ATLANTA (April 21) – Mike Ziegler tossed a complete game four-hitter and Blair McCaleb homered and drove in three runs to lead second-ranked Florida State defeated sixth-ranked Georgia Tech, 6-0, on Friday night at Dick Howser Stadium.
The loss snapped Tech’s (33-9, 13-3 ACC) 15-game winning streak, while the Seminoles (38-7, 10-3) moved closer to the first-place Yellow Jackets in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings.
Ziegler (8-2) was in complete command all evening, holding the Tech offense to just four base hits while retiring 16 straight batters from the third to the eighth inning. He issued one walk and struck out seven batters.
Tech starter Cory Vance (8-2) suffered the loss, his first of the season in six starts against ACC competition. The lefthander allowed six runs on eight hits in 4.2 innings of work.
The Seminoles took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning when Chris Smith doubled and came around to score on a RBI single from Mike Futrell. FSU stretched the lead to 4-0 with three more runs in the fourth inning as McCaleb blasted a two-run homer to left field and Futrell added a solo homer to right.
Florida State finally chased Vance in the fifth inning with two more runs. Brett Groves singled and scored on a RBI single from Karl Jernigan, while a bases loaded walk plated Ryan Barthelemy.
Tech’s Wes Rynders had two hits on the evening, and Derik Goffena extended his hitting streak to 19 games. Mark Teixeira went 0-for-3, snapping his 19-game hitting streak.
Georgia Tech and Florida State will continue the two game series on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Dick Howser Stadium. The contest will be televised in the Atlanta area on Fox Sports Net South and in Florida markets on the Sunshine Network.
