April 20, 2004
ATLANTA – Micah Owings’ RBI single in the bottom of the 13th inning broke a 6-6 tie and lifted Georgia Tech (22-17) to a 7-6 win over visiting Winthrop (22-15) on Tuesday night at Russ Chandler Stadium.
The Yellow Jackets improved to 14-0 against the Eagles since the series began in 1992.
The 13-inning game tied for the second longest regular season game in Georgia Tech history, and it was the longest regular season game since 1969.
With the score tied at 6-6, Tech mounted a two-out rally in the bottom of the 13th inning. Consecutive singles from Wes Hodges and Brandon Boggs put runners on first and second bases before Owings lined a single to left center field that scored Hodges with the winning run.
Tech’s Jared Hyatt (1-0) earned the win in relief, working 2.2 scoreless innings and allowing just one hit while striking out three.
Chase Edwards (2-3) took the loss, allowing the winning run in his only inning of work.
The Yellow Jackets built a 3-0 lead with three unearned runs through the first three innings. Brandon Boggs reached on first baseman Bennett Stapf’s fielding error and scored on Micah Owings’ RBI single in the first inning. Tech added a pair of runs in third inning when Wes Hodges doubled and scored on third baseman David Scoggin’s error, and Boggs scored on Steven Blackwood’s sacrifice fly.
Winthrop cut the lead to 3-1 in the fourth inning when Daniel Carte singled and scored on Matt Repec’s RBI double.
Tech pushed the lead to 5-1 in the fifth inning with back-to-back home runs from Eric Patterson and Wes Hodges.
The Eagles scored four runs in the top of the sixth to tie the game at 5-5. Winthrop loaded the bases with no outs, and Matt Matkovich drove in Carte with a walk. Stapf drove in two runs with a single before Chris Carrara delivered a sacrifice fly that scored Matkovich with the tying run.
With the score knotted at 5-5, Chris Leroux led off the top of the ninth inning with a single, took second on Chris Carrara’s sacrifice bunt, moved to third on Jacob Dempsey’s single and scored on Daniel Carte’s RBI groundout.
Tech tied the score at 6-6 in the bottom of the ninth inning as Tyler Greene walked, moved to third on pinch hitter Whit Robbins’ single and scored on a balk.
The game remained scoreless until the 13th inning, but both teams had chances to break the tie. Tech left four runners on base in extra innings, while Winthrop had runners on base in both the 11th and 12th innings but failed to score.
Hodges led the Tech offense with three hits in seven at bats, while Owings had two hits and drove in two runs. Carte and Repec each had two hits for Winthrop.
Blackwood went 0-for-3 with two walks and a sacrifice fly to snap his hitting streak at a career-long 14 games.
Neither starting pitcher figured in the decision. Tech starter Blake Wood, who left the game with a 5-1 lead, worked five innings and allowed three runs on four hits. Winthrop’s Jason Terry allowed five runs in four-plus innings.
Georgia Tech visits Florida State for a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series this weekend at Dick Howser Stadium. Gametimes are 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
