May 8, 2002
MACON, Ga. – Matthew Boggs had five hits and drove in three runs to lead a 23-hit attack as ninth-ranked Georgia Tech (39-10) defeated Mercer (20-28), 20-7, on Wednesday evening at Claude Smith Field. The victory gave the Yellow Jackets a 10-1 record against their in-state foes this season.
Boggs had a career-high five hits, including two doubles, in seven at bats and had a streak of eight consecutive plate appearances with a base hit finally snapped with a groundout in the sixth inning.
All nine Tech starters had at least one hit in the game. Victor Menocal went 3-for-5, while Eric Patterson, Jeremy Slayden, Matt Murton, Jason Perry and Wes Rynders added two hits apiece. The Yellow Jackets scored 20 runs for the third time this season. Boggs, Murton and Clifton Remole each had three RBI in the game.
The Yellow Jackets scored 17 runs in the first five innings of the game to cruise to the victory. After jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, Matt Murton gave Tech a 5-0 lead in the third inning after hitting a two-run homer, his eighth of the season. After adding three more runs in the fourth inning, the Yellow Jackets exploded for nine runs in the fifth inning to make the score 17-0. Remole belted his third home run of the season.
Tech starter Kyle Schmidt (4-2) earned the win after shutting out the Bears on three hits for four innings. He struck out four batters without issuing a walk. Menocal, Nick Wagner, Jeff Kindel and Jordan Crews each worked a scoreless inning out of the bullpen for the Yellow Jackets.
Brett Jarrett (5-10), one of five pitchers on the night, took the loss for the Bears. Mercer’s offense was powered by a pair of three-run home runs from Kyle Levengood, his 10th of the season, and Mike Appalucci, his team-leading 15th of the year.
Georgia Tech will host Miami for a three-game series beginning Friday at 7 p.m. and continuing on Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. The games on Friday and Saturday will be televised live by Fox Sports Net South, while all three games in the series will be carried live on WREK-Radio (91.1 FM in Atlanta). Live scoring for the entire series will be available at www.ramblinwreck.com.
