| Catcher Tyler Parker homered and drove in four runs to lead the 15th-ranked Yellow Jackets to a 8-5 win over Maryland on Saturday, April 8. |
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (April 8) – Georgia Tech’s Rhett Parrott tossed seven strong innings and catcher Tyler Parker homered and drove in four runs to lead the 15th-ranked Yellow Jackets to a 8-5 win over Maryland on Saturday afternoon at Shipley Field.
The victory extended Tech’s winning streak to seven games, and the Jackets (25-8, 9-2 ACC) maintained first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings.
Parrott (4-2) was in total command throughout the game, surrendering just one unearned run on four singles in a career-high seven innings of work. He issued one walk and struck out five batters, while allowing only one Terrapin to advance past second base.
Tech took a 2-0 lead after three innings on RBI singles from Derik Goffena and Richard Lewis. The Jackets broke the game open with four runs in the top of the fourth. After Jason Basil and Victor Menocal each singled, Parker blasted a three-run homer, his eighth of the season. Brad Stockton added the final run in that inning with a RBI double that plated Lewis.
The Yellow Jackets added two runs in the seventh on a RBI double from Parker and a run-scoring sinlge from Wes Rynders to push the lead to 8-0. Every Tech starter had at least one hit in the game while Lewis extended his hitting streak to 23 games. Parker finished the game 3-for-5 with a double, homer and four RBI, and Rynders, Stockton and Basil each had two hits.
The Terrapins mounted a rally in the final three innings, socring in the seventh on a RBI single from Jason Mohap and in the eighth on a RBI groundout from Craig Munroe. Maryland scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth off Tech reliever Kevin Cameron before the Jackets’ Andy Mitchell came on to record the final out of the game with the tying run at the plate and earn his third save of the season.
Maryland starter Mark Martin (1-4) took the loss, allowing six runs in six innings of work.
Georgia Tech and Maryland will conclude the three-game series on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Shipley Field.
