No. 25 Georgia Tech Slugs Past No. 28 Virginia, 14-8
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. Georgia Tech’s potent offense came alive and racked up 19 hits in a 14-8 victory over No. 28 Virginia Friday night at Davenport Field. With 22 runs between the two teams, the No. 25 Yellow Jackets and Cavaliers combined to tie for the highest-scoring ACC game at Davenport Field since the park opened in 2002. The teams also combined for a dozen extra-base hits, including four home runs.
Jeremy Farrell (Jr., Westlake, Ohio) earned his first career two-home run game giving him 11 long balls this season while he drove in three runs. Franco Valdes (So., Miami, Fla.) also homered as part of a 2-for-4 effort. Virginia (36-18, 15-14 ACC) rung up 13 hits in the game.
Luke Murton, Brad Feltes and Tony Plagman each had three hits for Georgia Tech (37-17, 15-14). Plagman drove in four, while Feltes and Murton each knocked in three.
Virginia starting pitcher Pat McAnaney (Sr., Syracuse, N.Y.) had his shortest start of the season as he went 3.2 innings and allowed six earned runs, eight hits and two walks while striking out six. He took the loss and dropped to 4-4 this season.
Eddie Burns (7-4) notched the win for the Yellow Jackets after going five innings and allowing five earned runs, seven hits and two walks with two strikeouts.
Virginia took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on a Tyler Cannon (So., Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) single to plate Phil Gosselin (Fr., West Chester, Pa.), but Georgia Tech broke out the bats in the third inning, scoring three runs on an RBI double by Murton and a two-run double by Plagman.
Virginia tied the game in the bottom of the third on a two-run home run to right field by Farrell, but the Yellow Jackets responded with four in the fourth inning to take a 7-3 lead. Murton brought the first run home with a sacrifice fly. After Derek Dietrich was hit by a pitch, McAnaney was lifted for Andrew Carraway (Jr., Marietta, Ga.). Feltes promptly ripped a two-run double to right-center and Plagman brought Feltes home with a triple.
UVa cut the lead in half in the bottom of the fourth, as Valdes led off with a home run his second of the year and Greg Miclat (Jr., Concord, N.C.) later singled to score John Barr (Fr., Ivyland, Pa.).
Georgia Tech put up another four-spot in the sixth inning, highlighted by a Dietrich run-scoring triple which caromed high off the Blue Monster in center field. The Yellow Jackets added a run in the seventh on a Murton RBI single to push the lead to 12-5.
Virginia scored two in its half of the seventh on back-to-back RBI singles by Valdes and Barr, but Georgia Tech responded with a run in the eighth on a Plagman home run and a run in the ninth on a Jeff Rowland RBI fielder’s choice.
The Cavaliers got their final run when Farrell launched a home run over the 377 marker in left-center field in the ninth inning.
The rubber game of the series is set for noon Saturday. Please note the game time has been moved up one hour from the original 1 p.m. start time. Prior to the game, Virginia will conduct Senior Day ceremonies at 11:35 a.m. as the Cavaliers honor their five seniors.