Virginia Tech vs Georgia Tech Baseball Recap

(20) Virginia Tech 3, (4) Georgia Tech 1 - 11 innings

Under a clear night sky in downtown Atlanta, the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets needed extra innings to decide the result of the first game in this three-game series.

The Hokies started one of their three aces in Justin Wright, and the junior out of Montclair, Virginia, immediately went to work. Wright retired 11 of the first 12 batters he faced.  It took until the bottom of the fourth inning for the Yellow Jackets to record their first hit in the game, as catcher Cole Leonida snuck a grounder past the Hokies' infield.

On the opposite side, Georgia Tech starter Deck McGuire silenced the Hokies' bats until the top of the fifth when VT second basemen Michael Seaborn singled into right field.  McGuire lasted for seven strong innings, giving up just four hits and allowing just one earned run. That one earned run came in the top of the sixth when Austin Wates popped a fastball over the right field fence to give the Hokies a 1-0 lead.  However, the Yellow Jackets answered with in the bottom half of the inning when first baseman Tony Plagman jacked an inside pitch over the left field fence, tying the game at one.

Wright was pulled after holding Georgia Tech to just three hits in eight innings of work. Senior Ben Rowan, who tossed the final three innings for Virginia Tech, replaced Wright in the ninth inning.

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Georgia Tech went with the “bullpen by committee” approach, using a total of five relief pitchers over the final four innings.  Patrick Long took over for McGuire in the top of the eighth and faced the first three batters of the inning, giving up just one hit.  Jake Davis replaced Long with two outs in the bottom of the eighth but he was pulled after facing only two batters.  Andrew Robinson entered in the ninth and held the Hokies hitless in his 1 2/3 innings before being pulled for Ben McKinney. Georgia Tech's final reliever only pitched 2/3 of an inning, but McKinney gave up two crucial singles that proved costly for the Yellow Jackets.

With runners on the corners in the top of the 11th, Ronnie Shaban singled into left field, scoring Buddy Sosnoskie to give the Hokies a 2-1 lead.  Tim Smalling managed to provide the Hokies with a sac fly to right field, scoring Wates and giving the Hokies a two-run lead heading into the bottom half of the inning. 

Rowan - in his third inning of work for Virginia Tech - allowed a two-out single in the bottom of the 11th, but forced Chase Burnette to ground out to second, giving the Hokies another road victory over a top-10 ACC opponent.

The two Techs will meet again on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Russ Chandler Stadium.

By: Justin Clark
ACC Fans Guest Writer