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Oh, how I wish this was a football headline. Could you imagine how awesome it would be for Georgia Tech to beat the Falcons (of the Atlanta variety) 3-2? It'd be stinking awesome!! Anyway, let's recap the game.
SS Brian Bien got Bowling Green started off quickly with a leadoff single in the first, but the Falcons were unable to do anything with it, finishing the inning with a fielder's choice and a 4-6-3 double play. The Yellow Jackets followed suit going 1-2-3. Needless to say, it was a pretty slow inning.
Things did not start to get exciting until the second inning, where Jonathan King ran into a little bit of trouble. With the bases loaded and one out for the Falcons, Patrick Lancaster singled through the right side and drove in two runs. That was all the damage to the good guys in the second. With the exception of an Elliott Barzilli walk, the Yellow Jackets were unable to get anything going in the second inning.
After a rough inning in the second, Jonathan King came back out in the third and sat the Falcons down in order, so that the Yellow Jackets could get some offense going. It worked. In the bottom of the third, Ryan Peurifoy worked a bases-loaded walk to drive in a run. Matt Gonzalez followed with a two-RBI single straight back up the middle. That would be the last score of the game.
Georgia Tech had another opportunity to score in the bottom of the fifth when Matt Gonzalez reached on a fielder's choice. He then stole second and took third on an error. Unfortunately, Brandon Gold could not bring him home. The Yellow Jackets, once again, had a chance to score after Mott Hyde and Thomas Smith advanced to second and third, respectively, on a sac fly. Arden Pabst, however, grounded out in the next at-bat. Georgia Tech threatened again in the seventh, with Matt Gonzalez advancing to third after a failed-pickoff attempt and a Brandon Gold walk. After a pitching change, Elliott Barzilli came up and struck out.
Leading the way for Georgia Tech today were three key players: Ryan Peurifoy, Matt Gonzalez, and Mott Hyde. Peurifoy, who hit second today, finished the day with only one hit, but also drove in a run and accumulated two walks. Matt Gonzalez extended his hitting streak to seven games today, finishing with one hit, 2 RBI, a stolen base, and a walk. Finally, while Mott Hyde did not do much with runs tonight, you can't overlook the fact that he went three for four today. Excellent job all around guys!
Starting the game for the Yellow Jackets today was sophomore LHP Jonathan King. He faced 28 batters in 7.1 innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on seven hits. He also struck out four batters and walked two. He was credited with the win. Coming on in relief of Jonathan King in the eighth inning was senior RHP Jonathan Roberts. He finished the eighth inning for the Yellow Jackets and had one strikeout. Closing the game out and earning the save tonight was senior RHP and team captain Dusty Isaacs. It was the first save for any Georgia Tech pitcher this year. In his inning of work, Isaacs faced three batters and sent them right back to the dugout.
Bowling Green did not seem like they could get anything going on offense today. Only two players on the whole team had more than one hit, and only four had at least one hit. The two that had multi-hit games were junior Brian Bien and senior Patrick Lancaster. Lancaster also drove in the only two runs of the game for the Falcons.
Starting for the Falcons today was senior RHP Cody Apthorpe. He went 6.0 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits, with two strikeouts and two walks. He also hit a batter. Coming on in relief of Apthorpe was junior RHP Jason Link. Link only made 0.2 innings before he was run off (due to his three walks) in favor of senior RHP Ethan McKenney, who finished the game. McKenney finished strong for the Falcons only allowing one hit from the Yellow Jackets in the final 1.1 innings and adding a strikeout.
Tomorrow's game will pit RHPs Cole Pitts (0-0, 0.90 ERA) and Mike Frank (0-0, 3.00 ERA) against each other. The game will be available on 91.1 WREK Atlanta (free) and on RamblinWreck.com ($).
What did y'all think of the game? What did we do right/wrong? What could have been done better?
