Dietrich went 3-for-3 with two home runs, three runs and three RBI while Plagman collected two hits, both solo home runs, in three at bats. He also scored three runs in the game.
Jay Dantzler went 3-for-5 with a run and two RBI, and Luke Murton and Jason Garofalo added two hits each for the Yellow Jackets.
Brandon Cumpton (1-0) earned his first collegiate win by holding Alabama State to four runs, only three of which were earned, on six hits. He also fanned eight and walked three in the game. Andrew Robinson, Brad Rulon and Chris Hicks all worked scoreless innings in relief to polish off the Hornets.
Alabama State scored the first run of the game on an RBI groundout by Joshua Clemons to plate Furquan Shamsud-Din, who led off the second inning with a double and moved to third on a single from Ronald James. Dietrich tied the game with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the second and Plagman followed with a one-out home run to put the Jackets ahead 2-1.
Tech doubled its run total in the second inning off an RBI double by Charlie Blackmon and an RBI single by Dietrich before Plagman gave the Jackets a 5-1 lead in the fourth inning with another solo home run, his second of the game and seventh of the season.
A pair of Yellow Jacket errors helped Alabama State pull to within 5-3 in the fifth inning, but back-to-back home runs by Dietrich and Brad Feltes followed by a sacrifice fly from Jeff Rowland pushed Tech’s lead to five runs in the bottom of the frame.
An RBI groundout by Clemons made the score 8-4 in the top of the sixth, but the floodgates opened in the bottom of the inning, as Murton, Dantzler and Jeff Ussery all hit RBI doubles and Cole Leonida added a two-run home run to push the score to 14-4.
A solo home run by Chase Burnette and a two-run double from Garofalo capped Tech’s scoring at 17 runs in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Zeb Hilburn (4-3) took the loss by giving up eight runs on nine hits in 4.1 innings. Marquise Blake worked the final 3.2 innings for the Hornets, and gave up nine runs on nine hits while walking six and striking out three.
The Jackets hit the road for Chestnut Hill, Mass., where they will face Boston College in a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series beginning Friday at 2:30 p.m. The two teams will square off Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. Live stats for all Georgia Tech baseball games are available at Ramblinwreck.com.
2008 GEORGIA TECH BASEBALL
Alabama State at #17 Georgia Tech
March 26, 2008 at Atlanta, Ga. (Russ Chandler Stadium)
Alabama State 4
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB Avg.
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Darrion Pedro ss......... 4 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 3 .403
John Solomon ph......... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .333
Christopher Davis 2b..... 4 1 1 1 0 2 1 2 0 .354
Sidney Jones ph......... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250
T.J. Griggs 1b........... 4 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 0 .333
Lancelot Lewis ph....... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .000
James Jordan lf.......... 3 0 0 0 1 1 6 0 1 .196
Zeb Hilburn p/dh......... 3 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 2 .385
Furquan Shamsud-Din c.... 4 1 2 0 0 2 4 0 0 .244
Ronald James, JR. rf..... 3 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 .311
Joshua Clemons 3b........ 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 .242
Jiovanni Fiallo ph/3b... 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 .259
Breon Landers cf......... 3 1 1 0 1 1 7 0 2 .203
Marquise Blake p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
Totals................... 35 4 6 3 4 13 24 5 8
Georgia Tech 17
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB Avg.
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Jeff Rowland cf.......... 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 .415
Curtis Dupart ph/rf..... 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 .182
Thomas Nichols 2b........ 3 1 0 0 1 1 2 0 2 .279
Jeff Ussery 2b.......... 2 0 1 1 0 1 2 2 0 .250
Charlie Blackmon rf...... 4 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 3 .329
Chase Burnette ph/lf.... 1 1 1 1 1 0 2 0 0 .300
Derek Dietrich ss........ 3 3 3 3 1 0 0 3 0 .356
Ryan Tinkoff ph/ss...... 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .200
Brad Feltes 3b........... 3 1 1 1 0 0 3 0 1 .306
Patrick Long 3b......... 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 .218
Tony Plagman 1b.......... 3 3 2 2 1 0 5 0 0 .270
Chris House ph/lf....... 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .297
Luke Murton dh........... 4 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 .288
Jason Garofalo ph/dh.... 2 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 .182
Jay Dantzler lf/cf....... 5 1 3 2 0 0 0 0 1 .351
Cole Leonida c........... 2 1 1 2 1 0 12 1 0 .125
Brandon Cumpton p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
Andrew Robinson p....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
Brad Rulon p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
Chris Hicks p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
Totals................... 41 17 18 17 8 3 27 9 12
Score by Innings R H E
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Alabama State....... 010 021 000 - 4 6 2
Georgia Tech........ 022 136 03X - 17 18 4
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E - JORDAN,J; CLEMONS,J; Burnette, C.(1); Feltes, B. 2(3); Plagman, T.(2).
LOB - Alabama St. 8; Georgia Tech 12. 2B - SHAMSUD-DIN 2(4); Ussery, J.(2);
Blackmon, C.(5); Murton, L. 2(5); Garofalo, J.(1); Dantzler, J. 2(2).
HR - Burnette, C.(1); Dietrich, D. 2(9); Feltes, B.(5); Plagman, T. 2(7);
Leonida, C.(2). HBP - Dantzler, J.; Leonida, C. 2. SF - Rowland, J.(2).
Alabama State IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP ERA
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Zeb Hilburn......... 4.1 9 8 8 2 0 22 26 89 6.91
Marquise Blake...... 3.2 9 9 9 6 3 19 27 109 12.71
Georgia Tech IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP ERA
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Brandon Cumpton..... 6.0 6 4 3 3 8 25 28 98 4.88
Andrew Robinson..... 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 6 3.38
Brad Rulon.......... 1.0 0 0 0 1 3 4 5 24 4.15
Chris Hicks......... 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 3 3 17 5.73
Win - Cumpton (1-0) Loss - Hilburn (4-3) Save - None.
WP - BLAKE,M 2. HBP - by HILBURN 2 (Leonida, Dantzler);
by BLAKE,M (Leonida, C.). PB - SHAMSUD-DIN. Inherited runners/scored: BLAKE,M
2/1. Pitches/strikes: HILBURN,Z 89/52; BLAKE,M 109/60; Cumpton, B. 98/66;
Robinson, A. 6/5; Rulon, B. 24/14; Hicks, C. 17/11.
Umpires - HP: Arthur Schmidt 1B: Steve Manders 3B: Tony Thompson
Start: 6:06 pm Time: 3:08 Attendance: 926
Weather: Sunny, 66 deg, Wind-SSW-7mph