WINSTON-SALEM, NC (May 12) – Junior Jason Basil homered and drove in four runs to lead third-ranked Georgia Tech over No. 15 Wake Forest, 10-8, on Friday afternoon at Gene Hooks Stadium.
The victory reduced Georgia Tech’s (41-13, 17-5 ACC) magic number to clinch the top seed in next week’s Atlantic Coast Conference tournament to one.
Tech starter Cory Vance (11-2) picked up the win despite allowing eight runs on 13 hits while tossing his fourth complete game of the season. The southpaw walked two batters and recorded seven strikeouts. The win moved Vance into sole possession of the ACC lead for victories.
Georgia Tech jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Richard Lewis led off the inning with a single and came around to score on a RBI single from Mark Teixeira. Brad Stockton walked and scored on a Basil RBI single, while Teixeira and Bryan Prince scored on an error by Wake Forest second baseman Jason Aquilante.
The Yellow Jackets pushed the lead to 6-0 in the third inning with a two run homer from Basil, his ninth blast of the season.
Wake Forest (37-15-1, 13-9 ACC) trimmed the lead to 6-3 in the bottom of the fourth with RBI hits from Matt Price and Jamie Athas and a run-scoring groundout from Carlos Brackley.
Georgia Tech added two more runs in the fifth to make the score 8-3. Teixeira led off the inning with a walk and scored on a sacrifice fly from Basil, while Prince, who singled scored when the Demon Deacons’ Carlos Brackley dropped a fly ball.
The Demon Deacons mounted a comeback in the bottom of the seventh with four runs to cut lead to 8-7. After Danny Borrell drove in Jason Aquilante with a double, Price blasted a three-run homer to left field.
Tech immediately responded with two more runs in the top of the eighth to make the score 10-7. Victor Menocal singled and scored on a throwing error by Voshell, and Stockton drove in Lewis with a RBI double to right field.
The Demon Deacons mounted a rally in the ninth inning, cutting the lead to 10-8 with a RBI groundout from Matt Price. Wake Forest brought the winning run to the plate later in that inning, but Vance forced Athas to fly out to left field to close out the game.
Wake Forest starter Scott Siemon (10-2), who allowed eight runs in four innings of work, took the loss.
Georgia Tech and Wake Forest will continue the three-game ACC series on Saturday and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. each day.
