May 7, 2013
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Georgia Tech got its offense in gear and rookie Jonathan King gave the Yellow Jackets his best career start as Tech pounded out 14 hits in a 9-2 win at Ohio State Tuesday night to open a two-game midweek series at Bill Davis Stadium.
King fired a career high six shutout innings, allowed four hits with no walks and matched his career high of five strikeouts to lift the Jackets to their 30th win this season (30-18). The Buckeyes, who had come in as winners of nine of their last 10, fell to 32-15.
“He pitched very well,” said head coach Danny Hall. “He’s been pretty good all year for us, but that was by far his best performance. He threw a lot of strikes and we gave him some runs early and that helped relax a little.”
The game was the first-ever played by Georgia Tech in the state of Ohio, and was a homecoming for Hall, who grew up in the Buckeye State and began his head-coaching career at Kent State. Hall coached current OSU skipper Greg Beals while at Kent State.
“This was a very special game for me because I grew up here, and my parents and my sister live here,” said Hall. “But we also recruit guys out of the state, so it’s good to get Georgia Tech Baseball up here. Greg has done a nice job in his short time here at Ohio State, and right now they’re right in the thick of the Big Ten race.”
Mitch Earnest was 3-for-5 with a double, two RBI and two runs, while Sam Dove, Thomas Smith and Brandon Thomas each had two hits. Dove hit his third homer and finished with two RBI.
Daniel Palka reached base three times thanks to two hit-by-pitches and his bases-clearing, three-RBI triple that abused the wall in deep center was the big blow during a four-run fourth inning that made it 6-0. Of Palka’s last 10 hits this season, seven have gone for extra bases — those 10 hits have driven in 14 runs.
Zane Evans extended his hitting streak to 10 games with an RBI single in the first inning that put the Jackets on the board and Dove’s sacrifice fly made it 2-0 in the first. Tech improved to 20-3 when scoring first and 15-2 when scoring in the first inning.
King was in command from the start, worked four different perfect innings, and the rookie southpaw finished the night by facing just three batters over the minimum to improve to 5-4.
Mott Hyde’s two-out double – his 13th two-bagger this season – kickstarted the Yellow Jackets’ four-run fourth and Earnest followed with an RBI through the left side for a 3-0 lead. Kyle Wren singled, Thomas reached on an error and Palka made that error costly by hammering his second triple this season off the wall in deep in left.
Thomas’ RBI single scored Earnest in the sixth and the Jackets tacked on two more in the ninth thanks to an RBI double from Earnest and a solo homer to left from Dove.
Jacob Bosiokovic was 3-for-4 and he broke up the shutout with a solo homer in the seventh. Mike Carroll’s RBI groundout accounted for Ohio State’s other run in the ninth.
OSU starter Jake Post was on the hook for six runs and six hits in four innings and was hung the loss (2-1).
The series wraps up Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. as Tech sends sophomore RHP Josh Heddinger to the mound looking for the two-game sweep.
