March 18, 2016
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THE FLATS – Behind Brandon Gold’s commanding pitching performance and a season-high four home runs, the 22nd-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets posted a victory Friday night over Virginia Tech.
With the win, Georgia Tech (13-4, 1-3 ACC) snapped its four-game losing streak and improved to 11-1 at home this season. Gold (2-1) struck out a career-high nine batters in 7.0 innings of work. Virginia Tech (10-9, 1-3 ACC) surrendered 10 runs on 12 hits through the first four innings.
THE LINEUPS
Virginia Tech – Saige Jenco CF, Grant Maiorana DH, Phil Sciretta 1B, Nick Anerson LF, Max Ponzurick RF, Ryan Tufts SS, Andrew Mogg C, Matt Dauby 2B, Sam Fragale 3B, Packy Naughton P
Georgia Tech – Wade Bailey 2B, Connor Justus SS, Matt Gonzalez LF, Kel Johnson RF, Joey Bart DH, Trevor Craport 3B, Tristin English 1B, Ryan Peurifoy CF, Arden Pabst C, Brandon Gold P
THE BASICS
• Georgia Tech snapped its four-game losing streak.
• Georgia Tech, which is 11-1 at home this season, has won 18 of its last 21 home games.
• Senior 3B/LF Matt Gonzalez now has 234 career hits, which ranks 3rd among the NCAA’s active career leaders.
• Georgia Tech is 17-6 in the first game of its ACC home opening series under head coach Danny Hall.
• Georgia Tech has used 17 different lineups to open the 2016 season. Only 2B Wade Bailey and SS Connor Justus have started every game at the same position.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Georgia Tech broke open the game in the bottom of the 1st. Kel Johnson drove in Wade Bailey with an RBI single to left to take a 1-0 lead. With the bases loaded, Joey Bart was hit by a pitch, allowing Connor Justus to score for a 2-0 advantage. Tristin English then cleared the bases with a 3-RBI double to left field.
• The Yellow Jackets scored a run in both the second and third innings. In the 2nd, Justus’ solo home run to left made it a 6-0 Tech lead. In the 3rd, Peurifoy’s RBI double to right allowed English to score for a 7-0 advantage.
• Three more runs crossed home plate in the 4th. Bailey led off with a solo homer to left. After an RBI fielder’s choice by Bart, Craport plated a third run with an RBI single up the middle for a 10-0 Jackets lead.
• Georgia Tech’s lead would grow to 12-0 in the 5th thanks to a passed ball that scored Arden Pabst and a sacrifice fly that scored Bailey.
• Virginia Tech finally plated its first run in the 6th on Phil Sciretta’s RBI single through the left side.
• Pabst’s solo home run in the 7th made it 13-1 and Matt Gonzalez’s solo homer to left-center made it 14-1 Georgia Tech.
• Virginia Tech scored three runs in the ninth for the final 14-4 score.
QUOTE BOARD
“Brandon Gold pitched really well tonight, set the tone early. We had great at bats up and down the lineup. We played great defense until late in the game. We just lost our focus. I’m pleased with the way we responded and I’m proud of how we played tonight.” – Georgia Tech head coach Danny Hall on the Jackets’ win
“The last four games wasn’t us. We were pretty upset about the performances we had at Florida State and this week vs. Auburn. We had a great mindset coming into today. We’re all very happy with winning tonight.” – Georgia Tech pitcher Brandon Gold on tonight’s win
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Sophomore RF Kel Johnson extended his career-best hit streak to 12 games.
• Junior SS Connor Justus hit his 2nd home run of the season – 2nd of the week) and 5th of his career. All 5 of Justus’ homers have been solo shots.
• Freshman 1B Tristin English tied a career high with 2 doubles and drove in a career-high 3 RBI.
• Junior CF Ryan Peurifoy drove in his first run of the season.
• Freshman DH/C Joey Bart went 1-for-3 with 2 RBI, extending his career-best hitting streak to 8 games.
• Junior RHP Brandon Gold struck out a career-high 9 batters in 7.0 scoreless innings.
• Georgia Tech turned 2 double plays, increasing its NCAA-leading total to 32 double plays turned.
UP NEXT
Game 2 of Georgia Tech’s ACC home opening series with Virginia Tech will begin at 6 p.m. ET (NOTE TIME CHANGE). The game will be streamed live on RamblinWreck.com and WREK 91.1 FM.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on Twitter (@GTBaseball), Facebook (facebook.com/GTbaseball) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.
