April 27, 2005
ATLANTA – Josh Morris and Jason Jacobs each drove in three runs as Georgia (22-18) outslugged No. 6 Georgia Tech (30-11), 11-8, on Wednesday night in front of 14,398 fans at Turner Field. A total of 24,750 tickets were sold and all proceeds of the event benefited the Brain Tumor Foundation of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
Georgia Tech dropped its fourth straight game after opening the season 30-7.
Morris hit his team-leading ninth home run and scored three runs, while Jacobs had two hits. Matthew Dunn went 3-for-4 and Joey Side had two hits and two RBI.
After a shaky start from Mickey Westphal, who allowed seven runs in 1.1 innings, Georgia’s bullpen worked 7.2 innings and held Tech to one run. Bo Lanier (4-1) earned the win, working 2.2 innings and allowing one run. Brooks Brown worked 2.2 shutout innings, and Rip Warren earned his first save of the year by working the final 2.1 innings and not allowing a run.
Tech reliever Jared Hyatt (2-1) took the loss, allowing five runs in one-plus inning.
Wes Hodges led the Tech offense with three hits, including a grand slam, and four RBI. Steven Blackwood, Matt Wieters, Andy Hawranick and Mike Trapani each had two hits in the game as the Yellow Jackets had 14 hits in a losing effort.
The Bulldogs raced out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning thanks in part to two Yellow Jacket errors and two walks. Jacobs had a two-run single and Derek Smith drove in a run with a groundout, and Morris forced in a run with a bases loaded walk.
Tech answered with two runs in the bottom of the first on RBI singles from Jeremy Slayden and Wieters, cutting the lead to 4-2.
The Yellow Jackets exploded for five runs in the second inning to take a 7-4 lead. Trapani had a RBI double before Hodges hit a grand slam, his ninth home run of the season and second grand slam of his collegiate career.
Georgia responded with two runs in the third on a homer from Morris, his ninth of the year, to cut the lead to 7-6. Tech had a scoring opportunity in the bottom of the inning when the Yellow Jackets loaded the bases with one out, but Tyler Greene hit into an inning-ending double play.
The Bulldogs’ Bobby Felmy doubled and scored on Side’s RBI groundout to tie the game, and consecutive two-out RBI doubles from Jacobs and Smith gave Georgia a 9-7 lead in the top of the fourth. A sacrifice fly from Wieters made the score 9-8 in the bottom of the inning.
Georgia added two runs on RBI singles from Matthew Dunn and Side to extend the lead to 11-8 in the top of the fifth inning. The Yellow Jackets had scoring opportunities in the fifth and sixth innings, but failed to score and left two runners on base in each frame. Tech left 10 runners on base in the game.
Georgia Tech visits Clemson for a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series this weekend. The series begins on Friday at 7:15 p.m., and the game will be televised by CSS.
