Feb. 23, 2005
PANTHERSVILLE, Ga. – Ryan Turner pitched five shutout innings and Steven Blackwood drove in three runs to lead No. 13 Georgia Tech (6-1) to an 11-6 win over Georgia State (4-2) on Wednesday afternoon at Panthersville Field.
The Yellow Jackets won their sixth straight game after dropping the season opener.
Turner (1-0) earned the win in his first start of the year, allowing just two runners to advance past second base. He worked five scoreless innings, allowing five hits and three walks while striking out two. Relievers Jared Hyatt and Tim Gustafson each worked a scoreless inning before the Panthers broke up the shutout in the eighth inning.
Blackwood went 2-for-4 with three RBI, raising his season total to 15 RBI in seven games. Tyler Greene had three hits and Jeremy Slayden added two hits and two RBI. Danny Payne drew three walks and scored three runs as Tech scored at least nine runs for the sixth straight game.
The Yellow Jackets jumped to a 4-0 lead in the third inning, sending nine batters to the plate. Tech loaded the bases with no outs on a hit, walk and error before Blackwood drove in two runs with a single to left center field. Matt Wieters drove in a run with a groundout and Whit Robbins added a RBI double.
Tech added two runs in the fourth inning on a RBI single from Blackwood and a sacrifice fly from Wes Hodges to extend the lead to 6-0. A two-out RBI single from Slayden made the score 7-0 in the sixth inning.
A three-run seventh inning, highlighted by RBI singles from Slayden and Greene, made the score 10-0. Matt Wieters singled and scored on a wild pitch in the eighth, extending the lead to 11-0.
Georgia State got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the eighth when the Panthers erupted for six runs, due in large part to the Yellow Jackets’ four errors and three wild pitches in the inning. The Panthers sent 12 batters to the plate, including run scoring hits from Butch Morris, Zac Wright and Micah Johnson.
The Yellow Jackets committed a season-high five errors.
Georgia State starter Brett Strickland (0-1) took the loss, allowing five runs in three-plus innings before leaving the game with a blister on his right hand.
Georgia Tech returns to action this weekend when the Yellow Jackets host Rutgers for a three-game series beginning on Friday at 4 p.m.
