May 4, 2001
ATLANTA – Steve Kelly tossed eight strong innings and Victor Menocal had three hits and two RBI to lead 10th-ranked Georgia Tech (34-14) to a 9-4 victory over visiting Charleston Southern (13-32) on Friday night at Russ Chandler Stadium.
Trailing 4-3 after seven and a half innings, the Yellow Jackets erupted for six runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. The inning was highlighted by a RBI triple from Brad Stockton, a RBI double from Jason Perry and RBI singles from Menocal and Matt Murton.
Kelly (7-2) went eight innings, marking his seventh consecutive start of seven innings or more. The right-hander allowed four runs, three earned, on eight hits and four walks while tying his season high with nine strikeouts. Closer Jeff Watchko tossed a scoreless ninth inning to close out the game.
Charleston Southern starter Chad Humbert (2-8) took the loss despite a solid effort. He allowed seven runs on 11 hits in 7.1 innings, although he held the Georgia Tech offense to just three runs on seven hits through the first seven innings of the game.
Tech took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning on Jason Basil’s 11th home run of the season, and then made the score 2-0 on a RBI single from Menocal in the fourth.
The Buccaneers tied the score at 2-2 in the top of the fifth with a RBI double from Shayne New and a Tech error. The Yellow Jackets immediately answered in the bottom of that inning with a solo homer >from Stockton, his seventh of the season, to retake the lead at 3-2.
CSU responded to take a 4-3 lead with two runs in the top of the sixth. Richardson and New each had RBI singles in the inning for the Bucs.
Menocal and Richard Lewis each had three hits for the Yellow Jackets, while Basil, Murton and Stockton each added two hits in the victory. Richardson went 3-for-4 for the Bucs in a losing effort.
Georgia Tech and Charleston Southern will continue the series on Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on WREK-Radio (91.1 FM in Atlanta) and on the internet at www.ramblinwreck.com.
