ATLANTA, Ga. -- One bad inning led to the end of the 2009 Elon Phoenix baseball season as the 13th-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets scored seven second inning runs on their way to an 8-4 victory in an elimination game of the Atlanta Regional on Sunday afternoon. Elon ended its season with a 41-18 record while Tech improved to 37-18-1 and will take on Southern Miss later Sunday night.
Harry Austin led off the game with a walk and stole second with one out. A deep fly out to right-center allowed him to tag and go to third. After
Pat Irvine walked and stole second,
Bennett Davis lined a single to right to score both runners as the Phoenix claimed an early 2-0 advantage.
Georgia Tech scored seven runs on five hits and four walks in the second. Jason Haniger drew a one-out walk for Tech before Matt Skole lined a double to right-center, putting two aboard. Derek Dietrich walked on four straight pitches to load the bases. Haniger raced home with the first run for Georgia Tech on Chris House's line drive single to left. Skole came in with the tying run on a balk. Jason Garofalo's chopper just over the head of the Elon pitcher went for a single, scoring Dietrich with the go-ahead run. Jeff Rowland followed with a walk to reload the bags. Burnette picked up a RBI when he walked to force in House as the lead grew to 4-2. Murton then lined a single to center to score Garofalo. The sixth run of the frame scored when Tony Plagman lined a single to left. Another run came in when Haniger reached on a fielder's choice that erased Plagman at second.
The Phoenix looked to move closer in the third.
Cory Harrilchak walked with one out before two wild pitches moved him to third.
Chase Austin then walked before Irvine lifted a sac fly to left-center to plate Harrilchak. Davis then reached on an error before
Mike Melillo walked to load the bases for
Justin Hilt. The Phoenix could not capitalize on the situation, however, as Hilt struck out swinging on a 2-2 pitch.
Dallas Tarleton started the top of the fourth with a walk before
Neal Pritchard singled. Harrilchak drew a one-out walk to load the bases before
Chase Austin lined a ball off the pitcher who recovered and threw home for the force on Tarleton. Elon left them loaded again when Irvine took a called third strike to end the inning.
For the fourth time in the first five innings Elon put its lead-off man aboard as Davis singled through the left side. Melillo followed that with a single of his own. Hilt fanned on a 3-2 pitch and Melillo was caught stealing second, but Davis advanced to third. Tarleton's swinging bunt single scored Davis as the Phoenix edged closer at 7-4.
After
Jared Kernodle had retired nine consecutive Yellow Jacket hitters, Skole sent his 17th homer over the wall in right with two outs in the bottom of the fifth.
Daniel Britt suffered his first loss of the year, falling to 8-1. He allowed five runs on three hits in just an inning and a third. Kernodle threw a career-best 3.2 innings and allowed just one run on two hits which kept the Phoenix in the game.
Jake Davies (3-0) earned the win after giving up a run on three hits in an inning of relief work. Mark Pope claimed his eighth save of the year with five shutout innings.
Davis drove in two with his 2-for-4 performance while Tarleton also had two hits and a RBI for Elon. Irvine went 0-for-3, ending his career-best hitting streak at 18 games, but finished the year with a .402 batting average. It marked the second consecutive season that an Elon player ended the year hitting above .400.
Plagman, Skole and Garofalo all posted two-hit days for the Yellow Jackets.
-- ELON --