Trailing 4-1 after eight and a half innings and hitless since one out in the second, the Yellow Jackets rallied for three runs on four hits to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth inning. Tyler Greene led off the inning with a double and Blackwood followed with an RBI single to pull the Yellow Jackets within 4-2. A one-out single from Wes Hodges put the tying run on base before Jeff Kindel hit a game-tying, two-run double down the right field line.
Florida Atlantic rallied in the top of the 10th inning, loading the bases with one out. But Tech reliever Tim Gustafson worked out of the jam by recording a strikeout and a pop out to end the threat.
Tech won the game in the bottom of the tenth. Danny Payne worked a walk to lead off the inning and moved to second base on a one-out wild pitch. After Greene was intentionally walked, Blackwood laced the game-winning hit to right field that scored Payne from second base.
Greene went 2-for-3 with a home run, double, two walks and two runs scored. Blackwood and Kindel each had two hits and drove in two runs.
Gustafson (4-1) earned the win in relief, working 2.2 shutout innings, allowing just two hits and striking out three.
Mike McBryde (2-2) took the loss, surrendering three runs on four hits in 1.1 innings.
A leadoff home run from Tyler Greene, his eighth of the season, staked the Yellow Jackets to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Florida Atlantic answered with a solo homer from Alex Fonseca, his third, to tie the game at 1-1 in the third inning.
FAU took a 3-1 lead with two runs in the fifth. Jonathan Shapland hit a solo home run, his third of the year, while Justin Martin doubled and scored on Fonseca’s two-out RBI single.
A third FAU solo home run of the game, Robbie Widlansky’s fifth of the season, gave the Blue Wave a 4-1 lead in the eighth inning.
Fonseca had three hits and drove in two runs, while Widlansky and Justin Martin added two hits each for FAU.
Neither starting pitcher figured in the decision despite strong efforts from both sides. FAU’s Mickey Storey went eight-plus innings and held the Yellow Jackets to two runs on three hits while retiring 24 of the 28 batters he faced. Tech starter Lee Hyde went 7.1 innings and allowed four runs on seven hits.
Georgia Tech and Florida Atlantic will continue the series on Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
2005 GEORGIA TECH BASEBALL
Florida Atlantic at #6 Georgia Tech
May 6, 2005 at Atlanta, Ga. (Russ Chandler Stadium)
Florida Atlantic 4 (26-17) Georgia Tech 5 (33-12)
Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI
--------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------
MCBRYDE, Mike cf........... 4 0 1 0 Tyler Greene ss............ 3 2 2 1
FONSECA, Alex ss........... 5 1 3 2 Steven Blackwood lf........ 5 1 2 2
WIDLANSKY, Robbie 3b....... 5 1 2 1 Matt Wieters 1b............ 4 0 0 0
MCKENNA, Mike 1b........... 3 0 0 0 Wes Hodges 3b.............. 4 1 1 0
YODICE, Robert ph......... 1 0 0 0 Jeremy Slayden dh.......... 4 0 0 0
TERPAK, Daniel rf......... 0 0 0 0 Jeff Kindel rf............. 4 0 2 2
LIPMAN, Brian dh........... 4 0 0 0 Andy Hawranick c........... 4 0 0 0
AKINS, Chris cf........... 0 0 0 0 Danny Payne cf............. 3 1 0 0
HAFER, Jordan ph.......... 1 0 0 0 Mike Trapani 2b............ 4 0 0 0
MASCIA, Tim rf............. 4 0 0 0 Lee Hyde p................. 0 0 0 0
STEVENS, Tyler 2b.......... 3 0 0 0 Tim Gustafson p........... 0 0 0 0
HUTTON, Derek 2b.......... 1 0 0 0
SHAPLAND, Jonathon lf...... 3 1 1 1
MARTIN, Justin c........... 3 1 2 0
STOREY, Mickey p........... 0 0 0 0
Totals..................... 37 4 9 4 Totals..................... 35 5 7 5
Score by Innings R H E
---------------------------------------------
Florida Atlantic.... 001 020 010 0 - 4 9 2
Georgia Tech........ 100 000 003 1 - 5 7 1
---------------------------------------------
E - MARTIN 2(5); Trapani, M.(7). DP - Georgia Tech 1. LOB - FAU 7; Georgia Tech 3.
2B - MARTIN(4); Greene, T.(11); Kindel, J. 2(19). HR - FONSECA(3); WIDLANSKY(5);
SHAPLAND(3); Greene, T.(8). SH - MCBRYDE(4); MARTIN(3). SB - Greene, T.(24).
Florida Atlantic IP H R ER BB SO WP BK HP IBB AB BF FO GO NP
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STOREY, Mickey ............ 8.0 3 2 2 1 8 0 0 0 0 27 28 12 4 110
MCBRYDE, Mike L,2-2....... 1.1 4 3 3 2 3 1 0 0 1 8 10 1 0 45
Georgia Tech IP H R ER BB SO WP BK HP IBB AB BF FO GO NP
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lee Hyde .................. 7.1 7 4 4 2 6 0 0 0 0 27 31 9 7 107
Tim Gustafson W,4-1....... 2.2 2 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 10 10 1 3 41
WP - MCBRYDE(3). Inherited runners/scored: MCBRYDE 4/1; Gustafson, T 1/0.
Pitches/strikes: STOREY 110/76; MCBRYDE 45/24; Hyde, L. 107/68; Gustafson, T 41/28.
Strikeouts - MCBRYDE; FONSECA; WIDLANSKY; MCKENNA; YODICE; HUTTON; SHAPLAND 2;
MARTIN; Wieters, M. 2; Hodges, W. 3; Slayden, J.; Hawranick, A 4; Trapani, M..
Walks - MCKENNA; SHAPLAND; Greene, T. 2; Payne, D..
Umpires - HP: John Register 1B: Rick Brown 3B: Thomas Price
Start: 7:04 pm Time: 2:40 Attendance: 1367