March 2, 2014
THE FLATS – Mott Hyde’s three-run triple in the second inning gave Georgia Tech the lead for good and Matthew Grimes fired 4.2 innings of scoreless relief as the Yellow Jackets completed the sweep of Bowling Green with an 8-5 win on Sunday in Atlanta.
It was the second consecutive weekend sweep for the Jackets, who improved to 7-4 and have won six of the last seven. Tech had not swept consecutive weekend series since going 6-0 versus NC State and Miami back-to-back in 2011.
Grimes allowed one hit in tossing 4.2 innings of scoreless relief with three strikeouts and one walk to earn his first win (1-0) since March 13, 2012 versus Wagner. Jonathan Roberts retired the ninth in order to nail down his first save.
“I was really impressed with Matthew,” said head coach Danny Hall. “He came in, settled the game, put a lot of zeros on the board and really threw the ball well. All told, we went 3-1 this week and we went 3-1 last week and I think we’re going in the right direction.”
In missing the second half of 2012 and all of 2013 as he recovered from Tommy John surgery, Grimes’ outing Sunday marked his longest since going six innings versus Rutgers nearly two years to the day – March 3, 2012.
“It’s been a while,” said Grimes. “I’m thankful for it. It’s been a long journey to get here. My arm feels really good, and I think being able to pitch on a warm day helped.”
“He’s been through a long haul here with the surgery and the rehab and that’s by far his best outing since he’s been back healthy,” said Hall of Grimes.
Matt Gonzalez hit a sacrifice fly to deep right that scored Hyde in the first inning to put Tech up 1-0, but the Falcons (2-7) answered with a three-run second inning to take the lead. BGSU held early two-run leads in each game of the series.
But the Jackets took control right back in the bottom of the second as three walks loaded the bases for Hyde, who cleared them by pounding his third career triple to the wall in left. Ryan Peurifoy plated Hyde with a sac fly in the next at bat.
Thomas Smith singled and eventually scored on an error in the third inning to make it 6-3, but the Falcons came right back again with two more in the fourth before Grimes emerged from the bullpen. With the tying run 90 feet away, Grimes got a strikeout and a grounder in succession and faced just two batters over the minimum after that.
Rookies Arden Pabst and Connor Justus ripped consecutive RBI singles in the fifth inning to tack on insurance for the Jackets.
Freshman Brandon Gold finished 2-for-5, while Smith was 1-for-3, walked twice and scored a career-high three times. Smith and Peurifoy each extended hitting streaks to seven games, while Hyde, who hit .412 (7-for-17) this week, stretched his hit streak to five games.
Andrew Lacinak absorbed the loss (0-1) for Bowling Green, lasting just 2.1 innings and yielding six runs on three hits. Patrick Lancaster and Logan Walker each had two of the Falcons’ nine hits.
Tech is on the road Tuesday night for a 7 p.m. game versus Georgia on CSS, then returns home to open ACC play versus Wake Forest next Friday at Russ Chandler Stadium.
For tickets and information, visit RamblinWreck.com or call 1-888-TECH-TIX.
