May 5, 2012
ATLANTA – Buck Farmer fired seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts, while Brandon Thomas, Daniel Palka and Zane Evans each had two RBI as Georgia Tech blanked Charlotte, 9-0, Saturday night in the opener of a three-game series at Russ Chandler Stadium.
The victory improved the Yellow Jackets to 27-19 overall and 17-5 in non-conference games this season, while Charlotte slipped to 20-24. The two-day series concludes Sunday with a doubleheader, beginning at 2 p.m.
Farmer scattered eight hits (six singles and two doubles) over seven innings to become the seventh ACC pitcher to reach the seven-win plateau this season (7-3). Clay Dalton and Palka finished off Tech’s fourth shutout, each tossing a hitless inning. For Farmer, the combined shutout was the third of his career.
“I thought Buck did a really good job of pitching out of trouble,” said head coach Danny Hall. “They got some hits off him, but he was able to get out of trouble when he was in it. Dalton and Palka threw the ball well behind him.”
The Jackets were 6-for-12 in the game and scored seven times with two outs.
A three-run third inning allowed the hosts to seize control as Charlotte starter Andrew Smith issued back-to-back with two outs to Thomas Smith and Kyle Wren. A wild pitch moved both up, and Sam Dove and Thomas followed with RBI singles. With runners at the corners, Tech double stole to move Thomas to second and score Dove from third.
“We had a couple big innings on them and played good defense,” said Hall. “Those two-out hits are big and really put pressure on the other team. But we have to come ready to play again tomorrow.”
Mott Hyde, who led off the fourth inning with a double, scored from third on a wild pitch with two outs, and the Jackets iced the victory with a five-run, four-hit uprising in the sixth.
Thomas had an RBI infield single in the frame, Palka hammered a two-run double to right and Evans ripped a two-run single down the left-field line in the next at bat to cap the scoring.
Smith was tagged the loss for Charlotte (5-7), after allowing six hits and five runs in 5 1/3 innings. Justin Roland had two of the 49ers’ eight hits.
Nine Tech batters collected the 10 hits, led by Thomas’ two. The Jackets drew 11 walks, and did not strikeout for the first time this season.
