CORAL GABLES, Fla. (May 6) — Junior lefthander Cory Vance tossed a complete game three-hitter and Derik Goffena homered and drove in five runs to lead 4th-ranked Georgia Tech past No. 12 Miami, 10-2, in the opener of a three-game series on Saturday night at Mark Light Stadium. The victory was Georgia Tech’s (38-11) 20th win in the last 23 games.
Vance (10-2), who recorded his third complete game of the season, held the Hurricanes to two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out three batters. The southpaw retired 20 of 22 batters from the first through the seventh innings.
Miami (30-16-1) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Kevin Howard delivered a one-out double, took third base on a wild pitch and came around to score on a sacrifice fly from Danny Matienzo.
Georgia Tech battled back to tie the score at 1-1 in the fourth. Bryan Prince walked with one out and took second base on a single from Jason Basil. The runners advanced on a passed ball and Prince came around to score on a RBI groundout from Goffena.
The Yellow Jackets took a 2-1 lead in the sixth after Mark Teixeira led off the inning with a walk, took second and third bases on groundouts from Prince and Basil, and scored on a RBI single from Goffena.
Tech pushed the lead to 6-1 with four runs in the seventh inning. The Jackets loaded the bases with one out on singles from Jason Perry and Richard Lewis and a walk to Brad Stockton. Perry scored on a wild pitch and Lewis scored when Prince was hit by a pitch. Stockton scored on a sacrifice fly from Basil while Teixeira, who was intentionally walked, came around to score on a throwing error by Javy Rodriguez.
A solo home run from Manny Crespo, his seventh of the season, made the score 6-2 in the bottom of the eighth.
The Yellow Jackets broke the game open with four runs in the top of the ninth. After Basil delivered a RBI single, Goffena blasted a three-run homer, his second of the year, to provide the final 10-2 margin. Goffena finished the game with two hits and a season-high five RBI, while Basil, Perry, Victor Menocal and Wes Rynders had two hits apiece.
Miami’s David Gil (8-2) took the loss, allowing six runs in 6.1 innings of work.
The win was Georgia Tech’s first in Miami since 1983, snapping a 10-game Yellow Jacket losing streak to the Hurricanes at Mark Light Stadium.
Georgia Tech and Miami will continue the three-game series on Sunday and Monday at 7 p.m. each day. The games will be televised live on Fox Sports Net South in Atlanta and on Fox Sports Net Florida in the Miami area.
