March 30, 2013
THE FLATS – Junior Dusty Isaacs shutout Wake Forest over seven, one-hit innings with a career-high eight strikeouts and No. 16 Georgia Tech cruised to an 8-1 win over the Demon Deacons in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday at Russ Chandler Stadium.
Kyle Wren finished the game 4-for-5 with a solo home run, swiped a career-high three bases and matched his career high with four runs. Sam Dove had two hits and Daniel Palka added a two-run shot for the Yellow Jackets, who improved to 21-5 overall and 8-3 in the ACC. The Demon Deacons slipped to 15-14, 3-8.
Tech opened up a 3-0 after the first, made it 4-0 in the second and the home runs from Wren and Palka in the fourth inning put the hosts comfortably in front en route to their third ACC series win in four tries.
Isaacs’ previous career-best was a pair of seven-strikeout performances, with his last coming versus Rutgers last season. His seven-inning outing also matched a career-long. His only two walks came in the first inning, of which a 6-4-3 double play erased the lead-off free pass.
Isaacs retired the final eight Deacs he faced in improving to 4-2 this season.
Wren wasted little time extending his ACC-best hitting streak to 15 games by singling to lead off the game and swiping second. He moved to third on an error and scored on Zane Evans’ sac fly. An A.J. Murray RBI single made it 2-0 and Daniel Spingola’s single made it 3-0.
In the second, Wren went back to work with a single, then stole second and scored thanks to an RBI single from Dove.
Wake Forest got a pair of singles in the eighth inning of Tech’s bullpen, and a home run from Charlie Morgan in the ninth ended the shutout bid.
The Jackets go for the sweep of the Demon Deacons in the second game of Saturday’s twinbill.
