Feb. 19, 2003
MACON, Ga. – Eric Patterson, Brandon Boggs, and Jeremy Slayden each drove in two runs and four Georgia Tech pitchers combined on a seven-hittter to lead the top-ranked Yellow Jackets (3-0) to a 9-1 win over Mercer (5-7) on Wednesday afternoon at Claude Smith Field.
Tech starter Jason Neighborgall (1-0), one of four Tech pitchers on the afternoon, earned the victory after tossing three shutout innings. Kyle Schmidt, Andrew Kown, and Nick Wagner all pitched in relief. Schmidt allowed one hit and one walk in three innings, striking out four batters. Kown worked two innings, allowing one run on three hits while striking out three, and Wagner worked the final inning of the game.
Tech jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Patterson led off the game with a walk and Boggs followed with a two-run homer, the first of his career. The Yellow Jackets plated three more runs in the fourth, scoring on an RBI double from Patterson and a two-run single from Slayden. A sacrifice fly from Patterson made the score 6-0 in the top of the sixth.
Tech added two runs in the seventh, stretching the lead to 8-0. Micah Owings was hit by a pitch and eventually scored after stealing third base and coming around on an errant throw by Mercer’s catcher Josh Thompson. Clifton Remole singled and scored on an RBI hit from Tyler Greene. A two-out RBI single from Remole made the score 9-0 in the eighth inning.
Mercer broke up the shutout with an RBI groundout by Kyle Johnston in the bottom of the eighth, making the score 9-1.
Remole paced the Tech attack with three hits in five at-bats. Boggs and Slayden added two hits apiece as Tech outhit Mercer, 12-7.
Georgia Tech will return to action on Friday at 12:30 p.m. when the Yellow Jackets face Rider on the first day of the Diamond Classic in Savannah. Other teams competing in the tournament are Michigan and host Armstrong Atlantic State. Live statistics for the game will be available on www.ramblinwreck.com.
