Feb. 11, 2007
STATESBORO, Ga. – Mike Economos and A.J. Wirnsberger each had four hits to lead Georgia Southern (3-2) to a 9-6 win over Georgia Tech (0-2) Sunday afternoon at J.I Clements Stadium.
Danny Payne led the Yellow Jacket offense for the second-straight day, going 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBI and two runs scored. Rookie Tony Plagman also went 2-for-3 in the game, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the offensive barrage by the Eagles.
Economos and Wirnsberger each went 4-for-4 with two RBI, while Economos scored three runs and Wirnsberger, two.
Brian Wilkerson earned the win for the Eagles, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out three in 6.2 innings of work, while Kyle Kamppi earned his first save of the season, working the final 2.1 innings.
With the win, the Eagles earned their first series sweep over the Yellow Jackets since 1996.
Payne led off the game with a walk, stole second base, advanced to third on a fly ball by Matt Wieters, and scored on a single up the middle by Luke Murton to give the Yellow Jackets a 1-0 lead.
Tech added another run in the second inning when Payne drove in Tony Plagman, who scored from second after reaching base with a two-out single and moving over on a single by Jeff Ussery.
The Eagles evened the score in the bottom of the fourth when Economos and Wirnsberger scored after leading off the inning with back-to-back doubles. Economos moved to third on Wirnsberger’s double and scored on a groundout by Chris Shehan, while a single by Jeremiah Parker plated Wirnsberger for the tying run.
Georgia Southern added four runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 6-2 lead. Brian Pierce led off the inning with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Chris Hollis, advanced to third on a groundout by Jeremy Beckham, and scored on a fielding error by Ussery. With two outs, the Eagles then rattled off back-to-back doubles and a triple before reliever Brad Rulon struck out Shehan to end the inning.
After Patrick Long knocked a one-out double down the right field line in the fourth inning, Wilkerson settled down to retire nine straight Yellow Jacket batters until Plagman dropped a single between the Eagles’ shortstop and left fielder in the seventh inning. After a walk by Payne moved Plagman to second, Michael Fisher drove in Plagman with another single to left field, which also chased Wilkerson from the game while pulling the Jackets to within three runs at 6-3.
The Eagles responded with four straight hits, including two doubles, to begin the bottom of the seventh, and scored three runs to take a 9-3 lead. Beckham singled to lead off the frame, moved to third on a double by Matt Miller, and scored on a single by Economos. A double by Wirnsberger plated Miller before Wirnsberger scored the Eagles’ final run on a sacrifice fly by Shehan.
Tech’s Wally Crancer hit a solo home run, the team’s first of the year, in the eighth inning, to make the score 9-4, before a two-run shot by Payne in the top of the ninth inning finished off the Jackets’ scoring at 9-6.
Yellow Jacket starter Ryan Turner (0-1) took the loss, allowing five runs on 10 hits in 4.2 innings of work.
The Yellow Jackets will return to action Tuesday afternoon when they host Kennesaw State in the home opener at Russ Chandler Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m., with livestats available at www.ramblinwreck.com. The game Tuesday is the first of several Tech contests slated to appear on ACC Select this season, with a live video broadcast available at gatech.playonsports.tv.
