Feb. 13, 2007
ATLANTA – Matt Wieters hit a one-out, three-run home run in bottom of the 10th inning and picked up the win in relief to lead Georgia Tech (1-2) to an 11-8 victory over Kennesaw State (0-1) Tuesday evening in the home opener at Russ Chandler Stadium.
Rookie right fielder Curtis Dupart was hit by a pitch to lead off the 10th and moved to third base on a hit-and-run by shortstop Michael Fisher before Wieters pulled his first home run of the season over the left field wall off reliever Justin Edwards.
Wieters (1-0) earned the win after tossing the final two innings of the game, allowing just one run on two hits while striking out four.
Yellow Jacket relievers Tim Ladd, Brad Rulon, Jared Hyatt and Wieters combined to allow just one earned run on six hits while striking out eight through 9.1 innings of work.
Dupart led the Jackets with four RBI on the night while Wieters, Luke Murton and Patrick Long paced Tech with two hits apiece.
The Owls collected six hits and scored five runs in the top of the first to chase Georgia Tech starter Chris Hicks before Ladd struck out Matt Hopkins to end Kennesaw State’s scoring.
Tech narrowed the Owls’ lead to 5-3 in the second inning when Jeff Ussery drove in Tony Plagman and Long with a bases-loaded single, and Chris House scored on an RBI groundout by Dupart. The Jackets added another run in the fourth inning when Wieters received a one-out walk, advanced to second on a single by Murton, and scored when Plagman and Long were both hit by pitches.
Kennesaw State extended its lead to 7-4 in the fourth inning with a pair of unearned runs. With one out, Hopkins reached on a fielder’s choice and moved to second on a single by Jacob Robbins before a double by Martin Baker plated both of them to extend the Owls’ lead to three.
House walked to lead off the bottom of the sixth, moved to second on a two-out walk to Danny Payne, and scored on a fielding error by KSU shortstop Jacob Robbins to pull the Yellow Jackets to within two runs at 7-5.
A bases-loaded two-out double by Dupart, the first hit of his career, gave the Yellow Jackets an 8-7 lead in the seventh inning, but the Owls tied the game at 8-8 with a run in the top of the ninth to send the game to extra innings.
Justin Freeman (0-1) took the loss for the Owls, allowing one run on one hit while striking out one in 1.1 innings of work.
The Yellow Jackets continue their nine-game homestand this weekend when they host Illinois Chicago in a three-game series beginning Friday at 4 p.m. The two teams will square off Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m., with livestats available for all three contests at www.ramblinwreck.com.
