ATLANTA – Jamie D’Antona had three hits and Wake Forest scored nine runs in the final three innings as the Demon Deacons (26-11, 10-7 ACC) rallied past third -ranked Georgia Tech (29-9, 9-5 ACC) on Saturday afternoon at Russ Chandler Stadium in the second game of a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series.
Trailing 9-5 after six innings of play, Wake Forest erupted for four runs in the top of the seventh to knot the score at 9-9. The inning, which saw nine Demon Deacons come to the plate, was highlighted by a two-out, two-run single from Jason Aquilante.
Wake Forest took an 11-9 lead with two more runs in the top of the eighth on RBI singles from D’Antona and Matt Price. Georgia Tech cut the lead to 11-10 with a RBI double from Jason Perry in the bottom of that inning, but Wake Forest closer Dave Bush came to record the final six outs of the game to earn his ninth save of the year.
The Demon Deacons added three insurance runs in the top of the ninth inning to put the game out of reach and provide the final 14-10 margin.
Wake reliever Kyle Sleeth (6-3) picked up the win after allowing one run in 2.2 innings. Starter Cory Sullivan did not figure in the decision after surrendering nine runs in 4.1 innings of work.
Tech reliever Jeff Watchko (0-2) was saddled with the loss, allowing two runs in 1.1 innings.
The top six players in the Wake Forest batting order all had at least one hit and one run scored, led by D’Antona’s three-hit afternoon. Price, Nick Blue, Corey Slavik and Ryan Johnson all had two hits for the Demon Deacons.
Georgia Tech was led by Matthew Boggs, who had a career-high four hits in five at bats. Perry, who hit his ninth homer of the year, had two hits and two RBI, while Jon Henry Kail drove in three runs in a losing effort.
Georgia Tech and Wake Forest will play the rubber match of the three-game series on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Russ Chandler Stadium. The games will be televised on Fox Sports Net South and broadcast on WREK-Radio (91.1 FM in Atlanta) and on the internet at www.ramblinwreck.com.
Box score (NCAA)
2001 Georgia Tech Baseball WAKE FOREST at GEORGIA TECH Apr 14, 2001 at Atlanta, Ga. (Chandler Stadium)WAKE FOREST 14 (26-11,10-7 ACC)Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB------------------------------------------------------Cory Sullivan p/dh....... 6 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 1Nick Blue 2b............. 5 3 2 1 1 0 1 4 0Corey Slavik 3b.......... 4 3 2 1 2 1 1 2 0Jamie D'Antona 1b........ 5 2 3 2 0 0 9 1 0Ryan Johnson rf.......... 5 2 2 1 1 2 3 0 2Matt Price cf............ 4 1 2 3 0 0 3 0 2Jamie Athas ss........... 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 4 2Carlos Brackley lf....... 3 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 Steve LeFaivre ph....... 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 Adam Heaps pr........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Josh Hansen lf.......... 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0Jason Aquilante c........ 4 0 1 1 0 1 6 0 2 Kyle Sleeth p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Dave Bush p............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Totals................... 41 14 15 12 5 6 27 11 9GEORGIA TECH 10 (29-9,9-5 ACC)Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB------------------------------------------------------Richard Lewis ss......... 5 2 0 0 1 0 1 2 0Matthew Boggs 2b......... 5 1 4 3 1 1 2 5 0Jason Basil cf........... 3 0 0 1 2 1 3 0 3Matt Murton lf........... 5 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 3Jason Perry 1b........... 3 2 2 2 2 0 10 2 0Tyler Parker c........... 3 2 2 0 1 0 5 0 0 Bryan Prince c.......... 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0Brad Stockton rf......... 4 1 0 0 1 1 2 0 0Jon Henry Kail dh........ 4 1 2 3 1 1 0 0 3Brian Jackson 3b......... 4 0 0 0 1 2 1 1 2Rhett Parrott p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Andy Mitchell p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Jeff Watchko p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 Philip Perry p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Aaron Walker p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Brian Burks p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0Totals................... 37 10 11 9 10 6 27 13 11Score by Innings R H E-------------------------------------------WAKE FOREST......... 100 400 423 - 14 15 3GEORGIA TECH........ 002 430 010 - 10 11 3-------------------------------------------E - Corey Slavik 2(14); Josh Hansen(1); Lewis, R.(12); Boggs, M.(4); Perry,J.(7). DP - WAKE FOREST 2. LOB - WAKE FOREST 9; GEORGIA TECH 11. 2B - CorySulliva(13); Perry, J.(7); Kail, J.H.(2). 3B - Boggs, M.(1). HR - Perry,J.(9). HBP - Jamie D'Anto. SH - Jamie Athas(2); Jason Aquila(3). SF - MattPrice(4); Basil, J.(4). SB - Nick Blue 3(9); Jamie D'Anto(1); Lewis, R.(6);Basil, J.(7).WAKE FOREST IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP--------------------------------------------------Cory Sullivan....... 4.1 7 9 8 6 4 19 26 111Kyle Sleeth......... 2.2 3 1 1 3 1 12 15 59Dave Bush........... 2.0 1 0 0 1 1 6 7 31GEORGIA TECH IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP--------------------------------------------------Rhett Parrott....... 6.0 6 5 5 2 5 23 27 113Andy Mitchell....... 0.2 3 4 4 2 0 4 7 22Jeff Watchko........ 1.1 4 2 2 1 0 8 9 33Philip Perry........ 0.1 1 3 0 0 0 3 4 11Aaron Walker........ 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1Brian Burks......... 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 8Win - Kyle Sleeth (6-3). Loss - Watchko, J. (0-2). Save - Dave Bush (9).WP - Cory Sulliva 2(5); Kyle Sleeth(9). HB - Parrott, R.. PB - Parker, T. 2(4).Inherited runners/scored: Kyle Sleeth 1/1; Dave Bush 1/0; Watchko, J. 3/2;Walker, A. 2/1; Burks, B. 2/1.Umpires - Home:Tim Clougherty 1st:Junior Creech 3rd:John MagnussonStart: 1:07 Time: 3:47 Attendance: 1716Game: GT0414Kyle Sleeth faced 2 batters in the 8th.Walker, A. faced 1 batter in the 9th.
