Eight-Run Second Inning Lifts Georgia Tech to Series Sweep
3/16/2011 11:55:00 PM | Baseball
ATLANTA - Georgia Southern scored first for the 11th time this season, but fell to #21 Georgia Tech for the second day in a row, 12-3. Tech took advantage of an eight-run second inning to sweep the two games in Atlanta and give the Yellow Jackets a 3-1 series record this season. The Eagles defeated the 21st-ranked Georgia Tech squad 6-5 in the teams' first meeting of the year in Statesboro.
Georgia Tech used 10 different pitchers in the game with the starter Dusty Isaacs grabbing the win in a Johnny Wholestaff scenario. Isaacs allowed one run on one hit and struck out four in two innings of work. Will Middour (Atlanta, Ga.) was tagged with the loss for Georgia Southern. He allowed seven runs on six hits and worked just over an inning. Colin Snow (Alpharetta, Ga.) and Taylor Burke (Statesboro, Ga.) both pitched scoreless innings in relief, while Drew Johnson (Peachtree City, Ga.) allowed one run in 3.2 innings and looked good, striking out three batters in the process.
Shawn Payne (Stone Mountain, Ga.) extended his reached-base streak to 47-games with a single in the fifth inning. Payne is tied with Kennesaw State's Ronnie Freeman, who also extended his reached-base streak to 47 games today in a 10-6 loss to Harvard. Georgia Southern and the Owls will meet in the Eagles' next home game on Tuesday, March 22nd, at 6 p.m.
The Eagles scored a two-out run in the first inning, its fourth such situation against the Yellow Jackets in the two-game series in Atlanta. Eric Phillips (Carrollton, Ga.) was hit by a pitch and came around to score on a RBI single by Steve Cochrane (Mooresville, N.C.).
Georgia Tech scored in the three first three innings and racked up 11 runs on 11 hits in the first three frames. The Yellow Jackets drove in a two-out run in the bottom half of the first inning for their first run of the game. Daniel Palka plated Kyle Wren, who led off the game with a single, with a RBI double.
The Yellow Jackets exploded for eight runs in the second inning after sending 13 batters to the plate. They pounded out six hits and took advantage of four walks to extend their lead to eight runs, 9-1. Tech added on two runs in the third inning, but went scoreless for the first time in the fourth inning.
Georgia Southern finally got back on the board in the fifth inning and added runs two and three. Arthur Owens (Fayetteville, Ga.) reached second base on an error by the third baseman with one out and scored on a RBI single by Payne. A wild pitch moved Payne to second base, before a bunt hit by Phillips brought him in from third base. Tech added a run in the fifth for its final score of the night, 12-3.
All games can be heard on 102.9 FM in Statesboro and are also available online at GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/Eaglevision beginning 30 minutes prior to first pitch. Ryan Chambers of the Georgia Southern Radio Network will call all the action.
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