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No. 25 Georgia Tech Holds Off Virginia Rally, 9-7
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. No. 25 Georgia Tech withstood a late Virginia rally to earn a 9-7 win Saturday in the deciding contest of the three-game series at Davenport Field. Greg Miclat (Jr., Concord, N.C.), Patrick Wingfield (Sr., Winchester, Va.) and Dan Grovatt (Fr., Tabernacle, N.J.) all recorded three hits for Virginia.
Tony Plagman had a big day for the Yellow Jackets (38-17, 16-14 ACC), going 5-for-5 with two doubles, three runs scored and two runs batted in. Brad Feltes added three hits and three RBI for Georgia Tech. For the second-consecutive day, the teams lit up the scoreboard and combined for 29 hits, including 12 doubles.
Virginia starting pitcher Jacob Thompson (Jr., Danville, Va.) tossed 4.1 innings and allowed four earned runs, six hits and a walk while striking out eight. He was credited with the loss and fell to 5-4 this season.
Zach Von Tersch (7-4) earned the win for Georgia Tech after starting and pitching six innings, giving up three runs (two earned), seven hits and a walk with two strikeouts. Chris Hicks notched his ninth save after pitching the ninth inning.
Virginia (36-19, 15-15) jumped out quickly with two runs in the first inning on a run-scoring groundout by Jeremy Farrell (Jr., Westlake, Ohio) and an RBI double by Grovatt.
The Yellow Jackets chipped away with a run in the second on a Chris House RBI single and then tied the game in the fourth on a run-scoring double from Feltes. With runners on second and third with no out, Thompson escaped with no further damage by striking out the side.
Georgia Tech took the lead for good with four runs in the fifth inning. Luke Murton knocked Thompson from the game with a one-out, run-scoring double. Neal Davis (So., Baltimore, Md.) came on and gave up a two-run double to Plagman and an RBI single to Feltes as the Yellow Jackets went ahead 6-2.
The lead ballooned to 7-2 in the sixth as Jeff Rowland and Murton hit back-to-back two-out doubles. UVa answered with a run in its half of the sixth on a Franco Valdes (So., Miami, Fla.) RBI single.
Georgia Tech put up its final two runs in the seventh on an RBI double from Feltes and a run-scoring single by Thomas Nichols.
Trailing 9-3, Virginia started to rally in the seventh inning. Wingfield stroked an RBI single to center field, and Grovatt later ripped a double to right-center to score two and cut the lead to 9-6. The double was Grovatt’s 21st of the season as he moved within two of the UVa single-season record.
UVa had opportunities to put up more runs in the seventh and eighth inning, but lineout double plays erased key baserunners each time.
The Cavaliers plated one more run in the ninth inning on a two-out RBI double from Farrell, but Hicks got Grovatt to fly out to the warning track in left field to end the game.
Senior Day festivities were held before the game as the Cavaliers honored their five seniors Wingfield, Michael Schwimer (Alexandria, Va.), Pat McAnaney (Syracuse, N.Y.), Robert Poutier (Yorktown, Va.) and Jake Rule (Waynesboro, Va.).
The game marks the end of the regular season for the Cavaliers. Virginia next will compete in the ACC tournament, beginning Wednesday in Jacksonville, Fla. Compete brackets and game times will be announced Sunday.