June 4, 2005
Atlanta, Ga. – Georgia Tech scored four first inning runs before South Carolina registered an out Saturday and the Yellow Jackets defeated the Gamecocks 10-2 behind the complete game pitching of Blake Wood in the Atlanta NCAA regional baseball tournament.
South Carolina fell into the losers bracket of the double elimination tournament before 4,038 fans at Russ Chandler Stadium and will meet Michigan at noon Sunday in an elimination game. The winner will then meet Georgia Tech at 4 p.m. Senior RHP Zac McCamie will start for the Gamecocks against the Wolverines.
South Carolina defeated Michigan 6-5 in the first game of the tournament Friday but the Wolverines survived an elimination game Saturday with a 6-3 win that eliminated Furman. Furman took Georgia Tech into extra innings Friday before bowing 5-4 in 10 innings.
Every Georgia Tech starter had at least one hit and pinch hitter Jeremy Slayden hit his 12th home run of the season in the ninth inning.
Wood, a sophomore right-hander, pitched his first complete game to improve his season record to 10-1. After allowing two runs and three hits in the first inning, and single hits in the second and third. Wood then retired 13 batters in a row until Steven Tolleson singled with one out in the eighth inning. Tolleson was doubled up when Steve Pearce lined out to first baseman Whit Robbins.
South Carolina starter Arik Hempy failed to retire a batter. He walked the first two batters, Jeff Kindel was safe when his sacrifice bunt as muffed for an error with Danny Payne scoring on the play. Wes Hodges singled in a run and two more scored on a double by Matt Wieters. Hempy, 2-1, was replaced by Jason Fletcher, the second of four South Carolina pitchers.
Georgia Tech added single runs in the second, third, sixth and seventh innings and scored twice in the ninth, including Slayden’s solo pinch home run.
South Carolina did all of its scoring in the bottom of the first inning. Michael Campbell singled, moved to second when Tolleson grounded out, and scored on a single by Pearce. Pearce moved to third on a hit by Neil Giesler and scored on a sacrifice fly by Chris Brown. Giesler stretched his hitting streak to 13 games, the longest by a Gamecock this season.
Shortstop Tyler Greene reached base six times for Georgia Tech. He had three hits, walked twice and was hit by a pitch. Payne, Kindel, Wes Hodges, Steven Blackwood and Robins each had two hits for Georgia Tech. Payne, Wieters and Mike Trapani had doubles. All six of South Carolina’s hits were singles and they were by six different players.
The win improved Georgia Tech’s record to 44-16 and South Carolina dropped to 39-22.
