April 10, 2011
ATLANTA – Junior Jake Davies was 4-for-4 with three RBI, and sophomore pitcher Buck Farmer won his sixth-straight game as the eighth-ranked Georgia Tech baseball team defeated No. 1 Virginia, 10-8, in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at Russ Chandler Stadium.
Georgia Tech (24-9, 12-3 ACC) ended a three-game losing skid with the win and avoided a series sweep. It also halted Virginia’s (31-3, 13-2 ACC) win streak at 12 games.
“We really battled hard the whole day,” head coach Danny Hall said. “They [Virginia] are going to make you play. They score runs, and they can pitch and you have to battle hard for nine innings.
“I told our team today that Virginia is the standard. They come out here and win two out of three, so we have to try and set our sights on getting back to the level that we like, and to the level that Virginia is playing at right now.”
Davies was a perfect 4-for-4 with two doubles and three RBI on the day for Tech, driving in all three runs on two out hits. Tech had 14 hits total against the Cavaliers on Sunday, getting three from freshman Kyle Wren to back Davies’ solid performance.
“It’s big to win the third game because it keeps us only one game behind them instead of two,” Davies said. “Getting those two outs hits are what Georgia Tech is known for. We didn’t do that on Friday and Saturday and we didn’t win. We got them today, and that was key for us in getting the victory.”
Farmer (6-1) won his sixth consecutive game on the mound after scattering four earned runs on 10 hits over 7.0 innings. The Conyers, Ga. native had eight strikeouts while issuing just one walk.
The Jackets scored runs in six of their eight innings of at-bats and held off a pesky Virginia squad late in the game.
Virginia’s David Coleman brought the Cavaliers within two runs in the ninth inning on a RBI single to centerfield with just one out, but sophomore reliever Luke Bard recorded a double play on the next at-bat to preserve the save and the win for the Jackets.
The save for Bard was his fourth of the season, as he allowed one run on one hit in 1.2 innings of relief.
Virginia starter Cody Winiarski (4-2) was credited with the loss after lasting just three innings in his outing. The senior right-hander allowed five runs on six hits, and walked three batters.
The two teams traded leads on and off through the first three and a half innings on Sunday, with Virginia getting the better half after going ahead 4-3 in the top of the fourth.
The Jackets rallied for three runs in the bottom half of the inning to reclaim the lead at 6-3, starting with a solo home run to right field by freshman Mott Hyde. Junior Matt Skole and Davies’ drove in the other two runs.
The Jackets would load the bases in the next inning on Virginia reliever Scott Silverstein, and break through on a base hit by Kyle Wren before a sac fly by Jacob Esch to make it 8-4.
The Cavaliers scrapped for three runs over the next two innings, but Tech responded each time with a run of its own. Sophomore Sam Dove brought a run across with a groundout in the sixth and sophomore Brandon Thomas closed out the scoring for the Jackets with a solo home run to left field in the seventh.
It was the first career home run for the switch-hitting right fielder.
The Jackets will return to action on Tuesday, hosting Georgia at 7 p.m. at Russ Chandler Stadium. The game will be televised live on CSS.
