April 22, 2008
MACON, Ga. – Tony Plagman hit a pair of two-run home runs and Thomas Nichols added two solo shots as Georgia Tech (29-12) smacked eight in the game to defeat Mercer (18-25), 16-9, Tuesday night at Claude Smith Field.
Charlie Blackmon and Luke Murton led the Yellow Jackets with three hits apiece while Plagman and Derek Dietrich paced Tech with four RBI each. Plagman, Nichols, Blackmon, Murton, Dietrich and Chris House all hit home runs in the game.
Deck McGuire (7-0) picked up the victory by holding Mercer to two runs on four hits in six innings of work. He also fanned six and walked none.
The Bears took a 1-0 lead on a solo home run by Joe Winker to lead off the bottom of the second inning, but Blackmon tied the game in the top of the third inning by hitting his fifth home run of the season over the right field wall.
After an RBI single by Tyler Brown gave the Bears a 2-1 edge in the bottom of the third, Plagman and Nichols hit home runs in the fourth to give Tech the lead for good, 4-2.
A three-run home run by Dietrich pushed Tech’s lead to 7-2 in the fifth inning before the Jackets took command of the game with a seven-run outburst in the sixth. Tech scored its first seven runs of the game on home runs before Chase Burnette scored from second base on a fielding error by Mercer shortstop Billy Shaughnessy in the top of the sixth. The Jackets also scored on an RBI single by Jeff Rowland, a run-scoring groundout by Dietrich, an RBI double from Murton and home runs by Plagman and Nichols.
A seventh-inning home run by House and eighth-inning homer from Murton capped the Jackets’ scoring at 16.
After giving up the two runs over the first three innings, McGuire faced the minimum through the next three frames before turning the ball over to the bullpen.
The Bears scored twice in the seventh on a pair of solo home runs, once in the eighth on a balk, and four times in the ninth before Dietrich forced Mike Armstrong into a game-ending groundout.
Mercer reliever Justice French (1-3) took the loss, giving up three runs on three hits in a third of an inning of work.
The Yellow Jackets return to Atlantic Coast Conference action this weekend when they host Wake Forest for a three-game series beginning Friday at 7 p.m. The first two games of the series will be televised, while the finale can be viewed on ACC Select (gatech.playonsports.tv).
–GT–
