March 24, 2017
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Georgia Tech pushed across three runs in the top of the ninth and senior Ryan Peurifoy hit a solo home run in the 11th inning to left the Jackets to a 7-6 extra-inning win over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Friday night at David F. Couch Ballpark in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The extra-innings victory is the third in as many weekends for the Yellow Jackets, while all three of Tech’s ACC wins have come in extra innings.
The win snaps a two-game skid for Tech who improves to 13-7 on the season and 3-4 in the ACC. Wake falls to 16-7 and 4-3 in the ACC with the loss.
Down three at 6-3 heading into their final at bat, the Jackets got a two-out single from Trevor Craport in the top of the ninth to start the rally. Following a walk to Joey Bart, Coleman Poje hit a ball off the end of the bat to the left of the pitcher’s mound. The Wake pitcher fielded the ball cleanly, but threw the ball away at first base.
The throwing error, followed by a fielding error in right field on the errant throw, allowed both Craport and Bart to score on the play to put the Jackets down one at 6-5.
Poje, who motored around all the way around to third on the two errors, scored on a wild pitch to tie the game up at 6-6.
In the bottom half of the inning, Zac Ryan pitched around a lead-off single to keep the Deacons off the scoreboard and send the game into extra innings.
In the extra frames, Ryan (3-1) allowed just one runner to reach base on a walk in the 10th, as he kept the home team off the scoreboard to earn the win. Ryan pitched a total of 3.0 scoreless innings, giving up just one hit and one walk, while striking out six.
At the plate, Poje was 4-for-5 with two home runs, two singles, a walk, two RBIs and three runs, while Peurifoy was 1-for-4 with two walks and the game-winning home run. Carter Hall went 2-for-3 with two singles, while both Craport and Wade Bailey went 2-for-6 on the night.
Tech fell behind early as the Demon Deacons used a lead-off double, a hit batter, a walk, a sacrifice fly and an RBI single to jump out to an early 2-0 lead after just one inning played.
The Jackets’ Poje got one of the two runs back with one swing of the bat, as the redshirt-senior hit a solo home run over the wall in left field to lead off the second inning and trim the Wake Forest lead to one at 2-1.
Two innings later, Poje led off the fourth with a shot to right field, his second home run of the game and fifth on the season, to knot the game up at 2-2 midway through the fourth.
The Demon Deacons retook the lead in the bottom of the fifth, as clean-up hitter Gavin Sheets lined a two-out double into the left field corner to score Stuart Fairchild from first to put the home team in front at 3-2 heading into the sixth.
Tech did not waste time in tying the score up once again, as Bart led off the top of the sixth with a double, moved up to third on a Poje single and then scored two batters later on a deep sacrifice fly to right field off the bat of Kyle McCann to tie the game up at 3-3.
However, Wake Forest retook the lead in the bottom half of the inning, as a lead-off single, sacrifice bunt and double to right center field put runners on second and third with one out for the home team. Following a walk which loaded the bases, the Jackets got a ground ball to short and tried to turn the double play only to have the runner called safe at first and the go-head run cross the plate to give the home team the lead once again, this time at 4-3.
After the Jackets stranded two runners on base in the seventh and one in the eighth, the Demon Deacons added two insurance runs by way of a two-run home run by Logan Harvey in the bottom of the eighth to put the score at 6-3 heading into the final frame.
However, the Jackets scored the final four runs in the contest, three in the ninth and one in the 11th to pick up the come from behind 7-6 win.
Starting pitcher Xzavion Curry gave up four runs on six hits and three walks, while striking out four in 5.1 innings pitched. Jared Datoc, who entered the game with two runners on in the sixth, pitched 2.2 innings, surrendering two runs on three hits, one walk and four strikeouts.
Both the Jackets and Wake Forest left a total of 11 runners on base for the contest.
The Jackets (13-7, 3-4 ACC) and Demon Deacons (16-7, 4-3 ACC) will return to the field tomorrow for game two of the three-game ACC weekend series. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. ET.
These two seniors combined to hit three home runs in the 7-6 extra-inning win at Wake Forest on Friday night! #TogetherWeSwarm pic.twitter.com/bkU2Xyjpn6
— GeorgiaTech Baseball (@GTBaseball) March 25, 2017
Tech Tidbits
* All three of Tech’s ACC wins thus far this season have come in extra innings.
* Coleman Poje has now reached base safely in nine straight games, a new-career high.
* With his home run in the second, Coleman Poje has now hit safely in each of the last four games, tying his career high.
* With his two home runs, Coleman Poje has posted two multi-home run games in his career at Tech (also had two home runs vs. Savannah State, May 10, 2016).
* Coleman Poje is the third Jacket to hit multiple home runs in a game this season (Kel Johnson – 3 at Georgia Southern, Feb. 21 and Joey Bart – 2 vs. Belmont, Mar. 4).
* Carter Hall has hit safely in each of the last two games, both starts for the sophomore.
* Ryan Peurifoy’s home run was the second extra-inning home run for the Jackets this season (Kel Johnson’s two-run home run in the 12th versus UNC on Mar. 18).
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