May 11, 2002
ATLANTA – Third baseman Kevin Howard tied a school record with six hits, including two home runs, and drove in eight runs to lead Miami (25-24) to a 10-2 win over ninth-ranked Georgia Tech (40-11) on Saturday night at Russ Chandler Stadium. The Hurricanes’ victory evened the three-game series at one win apiece after the Yellow Jackets claimed a 7-6 win on Friday night.
Howard was a perfect 6-for-6 in the game, collecting a single in the first inning, doubles in the fifth, seventh and ninth innings, and home runs in the third and eighth innings. He set a new Miami record with 15 total bases in the game while driving in a career-high eight runs.
Miami starter Kiki Bengochea (4-6) earned the win, scattering five hits and six walks over five innings to hold the Yellow Jackets to two runs. Andrew Cohn, Shawn Valdes-Fauli and J.D. Cockroft worked four shutout innings out of the Hurricanes’ bullpen.
Howard’s RBI single in the first inning gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead before his first career grand slam made the score 5-0 in the top of the third inning. Tech cut the lead to 5-2 with two runs in the bottom of the third, including a solo home run from Jason Perry, his ninth of the season.
The score remained 5-2 until the Hurricanes exploded for five runs in the final three innings. Jim Burt had a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning, and back-to-back home runs from Howard, his 11th of the year, and Danny Matienzo, his 10th, made the score 9-2 in the eighth inning. Howard added a RBI double, his third of the game, to cap the scoring in the top of the ninth inning.
Javy Rodriguez went 4-for-6 and scored four runs for Miami, while Richard Giannotti and Greg Dini added two hits apiece.
Yellow Jackets’ starter Brian Burks (9-4) took the loss, allowing five runs on 10 hits in 5.1 innings. Victor Menocal and Jeremy Slayden each had two hits for Tech, which hit into two double plays and stranded 13 runners on base in the loss.
Georgia Tech and Miami will play the rubber match of the three-game series on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. 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.
