MACON (April 11) – Sophomore third baseman Mark Teixeira belted a pair of three-run home runs and drove in a career-high seven runs on Tuesday night (4/11), as No. 8 Georgia Tech defeated Mercer, 19-6, in a seven-inning contest at Claude Smith Field in Macon.
The Jackets (27-8) struck early, with five in the top of the first, keyed by a towering three-run blast by left fielder Jason Basil.
After Mercer (12-23) scored once in the bottom of the first, Teixeira’s first three-run shot, in the top of the second, increased the Tech lead to 8-1.
Tech proceeded to score five times in the top of the third, courtesy of an RBI triple by Wes Rynders, RBI single by Richard Lewis and the second three-run home run in as many innings by Teixeira. A two-run home run by Brent Magouirk in the bottom of the third made the score 13-4.
Each of the first six Tech batters who came to the plate in the fourth proceeded to score, as the Tech lead increased to 19-4.
Magouirk belted his second home run of the game in the fifth, to provide the final scoring.
Freshman Jeff Watchko (3-0) got the win on the mound for Tech. The right-hander allowed five runs and four hits over five innings while making his second start of the year. Starter Justin Smith (1-4) took the loss for Mercer.
Lewis collected four hits for the Jackets, improving his hitting streak to 25 games, while lifting his ACC leading batting average to .489.
Tech returns to action on Wednesday afternoon in a 4 p.m. contest against The Citadel at Russ Chandler Stadium.
