April 4, 2004
ATLANTA – Ryan Braun had four hits and Brian Barton added four RBI as No. 5 Miami (24-6) won the series with a 16-13 win over Georgia Tech (17-13) Sunday afternoon at Russ Chandler Stadium.
Reliever Danny Gil (5-0) earned his second win of the series, allowing just one run on two hits while striking out three Tech batters in one inning of work. Starter Brandon Camardese lasted just 2.2 innings, as the Jackets scored seven runs on seven hits while earning two walks from the Miami southpaw.
Clifton Remole led Tech with a 5-for-5 performance on the afternoon. He also drove in three runs and scored two. Brandon Boggs had three hits while Eric Patterson and Andy Hawranick added two hits apiece for Tech.
The Jackets’ three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning weren’t enough to overcome the six-run margin the Hurricanes built courtesy of a total of 12 runs scored in the sixth and seventh innings. Remole led off the ninth with a single and advanced to third on a single by Whit Robbins, but was thrown out at home by left fielder Jon Jay when trying to score on a deep fly ball by Patterson. Wes Hodges then reached on a two-out error and scored on a double by Boggs, and Micah Owings drove in Boggs with a double to left center field. Steven Blackwood ended the Jackets’ scoring threat with a groundout to first base.
Braun led Miami with four hits and Jim Burt added three for the Hurricanes.
The Hurricanes took a 2-0 lead in the second inning on a wind-aided home run by Adam Ricks. Jim Burt led off the inning with a double to left field and Ricks pulled a 3-2 pitch down the right field line.
Georgia Tech answered with five runs to take a 5-2 lead in the bottom half of the inning. Blackwood led off with a walk and came around to score on a double by Mike Nickeas. Remole drove in Nickeas with an RBI single to right field and moved to second on a single by Hawranick before Patterson hit his second home run of the season, a three-run shot to right field.
The Jackets added two more runs in the third inning when Remole hit a two-run home run over the right field fence for his second home run of the season.
Miami closed the gap to 7-3 when Burt led off the fourth inning with a solo home run to right field. Georgia Tech’s Owings responded with his team-leading 10th home run of the season, a solo shot to right field, in the bottom half of the inning to make the score 8-3 in favor of the Jackets.
Tyler Greene had a one-out single in fifth inning, advanced to second on a single by Remole, moved to third on Hawranick’s fielder’s choice and scored on a balk by Miami reliever J.D. Cockroft to give Tech a 9-3 lead in the game.
The Hurricanes posted a five-run sixth inning to pull within one run at 9-8. Jay was hit by pitch to lead off the inning and advanced to second on a single by Braun before scoring on an RBI single to left field by Burt. Brian Barton then hit his first home run of the season, a three-run shot to straightaway center field. Gaby Sanchez delivered Miami’s second home run of the inning against reliever Lee Hyde to cap the Hurricane scoring.
After the Jackets posted another run in the bottom half of the sixth inning on an RBI double by Blackwood, Miami posted seven runs in the seventh inning to take a 15-10 lead. The inning was highlighted with RBI singles from Joey Hooft and Braun, while the Jackets walked three batters and had three errors in the frame.
Reliever Nick Wagner (0-1) took the loss for the Jackets, allowing four unearned runs on two hits in 0.2 innings of work. Starter Andrew Kown went 5.0 innings, but did not figure into the decision after allowing seven runs on seven hits while striking out seven. Freshman Lee Hyde succeeded Kown, but went only one inning, allowing three runs on four hits while striking out one Miami batter. Philip Perry pitched the final 2.1 innings of the game for the Jackets and allowed just one run on three hits while striking out three Hurricane batters.
Georgia Tech will return to action Tuesday when it travels to Panthersville to face cross-town rival Georgia State at 6 p.m. Live statistics for the game will be available at www.ramblinwreck.com.
