Feb. 21, 2010
ATLANTA – Sophomore pitcher Jed Bradley had a career-high 12 strikeouts while the No. 6 Georgia Tech baseball team homered four times in a 13-0 shutout win over Missouri State Sunday afternoon at Russ Chandler Stadium. The Jackets improve to 3-0 on the season while the Bears fall to 0-3.
Bradley (1-0) was terrific in his season debut, holding the Bears to just four hits and no runs while striking out 12 of the 22 batters he faced. His 12 strikeouts were the most by a Tech player since Deck McGuire fanned 13 on opening day against Lipscomb in February of 2009.
“I thought Jed [Bradley] dominated the game, and that is the way he had thrown in our intra-squad games heading into the season,” head coach Danny Hall said. “Only throwing 72 pitches in six innings with 12 strikeouts — He pitched great.”
Tech poured it on at the plate for the second-consecutive game, scoring 13 runs on 17 hits, a nice follow up to a 19 hit performance on Saturday.
Leadoff home runs by junior Chase Burnette and senior Jay Dantzler in the second and fourth inning, respectively, followed by a solo shot from sophomore Matt Skole in the fifth and a grand slam from junior Cole Leonida in the seventh vaulted Tech’s attack.
Burnette went a perfect 4-for-4 on the day with two singles, a double and a solo home run. He is now 8-for-11 (.727) with two home runs to start the season.
The Buford, Ga. native opened the scoring early with his home run to left field in the bottom of the second to give Tech a 1-0 lead.
The Jackets added another in the bottom of the fourth when Dantzler smashed a leadoff homer over the left field wall. His home run was the fifth leadoff round tripper of the series for Tech.
Bradley continued his dominance on the mound in the top of the fifth, striking out the side for number eight, nine and 10.
“I felt good today,” sophomore pitcher Jed Bradley said. “I definitely had some pregame jitters with it being the first start of the year. I had a good slider and a good feel for it, and a great fastball, so overall I feel it was a good day.”
For the second consecutive day the Jackets had a huge fifth inning, notching four runs on five hits, highlighted by Skole’s blast to right field and an RBI single to center by sophomore Jacob Esch, extending the lead to 6-0.
Missouri State starter Pat Doyle (0-1) was credited with the loss on the day, and was lifted in the bottom of the fifth after surrendering five runs on 10 hits.
Bradley completed his solid day on the mound with his career-high 12th strikeout in the top of the sixth. His previous high was seven, which he tallied twice as a freshman, last against Georgia on April 14, 2009.
The Jackets reached double-digit scoring numbers in the seventh, when Leonida smashed his grand slam out of the park down the left field line and put Tech up 10-0.
Senior second baseman Jason Garofalo rounded out the scoring with a three-run double in the eighth to make it 13-0.
The Jackets will begin mid-week play with a two-game series against Georgia Southern starting Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Statesboro, Ga.
