Georgia Tech Upends NC State Baseball 6-4

Friday, March 29

Raleigh, N.C.

7:00 PM ET

NC State

19-9, 0

Georgia Tech

20-4, 0

Georgia Tech

NC State

3/29/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

March 29, 2002

Box Score

RALEIGH, N.C. - Jeremy Slayden hit two home runs and drove in three runs to lead sixth-ranked Georgia Tech to a 6-4 victory over NC State in the first game of an Atlantic Coast Conference series Friday night at Doak Field.

Georgia Tech, which won for the first time in ACC play, improved to 20-4 overall and 1-2 in the conference. NC State dropped to 19-9 overall and 1-3 in the ACC. Sophomore lefthander Kyle Bakker (7-0) started and got the win for the Yellow Jackets, working eight innings and allowing just two runs on seven hits. Victor Menocal worked one inning and allowed one unearned run for his second save of the season. He walked two and struck out five. Junior righthander Derek McKee (2-2) took the loss for the Wolfpack after allowing six runs on 12 hits in eight innings. He walked two and struck out eight.

The Wolfpack jumped to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Chad Orvella led off with a single to center field, went to second on Justin Riley's single to left, and scored on Joe Gaetti's single up the middle.

Georgia Tech took very little time in tying the score and then taking the lead in the top of the second. Tyler Parker led off and doubled to left-center, and Slayden singled to right to drive in the tying run. Slayden went to third on Matt Murton's single to center field, and scored on a groundout by Clifton Remole to give the Yellow Jackets a 2-1 lead.

The Wolfpack tied the score in the bottom of the third. Orvella led off and walked, and Wright's sacrifice attempt was botched by the Yellow Jackets for an error, putting runners on the corners with no outs. Riley hit a sacrifice fly to deep right to score Orvella and tie the game at 2-2.

Slayden led off the top of the fourth and crushed a 1-0 fastball to right for a home run, his sixth of the season. Murton singled and went to second on a passed ball. Remole reached on an infield single to put runners on the corners, and Brandon Boggs hit a sacrifice fly to right to drive in Murton. Matthew Boggs singled to put runners on first and second, and Victor Menocal singled to left, extending his hitting streak to 22 games and driving in Remole to give the Yellow Jackets a 5-2 lead.

Slayden took McKee out of the yard again in the top of the fifth, another towering shot to right field, his seventh, to increase Georgia Tech's lead to 6-2.

The Wolfpack rallied in the bottom of the ninth. David Hicks led off and doubled down the right-field line against reliever Aaron Walker, and Dustin Murphy walked. Menocal came on in relief and got Adam Hargrave to bounce into a double play, but Orvella walked and Wright singled in a run to cut the lead to 6-3. Menocal hit Riley with a pitch to load the bases, and Morton reached on an error, allowing Orvela to score and cut the lead to two runs at 6-4.

NC State and Georgia Tech will conclude the series with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at noon. The second game will begin 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first. This is a change in the original schedule, which called for a single game on Saturday at 7 p.m., and a single game on Sunday at 1:30. The schedule was changed because of the imminent threat of rainy weather late Saturday and all day Sunday.