Feb. 17, 2018
THE FLATS — Georgia Tech baseball’s duo of Tristin English and Joey Bart each homered, yet the Jackets couldn’t overcome 10 walks and three errors in a 10-7 loss to the Bradley Braves on Saturday afternoon at Russ Chandler Stadium.
Tech falls to 1-1 on the season with the loss, while Bradley moves to 1-1 with the win.
Seven Yellow Jacket pitchers combined for 11 strikeouts on the day; however, the group also walked 10 and hit three batters over the nine-inning affair which along with three defensive errors helped aid Bradley in the runs column.
Ben Schniederjans (0-1) was saddled with the loss, giving up two runs on three hits, a walk and a strikeout in 1.1 innings of relief work, while the win went to Bradley’s Alex Gray (1-0) who allowed just one run over 5.0 innings out of the bullpen for the visiting Braves.
Offensively, Tech’s 3-5 hitters in Joey Bart (2-for-4, HR, 2 RBIs, 2 runs), Tristin English (1-for-4, HR, 2 RBIs, 2 runs) and Kyle McCann (1-for-2, 3 walks, run) went a combined 4-for-10 with two home runs, four RBIs, five runs scored and three walks.
Senior Wade Bailey (2-for-5, 2B, RBI, run) and freshman Luke Waddell (2-for-4, 2 2B, 2 RBIs, run) each had two hits apiece in the loss.
Bradley had eight different guys register a hit on the day, highlighted by Eli Rawlinson who went 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored.
After both teams failed to score in the first inning, Bradley got on the scoreboard first in the top of the second with the help of a walk and two wild pitches to take an early 1-0 lead.
Tech answered the run with three of its own in the bottom half of the inning, as Waddell hit a two-out double to left center field to plate two runs before Bailey hit an RBI single to left to put the home team in front at 3-1 after two complete.
Bradley responded with two runs of its own in the top half of the third, as two walks, a hit by pitch, a single and a throwing error allowed the Braves to tie the score up at 3-3 midway through the third.
With one swing of the bat, English put the Jackets back on top at 5-3 in the third, as he blasted a two-run home run to right field for his first home run of the season.
The visitors in Red struck again in the fifth, as the Braves got a bases loaded single to left field by Luke Shadid to score two and tie the game back up at 5-5.
The Braves then took the lead at 7-5 in the seventh on a two-run home run by Rawlinson to put the pressure on the Yellow Jackets with two and a half innings to play in the game.
Bart hit a solo home run to right field in the bottom of the seventh and drove in another run with a one-out single in the ninth, yet couldn’t overcome the Braves who plated three more runs over the final two innings of play en route to the 10-7 win.
Georgia Tech stranded eight runners on base while the Braves left 12 runners on for the contest. The two teams combined for 14 walks and five hit batters in the game.
The Yellow Jackets (1-1) will wrap up opening weekend of play against the UConn Huskies tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET.
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