March 16, 2013
THE FLATS – No. 14 Georgia Tech homered four times and slugged its way past Boston College, 11-3, Saturday at Russ Chandler Stadium. Brandon Thomas and Matt Gonzalez each had three hits, while Zane Evans, Sam Dove, Kyle Wren and Gonzalez each homered in the win.
The Yellow Jackets opened a 3-0 lead after two innings, saw the Eagles cut it to 3-2 in the fourth, and the hosts pulled away to win the series and improve to 16-2 overall and 4-1 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. BC fell to 3-14, 0-5.
Junior Dusty Isaacs gave the Jackets a gem on the mound, matching his career high of seven innings and improving to 3-1. Freshman Sam Clay tossed the final two innings to nail down the victory.
The Jackets belted four homers and swiped five bases – both season-highs – while reaching the double-digit mark in runs for the 13th time this season (13-0) and the 11th time in the last 12 games. Thomas was 3-for-5 with an RBI and scored twice, while Gonzalez was 3-for-4 with his second homer, two stolen bases and scored three times.
Three Jackets extended notable hitting streaks: Gonzalez (13 games), Evans (11) and Thomas (10). Evans was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer in the fifth inning and an RBI triple in the first.
“We had some good at-bats up and down the order,” said head coach Danny Hall. “Zane continues to swing the bat really well and Gonzalez had a big day. That’s a good win.”
Tech jumped on Boston College in the first for two runs, marking the 11th time this season the Jackets have scored in the first inning (10-1). Wren singled, and then scored on Thomas’ RBI single. Two batters later, Evans hammered a ball to the gap in left that rolled to the wall and his second career triple made it 2-0.
Gonzalez’s solo homer – his second of the season – pushed the lead to 3-0 in the second, and Isaacs was in control until a rocky fourth. With two outs, Chris Shaw ended the no-hitter with a solo homer, and Matt Pare followed in the next at-bat with a solo shot of his own. Two more Eagles singled in succession after the homers, but Dove snared a line drive at third for the final out to end the threat.
That inning was all the damage off Isaacs, who allowed just those four hits and two runs with two walks and six strikeouts in the winning effort. He retired nine of the final 10 batters his faced.
“Dusty threw the ball really well,” said Hall. “He really settled himself (after the fourth inning) and finished the game strong. We had a little defensive hiccup in the ninth, but all told, we pitched it well.”
Evans’ ACC-leading eighth home run – a three-run bomb to left – made it 7-2 in the fifth, and the Jackets tacked on insurance runs in the eighth inning with Mott Hyde’s RBI double, a two-run homer from Wren and a solo shot from Dove.
Wren was 2-for-4 with two runs, two RBI and his 13th steal of the year. Dove had two hits and scored twice. Hyde singled, walked, scored and swiped a pair of bags.
BC starter John Gorman was touched up for eight hits and six runs in four innings and absorbed the loss (1-3). Travis Ferrick had two of BC’s six hits and collected an RBI single in the ninth inning.
The Yellow Jackets and the Eagles meet Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Rusty C with Tech looking for a series sweep.
