March 28, 2014
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Steven Shellinsky delivered an RBI double with one out in the 13th inning as Pittsburgh defeated No. 23 Georgia Tech, 4-3, with a walk-off victory Friday night at Charles L. Cost Field in Pittsburgh, Pa.
The teams combined for eight scoreless innings after Tech tied the game at 3-3 with a run in the top of the fourth. The Yellow Jackets left 14 runners on base, including 10 in scoring position. Tech had runners in scoring position in each extra inning.
The loss dropped the Yellow Jackets to 15-11 overall, 5-5 in the ACC and to 2-3 in extra innings this season. Four of Tech’s last five ACC games have been decided in extra innings. The Panthers improved to 13-11, 5-5.
With impending rain in the forecast, Saturday’s game has been moved to a 9:30 a.m. start.
Matt Johnson led off the 13th by reaching on a walk, but his at-bat was extended after Tech dropped a pop-up in foul territory for its lone error of the game. Johnson moved up 90 feet on sacrifice bunt and scored easily as the game-winner after Shellinsky delivered a double to the gap in left.
Jon Danielczyk pitched a scoreless 13th inning for Pitt and was credited with the win (3-0), while Dusty Isaacs was handed a tough-luck loss (4-4).
Tech reliever Sam Clay was lights out over 4.1 scoreless innings in relief of starter Josh Heddinger. Clay fanned six against one walk and allowed just two hits in another strong outing for the sophomore lefty. Clay was matched by Pitt reliever Hobie Harris, who tossed one-hit ball over 6.2 innings.
Heddinger gave the Jackets a solid start and turned a 3-3 game over to Clay with two outs in the sixth. Heddinger yielded five hits and three runs with two walks and six strikeouts, which was one shy of his career high.
After Boo Vazquez hit a two-run home run to right field in the third inning that gave the Panthers the lead at 3-2, Heddinger retired the next eight batters in order as Tech got a run back to tie the game.
Keenan Innis led off the fourth inning with a single, moved to second on Elliott Barzilli’s groundout and scored thanks to Daniel Spingola’s RBI double to the gap in right that extended the junior’s hitting streak to 11 games.
Neither team dented the scoreboard until the 13th.
After Pitt grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning, Tech did some two-out damage in the third to claim a 2-1 lead. Barzilli got the inning started with a double to left and Mott Hyde’s two-out single through the right side made it 1-1. Matt Gonzalez kept the inning going with a single and Thomas Smith knotted things up with his single to center.
Vazquez’s two-run shot to right put Pitt back up in the bottom of the third.
