May 12, 2006
ATLANTA – Whit Robbins hit a walk-off double in the bottom of the 10th inning and Steven Blackwood belted two home runs to lead No. 8 Georgia Tech (37-13, 15-10 ACC) to a 7-6 win over Duke (14-37, 6-22) in the opener of a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series on Friday night at Russ Chandler Stadium.
The Yellow Jackets extended their winning streak over the Blue Devils to 17 games dating to 2001.
Trailing 6-3 entering the bottom of the seventh inning, Blackwood tied the game with a three run homer, his second of the night and fifth of the season.
In the bottom of the 10th inning, Jeff Kindel reached on a error by Duke second baseman Javier Socorro with one out before Robbins delivered the game winning double to the left center field wall.
Tech reliever Tim Ladd (5-3) earned the win after pitching a scoreless top of the 10th inning. Tech’s bullpen of Ladd and Brad Rulon pitched 3.2 scoreless innings.
Andrew Wolcott (1-4) pitched 2.1 innings and allowed the unearned run in the 10th inning.
Blackwood went 2-for-4 with a pair of home runs, the first multi-home run game of his career. The senior has three home runs in his last six at bats.
Tech’s Wally Crancer went 3-for-5.
Jonathan Anderson led the Blue Devils with three hits, while Socorro and Jimmy Gallagher had two hits each.
Blackwood staked the Yellow Jackets to a 1-0 lead when he led off the bottom of the first inning with a solo home run.
The Blue Devils tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the third inning when Matt Williams reached on an error by Tech shortstop Michael Fisher and scored on a RBI single from Anderson.
Tech scored twice in the bottom of the third inning on a two-out RBI single from Crancer and a RBI double from Matt Wieters to take a 3-1 lead.
Duke tied the game in the top of the fourth inning on a two-run homer from Socorro, his first of the season. The Blue Devils took a 4-3 lead later in the inning when Adam Murray walked and scored on a two-out RBI double from Daniel Palmer.
The Blue Devils added two runs in the seventh inning to extend the lead to 6-3. Infield singles from Gallagher and Anderson and a walk to Jonathan Nicolla loaded the bases with one out, and Nate Freiman cashed in with a two-run single through the left side of the infield.
In the bottom of the seventh, Luke Murton led off with a single and Mike Trapani was hit by a pitch before Blackwood delivered his game tying shot with two outs in the inning.
Neither starting pitcher figured in the decision. Tech’s Blake Wood tied a season high with nine strikeouts but allowed six runs in 6.1 innings. Duke’s Tony Bajoczky worked seven innings and allowed six runs.
The Yellow Jackets and Blue Devils will continue the series on Saturday at 7 p.m.
