ATHENS, Ga. --- Georgia
Tech freshman Deck McGuire struck out a career-high nine in seven
innings as the 25th-ranked Yellow Jackets defeated eighth-ranked
Georgia 11-1 Wednesday in front of a Foley Field crowd of 3,487.
McGuire improved to 8-0 as the Yellow Jackets (34-14) hit three
home runs and scored nine two-out runs against the Bulldogs, and the
last seven of those runs came after there were two out and nobody on
base. Georgia (31-16-1) has approached its midweek games as staff
outings and seven Bulldog hurlers saw action on the night.
Freshman Derek Dietrich gave the Yellow Jackets a 1-0 lead with a
run-scoring single in the first off Bulldog starter Will Harvil. In the
second, Tech designated hitter Luke Murton connected for his 10th home
run of the year for a 2-0 lead. With one on and one out in the second,
Georgia turned to sophomore left-hander Alex McRee and he struck out
the next two Yellow Jackets. Meanwhile, McGuire cruised through the
first three frames, holding the Bulldogs without a hit and recording
five strikeouts. Harvil dropped to 1-1, allowing two runs on four hits
with two strikeouts. McGuire did not walk a batter and surrendered just
one run on four hits with nine strikeouts.
With one out in the bottom of the fourth, Georgia senior Matt Olson
smacked a double off the wall in left center for the Bulldogs first
hit. With two outs, sophomore Rich Poythress responded by smashing an
RBI-double off the top of wall in right center to cut the lead in half
at 2-1. McRee gave Georgia 1.2 scoreless innings and struck out three
and Georgia handed the ball to freshman Justin Grimm to start the
fifth. The Yellow Jackets put runners at the corners with one out and
Grimm nearly escaped unscathed until senior Brad Feltes delivered a
two-out, two-run single on a 2-2 offering to make it 4-1.
With two outs in the sixth, the Yellow Jackets took advantage of a
couple of Bulldog miscues to score three more runs on four hits off
sophomore Steve Esmonde to extend their lead to 7-1. Senior Nick
Montgomery finished the frame and pitched the seventh. With two outs in
the seventh, Charlie Blackmon hit his eighth home run, a two-run shot
that made it 9-1. With two outs in the eighth, Feltes added a two-run
home run, his 13th of the year, for an 11-1 advantage.
"We couldn't finish a lot of the innings, and we didn't adjust
offensively," said Georgia coach David Perno. "There was not a lot of
focus as a team, and that's the first time all year we have been like
that the whole game, and I hope that's a one-time thing, we'll find out
Friday. Will Harvil and Alex McRee started out pretty good and gave us
a chance but after that, we had trouble getting that third out."
Georgia will be back in action Friday in Nashville, Tenn., against
16th-ranked Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs hold a three-game lead over the
Commodores (35-13, 14-9 SEC) in the race for the Southeastern
Conference title. First pitch Friday will be at 7:06 p.m. ET, and the
game will be televised live by CSS.
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