March 13, 2010
ATLANTA – The fourth-ranked Georgia Tech baseball team (12-1, 2-0 ACC) rallied from seven runs down, scoring eight in the bottom of the sixth, for a 15-8 comeback win over Wake Forest (6-10, 0-2 ACC) Saturday afternoon at Russ Chandler Stadium.
“We didn’t pitch it real well today, but we had the big sixth inning and I am just proud of the way we hung in there and battled,” head coach Danny Hall said.
Sophomore Matt Skole and senior Tony Plagman led the attack with three hits apiece, while Skole’s two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth started the comeback for the Jackets.
Skole added a double and three RBI’s on the day, while extending his hitting streak to seven games.
The seven run deficit was the largest of the season for the Jackets, who fell behind 8-1 after the Demon Deacons scored three runs in the top of the fifth against Tech freshman reliever Luke Bard.
Bard entered for Tech starter Brandon Cumpton, whose tough outing resulted in allowing a season-high five runs and 10 hits in 4.0 innings pitched.
Skole’s shot followed a two-out single by junior catcher Cole Leonida, who gave Tech just its fourth hit through the first 4.2 innings of play.
Sophomore lefty Jake Davies (1-0) picked up the win for Tech, entering the game with two outs in the top of the sixth to face just one batter. Davies forced a pop-up by Wake Forest’s Mike Murray to leave runners on the corners.
The Tech bats got hot in the bottom half of the inning, as the Jackets scored eight runs on five hits -highlighted by two-run home runs from Leonida and senior Jay Dantzler.
“Matt [Skole] has been swinging the bat really well and he had a great day,” hall added. “He is hitting the ball hard every time he hits it. That definitely jump started us, and then Cole [Leonida] followed it up.”
Dantzler’s shot to right field brought the Jackets within three, before the home side scored two more on a throwing and fielding error, in what might go as the most unusual play of the season.
With sophomore Thomas Nichols on first, junior centerfielder Jeff Rowland laid down a sacrifice bunt attempt that Wake Forest pitcher Tim Cooney sailed into the outfield while trying to get Nichols out at second. Demon Deacon centerfielder Steven Brooks then over-ran the ball, allowing Nichols scored with the speedy Rowland racing behind for another run.
Plagman singled to center on the next at-bat, as Leonida crushed his fourth homer of the season to centerfield giving Tech the 9-8 lead.
The Jackets would close out the inning with two more runs on a single by Thomas Nichols.
Chase Burnette added three more runs for the Jackets in the bottom of the seventh, as he sent a three-run shot to centerfield for his fourth home run of the season. Skole capped off his solid day at the plate with his RBI double in the bottom of the eighth, closing the scoring at 15-8.
The series between the two concludes at 1 p.m. Sunday at Russ Chandler Stadium.
