener of an ACC series at Jim Patterson Stadium in Louisville, Ky.
• The meeting was the first between the Yellow Jackets and Cardinals as ACC members.
• Temperatures struggled to reach 35 degrees on Friday on a windy day with snow flurries during much of the game
• Tech slipped to 17-8 overall and 5-5 in the ACC, while the Cards improved to 19-7, 9-1.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• Funkhouser was in command for Louisville, holding the Jackets to just four hits over his seven innings with seven strikeouts.
• The Cardinals seized the early lead with two runs in the third and an RBI single from Sutton Whiting made it 3-0 in fourth.
• An RBI ground-out in the seventh from Connor Justus put the Jackets on the board, but Louisville got that run right back in the home half of the inning.
• Redshirt sophomore lefty Jonathan King did his best to keep Tech in the game over his 6.2 innings on the mound, but was bolstered by just one run of support in absorbing his first loss (2-1).
• Funkhouser improved to 3-2 while Zack Burdi pitched around trouble in the ninth to nail down his second save.
• Thanks to Brandon Gold’s two-out single and a walk to Wade Bailey, the Jackets brought the potential tying run to plate in the ninth.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
• Sophomore Arden Pabst was 2-for-2 with a pair of singles and a sacrifice bunt.
• Daniel Spingola and Justus extended their reached-base streaks to 16 and 11 games, respectively, with walks, but Spingola’s 12-game hitting streak was snapped.
• Tech grounded into double plays in the sixth and eighth innings that snuffed out threats to carve into Louisville’s lead.
• Tech’s run off Funkhouser in the seventh snapped a streak of 14 consecutive scoreless innings pitched the Cardinals’ ace.
QUOTEABLE:
“King battled and kept us in it, especially on a night where he didn’t have his best stuff. They got some timely hits when they needed them and we had some chances, we just couldn’t get that hit when we needed it and banged into a couple double plays. Those three arms they ran out there are premium arms and I see why everyone thinks Funkhouser’s going to be a first-round pick.”
–Head Coach Danny Hall
UP NEXT: The Yellow Jackets and the Cardinals continue their series Saturday at 1 p.m. on ESPN3.
