April 16, 2002
ATLANTA – Jeremy Slayden had three hits and drove in three runs, and Chris Goodman limited Auburn to three runs in seven innings as the fifth-ranked Yellow Jackets (32-5) defeated Auburn (25-14), 10-4, on Tuesday night at Russ Chandler Stadium.
The victory improved the Yellow Jackets’ record to 21-0 at their new home park in 2002 and extended Tech’s overall home winning streak to 26 games dating back to last season. The win was Tech’s 18th in its last 20 games.
Auburn took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a RBI single by designated hitter Bobby Huddleston, and the Yellow Jackets tied the score 1-1 in the bottom half of the inning when catcher Mike Nickeas drove in Slayden with a RBI single.
An RBI groundout by Jake Hall made the score 2-1 in the bottom of the second inning, which Auburn matched with a sacrifice fly by Tug Hulett in the top of the fifth inning to tie the score at 2-2.
Georgia Tech scored five times in the bottom half of the fifth inning to take a lead that they would not relinquish with runs scoring on RBI singles by Victor Menocal and Slayden and a three-run double by Brandon Boggs. The Jackets added three more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a 10-2 lead courtesy of RBI doubles by Clifton Remole and Slayden.
Auburn added single runs in the seventh and ninth innings, including a solo home run by Huddleston to conclude the scoring at 10-4.
Slayden paced the Jackets’ offensive attack with three hits, including two doubles, and three runs batted in. Eric Patterson and Davis Myers each added two hits for Tech.
Huddleston and Jonathan Schuerholz contributed two hits apiece for Auburn.
Goodman (4-0) yielded three runs, only two of which were earned, on four hits. He struck out four batters while walking none. Drew Taylor pitched the final two innings, allowing one run on two hits for the Jackets.
Ken Clayton (0-3) took the loss for the Tigers, having allowed four runs on three hits in one-third of an inning in relief. Auburn starter Arnold Hughey allowed two runs on four hits in his two innings of work, but did not figure into the decision
Georgia Tech will travel to Tallahassee for a three-game series with Florida State beginning at 7 p.m. Friday evening. Saturday and Sunday’s games will be at 1 p.m., with Saturday’s game being televised live on Sunshine, Fox Sports Net South, and Comcast SportsNet. Live radio broadcasts for the entire series can be heard on WREK-Radio (91.1 FM in Atlanta) and on the internet at www.ramblinwreck.com. Live scoring for the game will be available at www.ramblinwreck.com.
