March 25, 2014
THE FLATS – Thomas Smith had two hits and Ben Parr gave No. 23 Georgia Tech a solid start, but Mercer claimed a 4-1 victory Tuesday night at Russ Chandler Stadium.
The Bears (20-6) tacked on a run in the third and scored the game’s final three runs after the Yellow Jackets (15-10) tied it the fourth.
Smith extended his streak of consecutive games reaching base to 19, while Daniel Spingola’s hitting streak reached a career-high 10 games. Keenan Innis drove in Tech’s lone run.
Parr matched his career-high of five innings and set a career-high of five strikeouts, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits. But the Jackets were limited to just five hits by the Bears and Parr was on the hook for the tough-luck loss (1-1).
“They pitched it well and sometimes it’s a little more difficult to hit when they run a pitcher out there every inning,” said head coach Danny Hall. “(Dimitri) Kourtis has always been one of their better guys out of the bullpen and he pitched well tonight – was throwing three pitches for strikes. We’ll tip our cap to them and look to bounce back this weekend.”
Kourtis pitched the final four innings for the Bears and was credited with the save, his second. Ryan Askew worked two innings of relief to earn the win (1-2) after three different Bears each tossed the first three innings.
Smith led off the fourth inning with a single and A.J. Murray followed with a base hit behind him. Connor Justus’ sac bunt moved both into scoring position and Innis hit a roller to the second baseman to drive in the tying run.
A double by Michael Massi followed by an error allowed Mercer to take the lead for good. Massi finished with two hits and his RBI single put the visitors on the board in the third.
Tech returns to action this weekend, traveling to ACC newcomer Pitt. Friday’s series-opener is set for 3 p.m.
