May 12, 2015
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TECH STARTERS: Innis/LF, Bailey/2B, Gonzalez/3B, Murray/RF, Johnson/DH, Smith/1B, Peurifoy/CF, Pabst/C, Justus/SS, Pitts/SP.
UGA STARTERS: Wrenn/CF, McGovern/LF, Walsh/P, Nichols/1B, Stephens/C, Weber/RF, Webb/3B, King/SS, Logan/2B.
THE BASICS:
• In the 13th Annual Kauffman Tire Spring Classic for Kids at Turner Field on Tuesday night, Georgia beat Georgia Tech, 6-0, to even the season series.
• The attendance at Tuesday’s game of 18,792 made it the largest-attended college baseball game this season.
• The loss dropped the Yellow Jackets to 32-19, while the Bulldogs improved to 25-26.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• Georgia pushed a run across in the first inning, thanks to a sac fly from Daniel Nichols to score Keegan McGovern, who singled with one out followed by a Jared Walsh double.
• Tech starter Cole Pitts settled in and kept Georgia at bay over the next four innings, but got no support from his offense.
• Walsh, who started on the mound and was the designated hitter, tossed a one-hit shutout over his five innings with six strikeouts.
• Nichols made it 4-0 in the sixth thanks to a three-run blast to right-center field, and the Bulldogs tacked on runs in the seventh and ninth.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
• The game was the 364th all-time meeting between Tech and Georgia in baseball, with the Bulldogs leading 202-160-2. Tech had won three straight and six of the last nine.
• The attendance of 18,792 surpasses the crowd of 16,276 at Minute Maid Park in Houston on March 5 for the Houston College Classic as the largest crowd in college baseball this season.
• The crowd was the eighth-largest in the 13-year history of the Georgia Tech-Georgia game played at Turner Field.
• The hitting streaks for Matt Gonzalez (13 games) and A.J. Murray (seven) were each snapped.
• The start for Murray was his 100th consecutive.
• Rookie Wade Bailey was on base twice via a single and a walk.
• Tech left seven runners stranded in the game and was 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
• Walsh earned the win (5-2), while four Georgia relievers kept the shutout in order.
• Pitts was hung the tough-luck loss (0-6).
• Tech beat Georgia, 13-6, in Athens in March, but the game at Russ Chandler Stadium was rained out and will not be re-rescheduled, meaning the season series will end tied at 1-1. It’s the first time since 2009 that all three games in the series were not played.
QUOTEABLE:
“We had some opportunities, but they did a good job keeping us from scoring. I felt that was the best Cole Pitts has thrown. He made a bad pitch to Nichols, and to his credit, he hit it out and that blew the game open. But we just couldn’t get going offensively to make the game competitive.”
–Head Coach Danny Hall
UP NEXT: The Yellow Jackets head to Miami to finish the regular season with a series in Coral Gables. Thursday’s series opener is set for 7 p.m. and all three games will air on ESPN3. Tech could clinch an ACC Tournament spot with a win on Thursday combined with a Wake Forest loss to Duke.
