Tech baseball meets expectations with runs, runs, and more runs
By Dale Russell / STUDENT PUBLICATIONS
Junior outfielder and first baseman Derik Goffena contributed three RBIs of his own in Tech's 14-4 blowout against Georgia State on Wednesday.
The Georgia Tech baseball squad opened regular season play last weekend with a two game sweep of the Georgia Southern Eagles. In the opener, the Jackets pounded out 15 hits en route to a 15-3 victory. Starting pitcher Cory Vance pitched six strong innings, giving up one run while striking out eight hapless Eagles. Freshmen Tyler Parker crushed two home runs in his first collegiate game, and all-American candidate Mark Teixeira also homered. Every starter contributed with a hit the offensive barrage.
The second game was a closer affair. Tied 4-4 in the top of the ninth, the Jackets scored two runs in the ninth inning on a bases loaded error, one of six in the game and eleven for the series committed by the Eagles. The eventual winning run came later in the inning on a wild pitch. Georgia Southern scored two runs in the bottom half of the inning, but the door was slammed on their comeback attempt by closer Andy Mitchell, but not before he gave up two runs on two hits. Sophomore Kevin Coleman got the win after pitching two and a third innings of scoreless baseball, and Mitchell picked up his first save of the season.
The Jackets returned to Atlanta for a home and home series with the Georgia State Panthers, whom the Jackets had beaten for fourteen consecutive contests. But the Panthers proved that the number eight team in the land would not intimidate them, holding the Jackets to only five hits in the first game. The Panthers did the damage at the plate early in the game, triggered by solo home runs in the second and third innings. But after the leadoff solo shot in the third, Tech pitchers Rhett Parrott and Andy Mitchell to hold Georgia State hitless for the rest of the game. Unfortunately, the Panther pitchers held the potent Tech offense in check until Teixeira hit a two run homer in the sixth inning. Tech added one in the ninth to close the gap to one, but left two runners on base as Victor Menocal grounded out to end the game.
In the second game of the series the Tech bats came back to life. After finding themselves in a 2-0 hole after the top half of the first inning, catcher Bryan Prince promptly doubled in two in the bottom of the first, tying the game at two apiece. Georgia State came right back and scored a run in the second, forcing starter Brad Busbin to an early shower. The Jacket offense then went to work, scoring ten runs in the next four innings to make the score 12-4. The Jackets added two in the bottom of the eighth to cap off the victorious 14-4 effort.
Coleman improved his record to 2-0, pitching five innings in relief, giving up one run and striking out seven. Outfielder Jason Basil had a great game at the plate, going 4-6 with three RBI and two runs scored. Teixera went 2-4 and scored three runs, bringing his sparkling early season statistics to 9-18 with two home runs and seven RBI, leading the team in all three offensive categories.
The seventh-ranked will host the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies for a three game series this weekend. This is the Golden Grizzlies second year of Division I baseball, and the first meeting against the Yellow Jackets. Vance (1-0) is scheduled to start Saturday's 1:30 contest, while Steve Kelly is scheduled to start Sunday's game. Rhett Parrott will likely be on the mound for Monday's 4 p.m. series finale. The Grizzlies, from suburban Detroit were 17-25 last year, but beat eventual Big Ten champion Michigan, so the Grizzlies do have potential to present the highly ranked Jackets problems.
Following the series with Oakland, Jacksonville State (Al.) comes to Russ Chandler Stadium for a one game stint on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
