Feb. 12, 2006
STATESBORO, Ga. – Wes Hodges, Jeff Kindel and Whit Robbins hit home runs to lead third-ranked Georgia Tech (2-0) to a 15-7 win over Georgia Southern (1-4) on Sunday afternoon at J.I. Clements Stadium.
Georgia Tech swept the two-game series in Statesboro for the 10th consecutive year and has won 20 straight games on Georgia Southern’s home field dating back to 1997.
Hodges and Kindel each had three hits and three RBI, and Robbins drove in three runs on two hits. Danny Payne and Matt Wieters added three hits.
Reliever Brad Rulon (1-0), one of five Tech pitchers in the game, was credited with the victory after working 1.2 scoreless innings. Freshman Chris Hicks pitched a scoreless ninth inning in his collegiate debut.
The Yellow Jackets took control early, jumping to a 9-0 lead through the first two and a half innings. Tech scored eight of its first nine runs after two outs.
Kindel hit a two-run home run and Hodges had a RBI single in the first inning, while Hodges hit a two-run homer in the second inning. Wieters and Payne each added RBI singles in both the second and third innings.
Georgia Southern climbed back into the game, scoring four runs over the third and fourth innings to make the score 9-4, due in large part to Tech’s defensive miscues and wildness on the mound. Three of the four runs scored on bases loaded walks, while two errors on the infield led to two unearned runs. The Eagles had a chance to score more, but left the bases loaded in both the third and fourth innings. GSU left 16 runners on base in the game.
A RBI groundout from Chris Hollis pulled Georgia Southern within 9-5 in the fifth inning, but Tech answered with a three-run homer from Robbins to make the score 12-5 in the sixth.
The Eagles continued to scratch away at the lead, adding single runs in the sixth and seventh innings on RBI singles from Chris Shehan and Greg Dowling to pull within 12-7. Dowling and Hollis each had three hits in the game.
Tech put the game away with three runs in the top of the ninth inning, making the score 15-7. The Yellow Jackets scored 28 runs in the two-game series.
Georgia Southern starter Everett Teaford (0-1) was tagged with the loss, lasting just two innings and allowing seven runs.
Georgia Tech returns to Atlanta to host Georgia State in the Yellow Jackets’ home opener on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
