April 15, 2005
ATLANTA – Matt Wieters and Andy Hawranick hit home runs and Lee Hyde pitched 6 2/3 strong innings to lift No. 4 Georgia Tech (27-7, 14-2 ACC) to a 6-4 win over No. 9 Florida State (33-9, 9-4) in the opener of a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series on Friday night at Russ Chandler Stadium.
The Yellow Jackets improved to 30-2 in their last 32 regular season ACC games.
Hyde (5-1) held the Seminoles to three unearned runs on seven hits. He issued three walks and struck out seven while extending his streak of not allowing an earned run to 20 consecutive innings.
Wieters, who drove in four runs in the game, pitched a scoreless ninth inning to record his fourth save of the season.
Hawranick went 2-for-2 with two RBI and Wes Hodges added two hits.
Florida State starter Barrett Browning (3-1) took his first loss of the year, allowing a season-high six runs on five hits while striking out seven.
The Yellow Jackets took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning with a manufactured run and a two-run homer from Hawranick. Hodges led off the inning with a single, stole second base, took third on a flyout and scored on a RBI groundout from Matt Wieters. After Jeff Kindel was hit by a pitch, Hawranick followed with his fourth home run of the year.
The Seminoles tied the score with three unearned runs in the top of the third inning on a RBI single from Ryne Malone and a two-run double from Aaron Cheesman.
From there, Hyde and Browning stymied the opposing offenses. Hyde held the Seminoles scoreless on four hits over the next four innings, while Browning did not allow a hit from the third through the fifth.
A two-out double from Wes Hodges in the bottom of the sixth was Tech’s first hit in 12 at bats and ignited a three-run rally. Jeremy Slayden followed with a walk before Wieters blasted a three-run homer, his fifth of the year, over the left field fence.
The Seminoles rallied in the top of the seventh inning, loading the bases on two singles and a walk to chase Hyde from the game. But Tim Gustafson came out of the Tech bullpen and retired Brant Peacher on a groundout to end the inning.
Daniel Wardell hit a solo home run off Gustafson, his third of the year, to pull Florida State to within 6-4 in the top of the eighth inning.
Georgia Tech and Florida State will continue the three-game series on Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
