Boston College Athletics
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Georgia Tech
No. 6 Georgia Tech Slips Past Baseball, 5-4
March 13, 2009 | Baseball
March 13, 2009
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ATLANTA, Ga. - No. 6 Georgia Tech scored three unearned runs in the sixth inning and held on to defeat the Boston College baseball team, 5-4, Friday afternoon at Russ Chandler Stadium.
Senior JB MacDonald threw a good game on the mound for the Eagles (10-4, 2-2 ACC) but picked up the loss. He worked 7.0 innings and allowed five hits and five runs but only two of them were earned. He struck out six in his outing and retired 15 of the first 18 batters he faced.
Sophomore Mike Sudol went 3-for-4 at the plate and hit a solo home run, his third of the season. Junior Robbie Anston reached base four times, going 2-for-3 with two walks and an RBI.
Deck McGuire earned the win for Georgia Tech (12-1, 4-0 ACC) after throwing 7.0 innings and allowing four runs - two earned - on nine hits. He struck out seven and walked four.
The Eagles had a good scoring chance in the top of the first but left the bases loaded. With one out, sophomore Garret Smith took a first pitch fastball and ripped it up the middle for a single and then junior Tony Sanchez took a 0-2 offering for a single to left. Sophomore Mickey Wiswall then loaded the bases with a walk, but McGuire retired the next two batters to keep BC off the board.
The Eagles would leave a total of 10 men on base in the game.
The Yellow Jackets scored the first runs of the game in the bottom of the second. After MacDonald retired the first four batters, Georgia Tech got its first runner on when Luke Merton walked. Matt Skole then took a 3-1 delivery over the wall in right for the 2-0 lead.
The Eagles got one of those runs back in the top of the fourth. Junior Barry Butera walked to leadoff the inning and after a strikeout, Sudol singled to left center to put two men on. After the second out was recorded, Anston snuck a single up the middle to score Butera.
BC tied the game in the top of the sixth when Sudol blasted a 2-1 offering from McGuire over the right field wall for his third hit of the game.
Tech took the lead again in the bottom of the frame with three unearned runs. Jeff Rowland led off the bottom of the sixth when he bunted down the first base line and got under the tag of junior Mike Belfiore at first base. Derek Dietrich followed suit with a single to center to advance Rowland, then Jason Haniger loaded the bases after he laid down a nice bunt down the third base line that Wiswall couldn't make a play on.
MacDonald got Tony Plagman to hit a grounder to first and Belfiore went home for the force, but the ball got past Sanchez and two runs scored on the play to give Tech the lead back, 4-2. MacDonald then induced Murton into a 6-4-3 double play, but another run scored to push the lead to three.
The Eagles posted two runs in the eighth to pull within one. BC got its first two batters on after Belfiore walked to start the inning and Butera singled up the middle. Freshman Brad Zapenas then laid down a bunt but McGuire bobbled it and then threw it away past the first baseman. Belfiore scored on the play and Butera reached third to put runners on the corners with nobody out.
Sophomore Matt Hamlet came on to pinch hit and got Butera in on a groundout to the shortstop to cut the lead to 5-4, but the Eagles were held scoreless from there.
Five different players from Georgia Tech picked up a hit a piece with Skole driving in the only runs with his two-run homer.
The two teams will play the second game of the series on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Russ Chandler Stadium.
