April 17, 2005
ATLANTA – Steven Blackwood homered and drove in four runs and Mike Trapani went 3-for-3 to lead No. 4 Georgia Tech (29-7, 16-2 ACC) to a 9-4 win and series sweep over No. 9 Florida State (33-11, 9-6) on Sunday afternoon at Russ Chandler Stadium.
The Yellow Jackets improved to 32-2 in their last 34 regular season Atlantic Coast Conference games, and Tech has won 13 consecutive ACC series. The Yellow Jackets have won 19 of their last 20 ACC home games.
Georgia Tech stands in first place in the ACC standings, ahead of Miami (13-4), Clemson (11-4), North Carolina (11-4) and Florida State.
Tech swept Florida State for the second straight season, marking the first time the Seminoles have lost six straight games to a conference opponent since joining the league in 1992.
Tech starter Blake Wood earned a win in his third straight start and improved to 7-0 on the season. Wood worked six-plus innings and allowed four runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out six. Relievers Tim Gustafson worked two shutout innings and Matt Wieters worked a scoreless ninth inning to close out the game.
Blackwood went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI, while Trapani finished with two doubles and a single and drove in two runs.
Blackwood staked the Yellow Jackets to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning with his fifth home run of the year, a shot to right-center field that hit the speaker tower. The Seminoles tied the game at 2-2 in the second inning on a two-out, two-run single from Shane Robinson.
Tech scored two runs in the bottom of the second inning to take a 4-2 lead. A RBI double by Trapani scored Andy Hawranick from first base, and Danny Payne added a sacrifice fly to score Trapani with the second run of the inning.
A RBI single from Wes Hodges extended the Tech lead to 5-2 in the fifth inning before the Yellow Jackets erupted for four runs in the sixth to take a 9-2 lead. A walk and four doubles from Jeff Kindel, Mike Trapani, Tyler Greene and Steven Blackwood accounted for Tech’s scoring in the sixth inning.
Florida State pulled to within 9-4 on a two-run homer from Gibbs Chapman, his fifth of the year, in the top of the seventh inning. Chapman finished with three hits in five at bats.
Florida State starter Hunter Jones (4-2) took the loss, allowing five runs in five innings.
Georgia Tech returns to action on Wednesday when the Yellow Jackets host Georgia at 7 p.m.
