ATLANTA, Ga. – Georgia Southern jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but eighth-ranked Georgia Tech scored eight unanswered as the Eagles dropped an 8-4 decision Tuesday night (April 7). The loss drops 26th-ranked Georgia Southern to 21-8 overall.
Ty Wright (Montrose/ABAC) started the game doubling down the left field line. Kevin Bowles (Statesboro/Statesboro) dropped a sacrifice bunt down to advance Wright to third. Griffin Benedict (Dunwoody/St. Pius) singled through the left side for a 1-0 lead.
In the third inning Bowles and Benedict drew one-out walks. Eric Phillips (Carrollton/Carrollton) lined a RBI single through the left side giving the Eagles a 2-0 advantage.
Luke Murton hit a fly ball to left field with two outs in the fourth. Wright timed the jump and nearly robbed the home run but Tech made it 2-1. In his longest outing of the season, sophomore Michael Hester (Evans/Greenbrier) pitched four innings, struck out a career-high four batters and left with the lead. However, that changed in the fifth.
The Yellow Jackets (20-6) scored five runs all with two outs to take the lead for good. A flyball was misplayed in right field and fell in for a RBI triple. Three batters later Murton hammered a 3-run shot to make it a 6-2 lead. Pinch-hitter Jason Garofalo pinch-hit in the sixth singled and eventually scored on a wild pitch.
Phillip Porter (Marietta/Sprayberry) hit a 2-run homer in the ninth with two down for the final margin. He moved into a share of the team lead nailing his fifth home run on the year.
Tony Chisman (Conyers/Salem) suffered the loss, charged for five runs on five hits falling to 0-1. Mitchell Farmer (Conyers/Rockdale County) gave up two runs in two innings of work. Redshirt-freshman Ryan McCafferty (West Chester, PA/East) made his collegiate debut in the eighth. He gave up a single but it was erased with an inning-ending double play.
Brian Pierce (Roswell/Roswell) paced the offense with a season-high three hits. Roman Grimaldi (Duluth/North Florida CC) recorded his fourth consecutive multi-hit game, finishing 2-for-4 with his first collegiate stolen base. Phillips and Porter also had two hits apiece.
Brandon Cumpton (1-0) earned the win allowing two runs on eight hits in six innings. Murton finished with two hits and four RBI. The Yellow Jackets held a 12-11 edge in hits.
The Eagles will look to even up the four-game series on Wednesday afternoon (April 8), first pitch at Russ Chandler Stadium scheduled for 4 p.m.
