March 12, 2005
ATLANTA – No. 8 Georgia Tech (15-2, 5-0 ACC) won its 21st consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference game dating back to the 2004 season with a 16-14 win over visiting Wake Forest (9-9, 3-2) in the second of a three-game ACC series Saturday afternoon at Russ Chandler Stadium.
Tech’s 21 consecutive wins in league play ties the ACC record for consecutive conference wins with Clemson (1987-88) and North Carolina (1963-65).
Jeremy Slayden went two-for-three with a double, home run, and six runs batted, and Jeff Kindel went 5-for-5, scoring four runs and driving in two to lead the Tech attack. Steven Blackwood and Wes Hodges added two hits, while Hodges scored five runs in the contest.
The Yellow Jackets scored in double figures for the seventh consecutive game, and scored a total of 106 runs over that span.
Trailing 10-9 in the bottom of the sixth, Tech plated three runs as Steven Blackwood, Wes Hodges, and Jeff Kindel all reached to start the inning. After Slayden was hit by a pitch from Deacon reliever Eric Niesen to force in Blackwood, Whit Robbins singled on a ball just out of the reach of second baseman Andy Goff to break the 10-all tie.
The Yellow Jackets also added three in the seventh inning on an RBI ground rule double by Kindel, and Hodges came around to score on a Goff error on a ground ball off the bat of Slayden.
Tim Gustafson (2-1) earned the win in relief for Tech, working two and two-thirds innings allowing one run on three hits while striking out 2. Jordan Crews picked up his second save of the season by recording the final four outs of the game.
Wake Forest jumped out to an early 4-0 lead on J.B. Tucker’s 4th home run of the season, a three-run shot in the first, and an RBI single off the bat of Matt Antonelli plating Casey Sterk.
Tech struck for three runs in the second on a two-run double down the right-field line by Slayden, and scored on shortstop Ben Ingold’s error.
The Demon Deacons added single runs in the third and fourth on RBI singles by Goff and Ryder Mathias, respectively.
Blackwood led off the third with a solo home run, his second of the season to pull the Jackets within 5-4. Slayden capped the five-run uprising with his fourth round-tripper of the season, a three-run blast to center-field scoring Kindel and Matt Weiters. Hodges scored earlier in the inning on an error by Demon Deacon first baseman Ryder Mathias. The Deacons reclaimed the lead in the sixth with four runs. Tucker drove in his fourth run of the game, and Mathias plated his second of the game on a double to left. Wake Forest scored the other two runs on RBI groundouts from Brandon Enick and Matt Miller.
Tech added an insurance run on an RBI double of the bat of Kindel in the eighth.
The Deacons had one final rally in the ninth scoring four runs. After an RBI groundout from Enick, Miller added a three-run blast, his third to provide the final margin.
Brian Bach (0-1) took the loss for the Demon Deacons.
Tech and Wake Forest will conclude their series Sunday at 1:30pm.
