ATLANTA – The comeback was an inning earlier and the Yellow Jackets scored an extra run on Saturday as 29th-ranked Georgia Tech this time scored four times in the bottom of the eighth inning then held on in the ninth to post a 7-5 comeback win over Virginia Tech in ACC baseball action at Russ Chandler Stadium.
Georgia Tech improved to 10-4 with the win, 2-0 in league play as the Jackets notched its second straight comeback victory over the Hokies and secured the ACC series win. The Hokies drop to 8-5, 0-2 with the loss.
It was a back-and-forth game that saw the lead change sides five times and while the teams combined for 16 hits, they also drew 17 walks, were hit by two pitches and one batter reach on an error.
VT tied the game in the third on a sacrifice fly by Gavin Cross that scored Fritz Genther and then took a 2-1 lead on a Cross single that plated Nick Biddison, before the squad used a wild eighth to reclaim the lead once again.
Trailing 3-2, Cross single for his third hit of the game which was followed by a GT error allowing Carson Taylor to reach. Kevin Madden loaded the bases with a walk and Spencer Palmer laced a two-RBI single into right giving Tech the lead. After Tanner Thomas walked, Cade Hunter added an RBI single to make it 5-3.
However, the Hokies stranded 13 men in the game, including leaving the bases loaded in that seventh frame and two each in the fourth, fifth and eighth, as they were looking to add to their advantage.
The Jackets tied the game in the home half of the eighth on a two-run home run by Stephen Reid, took the lead on a Luke Waddell single than added an insurance run on an error that accounted for its final run of the day.
Quick notes:
- Tech is 18-37 all-time against Georgia Tech, including a 9-23 mark in Atlanta.
- This is the fourth time the Hokies have faced GT in an ACC series opener, the most common opponent in their 16 seasons in the league.
- They are now 1-3 in those ACC series openers against GT and 1-11 in ACC series openers on the road.
- VT has not won a series against GT since 2010 (10 straight losses).
- This was VT's first series against a ranked opponent.
- VT stole four bases and have 24 this season – the team stole just 30 all last year.
Inside the box score:
- Biddison: extended hitting streak to a career-long 11 straight; has reached base in 20 straight games (dating back to last season).
- Cross: team-leading seventh multi-hit game, fourth with three hits; third multi-RBI game
- Hunter: second multi-hit game.
- Palmer: second multi-hit game, third multi-RBI game.
- Anthony Simonelli: five strikeouts over 5.0 innings, has struck out at least five in all four starts this season.
Up Next:
The Hokies and No. 29 Georgia Tech conclude their three-game ACC series at Russ Chandler Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m.