Hokie ClubATLANTA – Tom Stoffel and Cam Irvine each had two hits and two RBI for the Hokies, but Georgia Tech capitalized on a couple of Virginia Tech miscues to score four unearned runs and posted a 16-9 victory on Friday night in the first game of an ACC weekend series at Russ Chandler Stadium.
In a tightly contested game through five innings, the Hokies led 1-0 after Jack Owens homered to leadoff the game, however the Yellow Jackets responded with two runs in the home half of the first and second frames to take a 4-1 advantage.
Stoffel's first hit of the game, a two-run home run, pulled the Hokies to within one. After Georgia Tech took an 8-3 lead in the fourth with the aid of three unearned runs, Irvine's two-out, two-RBI single capped a Hokies' four-run fifth and brought the visitor's to within a run again at 8-7.
Georgia Tech (10-7, 1-3 ACC) responded with eight unanswered over the sixth through eighth frames as the Yellow Jackets' relief pitcher Andy Archer shut down the Hokies' offense during that time, tossing three scoreless frames.
Tech (8-9, 2-2 ACC) closed out the scoring in the ninth on a Luke Horanski two-RBI double, pushing his team game-high total to three.
Inside the Box
- Connor Coward – team-leading fifth start; two perfect frames, 14 for the season, 40 in his career; two scoreless frames, 25 for the season, 98 in his career.
- Horanski – double, fifth of the season/career; two hits, fourth multi-hit game of the season/career; three RBI, third multi-RBI game of the season/career; second game with at least three
- Irvine – two hits, third multi-hit game of the season/career; two RBI, third multi-RBI game of the season/career.
- JD Mundy – two hits, second multi-hit game of the season, seventh of his career.
- J. Owens – home run, first of the year, sixth of his career; three runs, fourth multi-run scoring game of season; 20th of his career; second time this season and third time in career with at least three runs scored; hit-by-pitch, 10th time this season, was tied for fifth in the nation entering the game in HBPs.
- Nick Owens – two hits, fifth multi-hit game of the season/career; two runs, third multi-run scoring game of the season/career
- Stoffel – home run, second of the year, 12th of his career; two RBI, fourth multi-RBI game of season; 29th of his career; two hits, ninth multi-hit game of the year, 47th of his career; two runs, second multi-run scoring game of the season, 18th of his career.
Additional Notes
- For Jack Owens, he became just the third Hokie to hit a leadoff home run in an ACC game in Tech's history in the league (14 seasons) – Jake Atwell, at Georgia Tech, March 17, 2012; Saige Jenco, at Florida State, March 27, 2015. If the first at-bat of a game for Tech is included, whether home or on the road, Owens joins Jenco as the only Hokies with two career leadoff home runs. Jenco hit his other at Liberty on April 14, 2014, while Owens hit a leadoff home run vs. North Carolina, May 13 last year
- Tech recorded its 15th double play of the season during the game.
- The Hokies all-time series against Georgia Tech now stands at 32-16 in favor of the Yellow Jackets and includes GT holding a 20-8 mark in Atlanta.
- On this date, Tech is now 6-10-1 which includes a 1-6-1 mark on the road and a 1-3 record against ACC opponents.
Up Next
- The Hokies and Yellow Jackets continue their ACC series on Saturday with first pitch from Russ Chandler Stadium set for 2 p.m.