The Flames (2-3) had runners on first and second with two outs in the ninth but the Jackets struggled to finish off frame. A possible game-ending groundball towards by Jake Carr took a bad hop -- perhaps as a result of striking the heel of base-runner Nick Rainwater -- and got past Tech shortstop Michael Fisher allowing UIC to tie the game. The Flames proceeded to score seven more runs on four more hits, two walks, another Yellow Jacket error and a wild pitch.
Georgia Tech starter Ryan Turner pitched well, allowing just two runs on seven hits while striking out five in six innings of work. Jared Hyatt turned in two scoreless innings in relief, giving up one hit while striking out three.
All nine Yellow Jacket starters had at least one hit in the game, with Luke Murton, Curtis Dupart and Jeff Ussery each recording two hits.
Jay Dantzler hit a two-out single, moved to second on a balk by UIC starter Ryan Zink, and scored on a single by Danny Payne to give Georgia Tech the 1-0 lead in the second inning.
The Jackets tacked on two more runs in the third inning to push the score to 3-0. Murton hit a one-out single through the left side, advanced to third on a single by Patrick Long, and scored on a single by Dupart. A double by Ussery plated Dupart for the final run of the inning.
A home run by Brett Schaefer, his first of the season, and an RBI groundout by David Cales pulled the Flames to within one run of the Yellow Jackets in the top of the sixth inning, 3-2.
Tech added a run in the bottom of the eighth when Ussery led off with a bunt single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Dantzler, and scored on a double by Michael Fisher.
Steve Crnkovich (1-0) earned the win for the Flames, allowing just one run on six hits in five innings of long relief, while Brad Rulon (0-1) took the loss, giving up five unearned runs on three hits in the ninth inning.
Tech and Illinois-Chicago will play the final game of the three-game series Sunday, with first pitch slated for 1 p.m.
2007 GEORGIA TECH BASEBALL
Illinois Chicago at Georgia Tech
Feb 17, 2007 at Atlanta, Ga. (Russ Chandler Stadium)
Illinois-Chicago 11 (2-3) Georgia Tech 4 (2-3)
Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI
--------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------
MOORE, Tyler 2b............ 4 1 1 0 Danny Payne cf............. 4 0 1 1
CARR, Jake 1b.............. 4 1 0 0 Michael Fisher ss.......... 5 0 1 1
SCHAEFER, Brett dh......... 4 1 3 1 Matt Wieters c............. 3 0 1 0
BROWN, Jon pr............. 0 1 0 0 Luke Murton 1b............. 4 1 2 0
SCHROEDER, Chad ss........ 0 0 0 0 Tony Plagman dh............ 4 0 1 0
GEMPP JR., Larry cf........ 5 2 3 2 Patrick Long 3b............ 4 1 1 0
PINGREE, Micky lf.......... 3 0 1 0 Curtis Dupart rf........... 5 0 2 1
KAFFEL, Mike dh/ph........ 2 1 1 1 Jeff Ussery 2b............. 4 1 2 1
CALES, David ss/p.......... 4 2 1 1 Jay Dantzler lf............ 3 1 1 0
RUTTA, Chris rf............ 3 0 1 0 Ryan Turner p.............. 0 0 0 0
TROTTER, Ben ph........... 2 0 1 1 Jared Hyatt p............. 0 0 0 0
RUBIO, Ty pr/rf........... 0 1 0 0 Brad Rulon p.............. 0 0 0 0
RAINWATER, Nick 3b......... 5 1 2 0 Tim Ladd p................ 0 0 0 0
WHINERY, Erik c............ 5 0 0 0
ZINK, Ryan p............... 0 0 0 0
CRNKOVICH, Steve p........ 0 0 0 0
Totals..................... 41 11 14 6 Totals..................... 36 4 12 4
Score by Innings R H E
-------------------------------------------
Illinois-Chicago.... 000 002 009 - 11 14 2
Georgia Tech........ 012 000 010 - 4 12 2
-------------------------------------------
E - RAINWATER 2(3); Fisher, M.(1); Long, P.(3). DP - UIC 2; Georgia Tech 1.
LOB - UIC 7; Georgia Tech 12. 2B - Fisher, M.(1); Ussery, J.(2).
HR - SCHAEFER(1). HBP - Murton, L.. SH - Dantzler, J.(1). SB - CALES(1); RUBIO(1);
RAINWATER(1). CS - BROWN(1); Payne, D.(1).
Illinois-Chicago IP H R ER BB SO WP BK HP IBB AB BF FO GO NP
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ZINK, Ryan ................ 3.0 6 3 3 3 1 0 2 1 0 14 18 6 0 75
CRNKOVICH, Steve W,1-0.... 5.0 6 1 1 2 4 0 0 0 1 19 22 4 5 72
CALES, David .............. 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 1 14
Georgia Tech IP H R ER BB SO WP BK HP IBB AB BF FO GO NP
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ryan Turner ............... 6.0 7 2 2 2 5 0 0 0 0 24 26 6 6 75
Jared Hyatt (H,2).......... 2.0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 6 6 1 1 17
Brad Rulon (BS,1) L,0-1.... 0.2 3 5 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 6 7 1 0 25
Tim Ladd .................. 0.1 3 4 2 1 0 1 0 0 1 5 6 1 0 24
TEAM ...................... 11 2
WP - Ladd, T.(1). HBP - by ZINK (Murton, L.). BK - ZINK 2. Inherited runners/scored:
Ladd, T. 3/3. Pitches/strikes: ZINK 75/41; CRNKOVICH 72/45; CALES 14/9; Turner, R.
75/52; Hyatt, J. 17/13; Rulon, B. 25/14; Ladd, T. 24/13.
Strikeouts - CARR; GEMPP JR. 2; KAFFEL; RUTTA 2; RAINWATER; WHINERY 2; Payne, D.;
Wieters, M.; Murton, L.; Plagman, T.; Dupart, C.; Dantzler, J. 2. Walks - MOORE;
CARR; BROWN; CALES; Payne, D.; Wieters, M. 2; Plagman, T.; Long, P..
Umpires - HP: Ed Haggary 1B: Matt Pridemore 3B: David Savage
Start: 1:00 pm Time: 2:51 Attendance: 831
Temperature at first pitch: 37 F