Beesball opens with wins

The Jacket baseball team started the season this past weekend in Statesboro with two victories against the Eagles of Georgia Southern. On Saturday, Tech won 13-9 on a cold and wet afternoon. On Sunday, the Jackets won 15-7. Obviously, there was no shortage of offense on either side during the weekend.

Saturday

The first game was delayed due to rain earlier in the morning. When the game did start, it was junior Blake Wood on the mound. Wood went five innings, giving up four earned runs, seven hits, and one walk. He also struck out six batters. He picked up his first win of the season.

Tech’s bats were led by notable performances from senior left fielder Steven Blackwood and junior first baseman Whit Robbins. Blackwood was five for seven in plate appearances. He had three walks, two hits, and three RBIs. Robbins was 3-5 at the plate, with three hits, three RBIs and no walks.

The game itself started off with Tech getting two runs off of an RBI double by Jeff Kindel. Georgia Southern responded in the bottom half of the first by picking up a run off of a single by their right fielder Greg Dowling.

The game would continue see-sawing back and forth. Tech would put a few runs on the scoreboard, and then Georgia Southern would respond by putting up a few more to make it a game. Tech had its biggest output of offense in the top of the eighth when the Eagle pitching walked the bases loaded with one out. Two runs were scored on ground outs, while the third in the inning was scored on an RBI single by Robbins.

The Eagles responded in the bottom half of the inning by picking up four runs of their own. However, sophomore closer Matt Wieters came in and slammed the door shut on the game, sealing a 13-9 victory.

Sunday

Sunday’s game saw junior Lee Hyde start the game for the Jackets. He would get plenty of run support in the early going, as the Jackets scored nine runs in the first three innings of play. Kindel and Wes Hodges each homered in the first three innings of the game to help power the Jackets to a nine run early lead.

“The rain and the cold didn’t affect us too much. I was kind of pissed off that they walked Hodges on a 3-1 count in front of me to pitch to me on my first at-bat. It kind of motivated me for the rest of the game. It also felt good to get my first home run of the year out of the way in the second game,” Kindel said.

The Eagles responded in the bottom half of the inning by picking up two runs. After having a high pitch count over 2 1/3 innings, Head Coach Danny Hall gave him the hook due to having a high pitch count and brought in junior reliever Jared Hyatt.

The Jackets would be unable to muster any more runs for the next two innings. Meanwhile, the Eagles clawed for three more runs to make it a 9-5 ball game. The Jackets responded in the top of the sixth inning by putting up a three spot on the scoreboard, courtesy of a Robbins’s three-run bomb over the right field wall.

The combination of Tim Ladd, Brad Rulon and Chris Hicks finished off the game for the Jackets allowing only two more runs to come across for the Eagles. Rulon would get credit for the victory. The Jackets would tally three more insurance runs in the top of the ninth inning to cap off a 15-7 victory over Georgia Southern. Tech has now won twenty straight games at Georgia Southern.

“It always feels good to start playing. I’m very pleased with the way we played. From a coach’s and a player’s perspective, you always learn a lot more about your team when you start playing games against other people. To go on the road and pick up a win against a quality opponent was a good start,” Hall said.

Wednesday

Due to continued renovation at Panthersville Field, the Jackets and Georgia State Panthers switched dates on home games. Tech will now travel to Panthersville Field on Apr. 19. Therefore, the Jackets were able to start a six-game home stand after defeating Georgia Southern in two straight games. Tech was able to avenge their 5-2 loss from a year ago at home by winning 11-9 over the Georgia State.

Tech started junior Ryan Turner on the mound. Turner pitched four innings, giving up eight hits, six runs (three of which were earned), and one walk. He struck out six batters.

The Jacket offense started off this game much like Sunday’s game against the Eagles. Tech picked up eight runs in the first two innings of the game. In the first inning, Kindel drove in a run with a double, while Robbins hit his second home run of the season over the left field wall to drive in three more.

In the second, Tech chased off Panther starter Romas Hicks by picking up three more runs courtesy of an RBI ground out by Hodges, and a two-RBI single by Robbins. Over the last three games, Robbins has been the hottest hitter in the Jacket lineup with a .529 OBP, two home runs and 12 RBIs.

“I was just going up there looking to get good pitches to hit, and I got a few that I could handle. Fortunately, they found the right holes,” Robbins said.

Over the course of the rest of the game, the Panthers earned their way back into the game with the help of a six-run fourth inning surge. An error by Michael Fisher on a ground ball hit by Eric Suttle allowed the inning to continue giving the Panthers the opportunity to pick up two more runs on a two-run home run by their third baseman Nick McEntyre. This brought GSU to within two runs of Tech, 8-6.

“We got a big lead and didn’t do a very good job of keeping the lead. We are giving people too many extra outs. We had an error at shortstop that would have ended an inning that ended up costing us a few runs,” Hall said.

The key runs to seal the game for the Jackets came in the bottom of the sixth inning when freshman Luke Murton hit a two-RBI single down the left field line to put the game up to 11-7.

David Duncan pitched 2 1/3 innings, giving up four hits and two earned runs which was good enough for him to pick up the victory. Junior Tim Gustafson made his second relief appearance of the season. He came in the game in the seventh inning, pitched a scoreless eighth and then closed the game in the ninth.

“Wieters was catching, and we just felt like Gustafson was pitching really well. If they would have gotten one more guy on base, then we would have possibly gotten him lose and then put him in to pitch,” Hall said.

The Jackets will play their next game today at 4 p.m. against the Kennesaw State Owls. The probable starter for the game will be Wood.