April 23, 2006
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Matt Wieters had three hits and pitched the final two innings to record the save as No. 8 Georgia Tech (32-9, 13-8 ACC) completed a three-game sweep of No. 5 Florida State (33-10, 13-8), 8-7, in the second game of a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at Dick Howser Stadium.
The Yellow Jackets won their sixth straight game on the Seminoles’ home field, sweeping a three-game series in Tallahassee in 2004 and 2006. Tech has won 13 of the last 15 meetings since the 2004 season.
Georgia Tech had 18 hits in the game, the most allowed by Florida State in 94 games, but hit into three double plays and left 13 runners on base.
Wieters went 3-for-6, while Steven Blackwood and Wes Hodges each drove in two runs. Hodges, Whit Robbins, Jeff Kindel, Mike Trapani and Michael Fisher added two hits.
David Duncan (5-1) won his third straight start, working five innings and allowing three earned runs. He issued one walk and struck out five batters.
Wieters worked two scoreless innings to close out the game and earn his fourth save of the season. Tech’s bullpen of Wieters, Brad Rulon, Lee Hyde and John Goodman allowed one earned run over the final four innings.
Barret Browning (6-2) took the loss in relief, allowing two runs in 1.1 innings.
The Yellow Jackets had five hits in the first two innings, but managed just a 1-0 lead. In the second, Jeff Kindel singled and scored on a RBI double from Mike Trapani.
The Seminoles, meanwhile, parlayed two hits and two errors into three runs in the bottom of the second inning to take a 3-1 lead. Tech third baseman Wes Hodges committed two errors in the inning, sandwiched around a RBI double from Mark Gildea and a RBI groundout from Charles Cleveland.
Tech pulled to within 3-2 in the third inning when Matt Wieters doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly from Hodges.
Dennis Guinn hit a solo home run, his team-leading 10th of the year, to give FSU a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the third inning.
Georgia Tech scored two runs in the fourth inning to tie the game, 4-4. After the Yellow Jackets loaded the bases on singles from Andy Hawranick and Michael Fisher and a walk to Danny Payne, Steven Blackwood delivered a two-run single.
The Jackets added two runs in the fifth on two-out RBI singles from Hawranick and Fisher to take a 6-4 lead.
Florida State pulled to within 6-5 in the bottom of the fifth when Shane Robinson singled and scored on a sacrifice fly from Guinn. Tech answered in the top of the sixth inning with back-to-back doubles from Whit Robbins and Hodges to take a 7-5 lead.
The Seminoles again drew within one run in the bottom of the sixth when Tony Thomas singled and scored on a two-out RBI single from Ryne Malone, making the score 7-6. Florida State had a chance to do more damage when it loaded the bases with two outs off Tech reliever Brad Rulon, but Lee Hyde worked out of the jam by retiring Jack Rye on a fly out to end the inning.
Florida State mounted another scoring threat in the seventh inning, putting runners on first and second bases with one out. But John Goodman came out of the Tech bullpen and induced a double play ground ball on his first pitch to end the inning.
The Yellow Jackets added an insurance run in the eighth inning to extend the lead to 8-6. A single and two walks loaded the bases with one out, and Kindel followed with a RBI single. FSU reliever Luke Tucker escaped further damage by getting a strikeout and a fly out to end the inning.
Florida State again answered in the bottom of the eighth inning, pulling to within 8-7. The Seminoles loaded the bases with one out on a hit batter, single and error, and Jack Rye had a RBI groundout. Wieters pitched out of the jam by retiring Guinn on a flyout to end the inning.
Wieters pitched around a ninth-inning leadoff single to preserve the one-run win.
Georgia Tech returns to action on Wednesday at 7 p.m. when the Yellow Jackets visit Georgia.
