March 10, 2006
ATLANTA – Blake Wood pitched eight strong innings and Luke Murton hit a three-run home run to lift top-ranked Georgia Tech (15-0, 1-0 ACC) to an 8-2 win over Virginia (14-3, 0-1) in the opener of a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series on Friday at Russ Chandler Stadium.
Georgia Tech extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 15 games, and the Yellow Jackets’ 15-0 start is the third best in school history.
Tech improved to 27-1 in its last 28 Atlantic Coast Conference home games.
Wood (5-0) improved to 15-1 over the last two seasons and avenged his only loss over that span, a 2-1 decision to Virginia on Apr. 24, 2005. On Friday, the right-hander held the Cavaliers to one run on seven hits in a season-high eight innings. He struck out six batters and did not issue a walk.
Danny Payne led the Tech offense with three infield hits, and Mike Trapani had two doubles and drove in two runs. Five different Yellow Jackets had at least one RBI.
The Yellow Jackets took advantage of Virginia starter Mike Ballard’s wildness to take a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Ballard issued three walks in the inning, and Trapani cashed in with a two-run double off the right field wall.
Tech manufactured a run in the third inning to extend the lead to 3-0. After Michael Fisher reached on an error and Payne legged out an infield bunt single, Wes Hodges laid down a sacrifice bunt and Jeff Kindel drove in the run with a RBI groundout.
Murton hit a three-run homer, his first of the season, to give the Yellow Jackets a 6-0 lead in the fifth inning.
Meanwhile, Wood held the Virginia lineup in check through the first seven innings before the Cavs broke up the shutout in the eighth inning when Mike Mitchell doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly from Sean Doolittle.
The Yellow Jackets added a pair of insurance runs in the eighth inning on a RBI single from Payne and a RBI double from Hodges, to make the score 8-1.
Virginia’s Tim Henry had a RBI groundout off Tech reliever Brad Rulon in the ninth inning to provide the final 8-2 margin.
Ballard (3-1) took the loss after allowing three runs on four hits and four walks in 3.2 innings.
Mike Mitchell led the Cavaliers with three hits.
Georgia Tech and Virginia continue the three-game series on Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. each day.
