April 23, 2002
ATLANTA – Victor Menocal had three hits and drove in four runs while Brian Burks, Nick Wagner and Jeff Kindel combined on a five-hitter to lead 10th-ranked Georgia Tech (33-8) to a 12-1 win over visiting Mercer (17-25) on Tuesday night at Russ Chandler Stadium. The win improved the Yellow Jackets’ record to 22-0 at their new home park in 2002 and extended Tech’s overall home winning streak to 27 games dating back to last season.
Burks (7-3) held the Bears to one run on five hits in five innings to earn his first win since March 30. He struck out six batters and did not issue a walk. Wagner and Kindel each worked two scoreless and hitless innings to close out the game.
Georgia Tech jumped on top early, scoring in the bottom of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. Eric Patterson led off with a double, stole third base, and then scored on a RBI single by Menocal.
Mercer tied the game at 1-1 in the top half of the fourth inning after David Harwell doubled to lead off the inning and scored on a RBI single by Kyle Levengood.
With the score knotted at 1-1, the Yellow Jackets used a six-run fourth inning to seize control of the game. The inning was highlighted by a RBI double from Wes Rynders and run-scoring singles from Mike Nickeas, Victor Menocal, and Jason Perry.
The Yellow Jackets added five more runs in the eighth inning, scoring on back-to-back RBI doubles by Menocal and Jeremy Slayden, and a two-run homer by Matt Murton, his fourth of the season.
Patterson and Menocal led the Georgia Tech offense with three hits apiece, while Slayden, Murton, and Matthew Boggs each added two hits.
Chris Bishop (2-4) took the loss for Mercer, allowing seven runs on 10 hits in 3.2 innings of work. David Harwell and Luke Jackson had two hits for the Bears in the loss.
Georgia Tech will travel to Athens to take on Georgia in a 6:30 p.m. match-up on Wednesday evening. Chris Goodman (4-0, 4.43 ERA) will take the mound for the Yellow Jackets. Live radio broadcasts for the game can be heard on WREK-Radio (91.1 FM in Atlanta) and on the internet at www.ramblinwreck.com. Live scoring for the game will be available at www.ramblinwreck.com.
