April 6, 2014
THE FLATS – Three Georgia Tech pitchers combined for a shutout and Daniel Spingola’s RBI single was the game’s only run as the Yellow Jackets completed the sweep of Duke with a 1-0 win Sunday afternoon at Russ Chandler Stadium.
The sweep, Tech’s second of the season and first in ACC play, improved the Jackets to 19-13 overall and 8-7 in the league. The Blue Devils slipped to 17-16, 7-8. Tech’s last victory by a 1-0 score also came versus Duke on March 31, 2012 in Atlanta.
Matthew Grimes scattered five hits over six strong innings on the mound and recorded his fourth win (4-1), while Jonathan Roberts fired two hitless frames to hold the lead and Sam Clay dodged two singles in the ninth inning to nail down his team-leading third save and second of the series.
Duke starter Michael Matuella, who took a perfect game into the sixth inning, pitched a complete-game, four-hitter but was on the hook for the tough-luck loss (0-1). He fanned six, walked none and the only run charged to him was unearned.
“He had us pretty much stymied for quite a while,” said head coach Danny Hall. “But then Gold got the hit and we banged a couple in the infield and were fortune to get a run out of it. Grimes was outstanding, Roberts did a good job again and Sam closed it out in the ninth. Obviously that’s a great weekend and a good week for us to go 4-0.”
Brandon Gold broke up Matuella’s perfect game with a leadoff single up the middle in the sixth and would eventually move to third after Mott Hyde’s infield single and a passed ball. Then with two outs, Spingola legged out an RBI single to second that broke the scoreless tie.
Tech hit 11-for-34 (.324) and scored seven of its 13 runs in the series with two outs.
Grimes turned the game over to Roberts, who rolled up a 6-4-3 double play to end the seventh and retired the eighth in order. Clay fanned two Blue Devils in the ninth, including pinch-hitter Reed Anthes for the final out, which stranded the potential tying and go-ahead runs on base.
The Yellow Jackets turned three more double plays in Sunday’s game, which added to their ACC-leading total of 41 this season.
Jordan Betts had three of the seven hits for the Blue Devils.
Hyde’s sixth-inning single extended his hitting streak to 10 games. Connor Justus had the Jackets’ other base hit.
Tech’s 10-game homestand continues with a pair of midweek games versus Georgia Southern (Tuesday) and Savannah State (Wednesday). Both games are set for 6 p.m. The Yellow Jackets welcome No. 1 Florida State this weekend.
