May 11, 2003
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Eric Patterson tripled and scored an unearned run in the sixth inning and starting pitcher Chris Goodman fired a three-hit shutout to make it stand as No. 11 Georgia Tech (37-13, 15-6 ACC) defeated Virginia (26-21, 9-11), 1-0, on Sunday afternoon at Davenport field in the finale of a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series.
The win capped a three-game sweep of the Cavaliers and kept the Yellow Jackets in second place in the ACC standings, just one game behind Florida State.
Goodman (8-2) and Virginia starter Joe Koshansky (7-1) engaged in a classic pitcher’s duel, as the two hurlers allowed a total of five hits and struck out 19 batters in the game.
Goodman went the distance for the first time in his career, allowing three hits and one walk while striking out eight batters. He tossed Tech’s second complete game shutout of the season after Kyle Bakker shut out Wake Forest, 2-0, on Apr. 18. Goodman’s effort helped the Yellow Jackets shut out the Cavaliers for the second time in the three game series.
Koshansky was saddled with the loss after allowing just one unearned run on two hits over eight innings while fanning a career-high 11 batters.
The Yellow Jackets could do very little offensively in the early going, as Koshansky was perfect through 3.1 innings by retiring the first 10 hitters of the game before Steven Blackwood broke through for a single in the top of the fourth inning.
Tech finally broke through in the top of the sixth inning with a two out rally to take a 1-0 lead. After Koshansky quickly retired the first two batters of the inning, Eric Patterson laced a triple off the right center field wall. Blackwood followed with a ground ball that appeared to be heading to center field for a base hit, but Virginia shortstop Mark Reynolds made a great play to spear the ball behind second base and then threw wide of first base to allow Patterson to score on the error.
Meanwhile, Goodman was in total control all afternoon and he allowed just five runners to reach base, all coming in the first four innings of the game. The right-hander retired the side in order in the final five innings of the game, and he set down the final 16 Virginia batters in a row. He needed 101 pitches to go the distance.
Georgia Tech returns to action on Tuesday at 7 p.m. when the Yellow Jackets face Georgia at Turner Field. The game will be televised by Fox Sports Net South. Radio coverage will be available on WREK-Radio (91.1 FM in Atlanta), while live statistics and the radio broadcast will be available on the internet at www.ramblinwreck.com. The Yellow Jackets close the regular season with a Thursday through Saturday series against NC State at Russ Chandler Stadium.
