March 25, 2008
ATLANTA – Brad Feltes’ grand slam broke open a tight game in the fourth inning and Luke Murton hit two home runs to lead No. 17 Georgia Tech (18-5) to a 12-1 victory over Georgia State (14-8) Tuesday night at Russ Chandler Stadium.
With the Yellow Jackets leading 3-1, Thomas Nichols and Derek Dietrich earned walks and Charlie Blackmon was hit by a pitch to load the bases in the fourth inning for Feltes, who drilled his fourth home run of the season off the left field pole to push the score to 7-1.
Tony Plagman followed the grand slam with a walk before Murton sent his first home run of the season over the center field wall, making the score 9-1 in favor of the Jackets.
Feltes and Murton both drove in four runs on the night, and Murton had a game-high three hits for the Yellow Jackets. Plagman, Jeff Rowland and Chris House added two hits apiece.
A two-run single by Dietrich gave Georgia Tech a 2-0 edge in the bottom of the first inning before Bradley Logan doubled to lead off the second, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on an RBI groundout by Marc Mimeault.
The Jackets added to their lead with a run in the third after Plagman singled, moved to third on a double by Murton and scored on an error by Panther left fielder Dusty Bennett, making the score 3-1.
An RBI double by Patrick Long pushed Tech’s lead to nine runs before Murton followed with a two-run home run to cap the scoring at 12-1 in the seventh inning.
Yellow Jacket starter Deck McGuire (4-0) picked up his fourth win of the season by holding the Panthers to one run on three hits. He also fanned five and walked five before being lifted.
Michael Hutts and Sean Devine each worked two scoreless innings in relief. Hutts gave up four hits and struck out four while Devine held Georgia State to one hit while striking out three and walking one.
Panther starter Adam Knight (1-2) suffered the loss, giving up four runs on five hits in three innings of work.
The Yellow Jackets will be back in action Wednesday night when they host Alabama State at Russ Chandler Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m., and the Jackets can be seen on ACC Select (gatech.playonsports.tv) and heard on WREK Radio (91.1 FM/www.wrek.org). Live stats for all Tech baseball games can be found at Ramblinwreck.com.
–GT–
