Crancer went 3-for-4 with three RBI and Michael Fisher added three hits, including a home run in his second-straight game, to lead the Yellow Jacket offense.
David Duncan (2-1) earned a win in his second-straight game, allowing just two runs on seven hits while striking out four and walking only one in five innings of work. Eddie Burns pitched three perfect innings in relief of Duncan, while rookie Will Hirsch made his first collegiate appearance, tossing a 1-2-3 ninth. Overall, the Tech staff retired the final 13 batters of the game.
Luke Murton homered and drove in three runs for the Jackets on the afternoon, and Matt Wieters went 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBI.
Following Tony Plagman’s one-out single in the first inning, Wieters and Crancer hit back-to-back home runs, the third homer of the season for both players, to give the Yellow Jackets a 3-0 lead.
After Bill Torre’s RBI double in the top of the third pulled the Dukes to within 3-1, the Jackets scored four runs in the bottom of the frame take a six-run lead. Wieters started the offensive onslaught with a one-out double and scored on a single by Crancer before Murton and Fisher smacked back-to-back home runs to push the score to 7-1. Murton’s home run was his first of 2007, while the home run by Fisher was his second of the season.
An RBI triple by Brian Bernardo in the fourth inning made the score 7-2, but Crancer hit an RBI double in the bottom of the frame to extend Tech’s lead back to six runs.
The Jackets added a run in the fifth inning when Chris House walked to lead off the frame, moved to second on a groundout, and came around to score on a single by Payne and a throwing error by pitcher Joe Kaye.
Duquesne starter Jeff Naughton (0-1) took the loss, allowing nine runs on 10 hits while walking three in 4.2 innings. Kaye pitched 3.1 innings in relief, holding the Jackets to two runs on one hit while striking out three.
The Jackets and Dukes will continue the three-game series Saturday at 1 p.m.
2007 GEORGIA TECH BASEBALL
Duquesne at #15 Georgia Tech
Feb 23, 2007 at Atlanta, Ga. (Russ Chandler Stadium)
Duquesne 2 (0-1)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB Avg.
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Torre ss................. 4 0 1 1 0 0 1 2 0 .250
Morrison cf.............. 3 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 .000
Mechling c............... 4 0 0 0 0 2 7 0 3 .000
Janusey 1b............... 4 0 1 0 0 1 7 1 0 .250
Kimutis dh............... 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 .000
Manley 3b................ 4 1 1 0 0 1 3 0 0 .250
Bernardo lf.............. 2 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 .500
Carroll ph/lf........... 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .000
Bugno rf................. 2 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 .500
Plassio ph/rf........... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Pena 2b.................. 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.000
Berletic 2b............. 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Naughton p............... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 -
Kaye p.................. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
Totals................... 32 2 7 2 1 7 24 4 4
Georgia Tech 11 (4-4)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB Avg.
------------------------------------------------------------
Danny Payne cf........... 4 1 1 0 1 1 5 0 0 .385
Tony Plagman dh.......... 3 3 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 .312
Matt Wieters c........... 5 2 2 2 0 1 6 1 0 .267
Nick Scherer c.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 -
Wally Crancer rf......... 4 2 3 3 1 0 1 0 0 .562
Matt Harper rf.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Luke Murton 1b........... 4 1 1 3 1 0 7 3 0 .300
Michael Fisher ss........ 5 1 3 1 0 0 3 2 2 .273
Chris House lf........... 4 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 3 .167
Patrick Long 3b.......... 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 .208
Jeff Ussery 2b........... 4 0 0 0 0 3 1 1 2 .241
David Duncan p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 -
Eddie Burns p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 -
Will Hirsch p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
Totals................... 37 11 11 9 5 7 27 11 8
Score by Innings R H E
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Duquesne............ 001 100 000 - 2 7 5
Georgia Tech........ 304 110 02X - 11 11 1
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E - Torre 2; Pena 2; Naughton; Murton, L.(1). DP - Georgia Tech 1.
LOB - Duquesne 4; Georgia Tech 8. 2B - Torre; Wieters, M.(3); Crancer, W.(2);
Fisher, M.(2). 3B - Bernardo. HR - Wieters, M.(3); Crancer, W.(3); Murton,
L.(1); Fisher, M.(2). HBP - Plagman, T.. SB - Plagman, T.(2). CS - Manley;
Pena.
Duquesne IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP ERA
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Naughton............ 4.2 10 9 8 3 4 25 28 113 -
Kaye................ 3.1 1 2 1 2 3 12 15 61 -
Georgia Tech IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP ERA
--------------------------------------------------------
David Duncan........ 5.0 7 2 2 1 4 20 21 86 4.50
Eddie Burns......... 3.0 0 0 0 0 2 9 9 35 3.37
Will Hirsch......... 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 3 3 13 -
Win - Duncan, D. (2-1). Loss - Naughton (0-1). Save - None.
HBP - by Kaye (Plagman, T.). Inherited runners/scored: Kaye 1/0.
Pitches/strikes: Naughton 113/76; Kaye 61/34; Duncan, D. 86/56; Burns, E. 35/25;
Hirsch, W. 13/7.
Umpires - HP: Randy Watkins 1B: Craig Muir 3B: Arthur Schmidt
Start: 4:00 pm Time: 2:36 Attendance: 1170