March 14, 2007
KENNESAW, Ga. – Matt Dallas drove in three runs and Martin Baker collected a pair of hits to lead Kennesaw State (12-7) to a 6-4 victory over Georgia Tech (9-9) Wednesday evening at Stillwell Stadium on the campus of Kennesaw State University.
Kody Paul and Casey Rogers combined to hold the Jackets to four runs, only two of which were earned, on seven hits while striking out three and walking five.
Danny Payne went 2-for-4 with a double and run scored and Michael Fisher was 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI to lead the Jackets Wednesday night. Three of the Jackets’ seven hits in the game were for extra bases.
Martin went 2-for-3 with a pair of bunt singles while scoring three runs for the Owls.
Jacob Robbins and Martin Baker led off the bottom of the first inning with back-to-back bunt singles and eventually scored to give Kennesaw State an early 2-0 lead. The Owls added another run in the third after Baker pulled a one-out bunt single down the third base line, stole second base, and came around to score on an RBI single by Jace Whitmer.
Wally Crancer earned a one-out walk in the top of the fourth, moved to third on a fielding error and scored on a balk by Kennesaw State starter Kody Paul for Tech’s first run of the game, but Andrew Martin’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning extended the Owls’ lead back to three runs, 4-1.
Paul allowed three runs on just two hits while walking three, but did not factor into the decision after tossing only 4.1 innings.
The Jackets added a pair of runs in the fifth inning on an RBI double by Michael Fisher and an RBI groundout by Crancer to pull within one run at 4-3, but the Owls answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the frame when Matt Dallas sent a bases-loaded single up the middle to score Robbins and Baker, both of whom had walked earlier in the inning.
A throwing error by Dallas, the Kennesaw State third baseman, allowed Matt Wieters to score from first base in the seventh inning, but reliever Casey Rogers (2-0) forced a popup for the third out of the frame, tossed a 1-2-3 eighth, and battled through the top of the Yellow Jacket lineup in the ninth to earn his second win of the season.
Rogers pitched the final 4.2 innings, scattering five hits while allowing just one unearned run. Yellow Jacket starter Michael Hutts (1-1) took the loss on a designated staff day, giving up two runs on three hits while striking out two in 2.0 innings.
Jared Hyatt, Brad Rulon and Andrew Robinson all made scoreless relief appearances, combining to give up just one hit while striking out five over the final four innings.
Georgia Tech will return to action this weekend when it hosts Boston College in a key Atlantic Coast Conference series at Russ Chandler Stadium. The Jackets and Eagles (5-6-1, 3-0 ACC) will open the three-game series Friday at 4 p.m. and play Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. Friday afternoon’s game will be featured on ACC Select (gatech.playonsports.tv), while all three games can be heard on WREK-Radio (91.1 FM/www.wrek.org). Live stats can be found at www.ramblinwreck.com.
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