McGuire (1-0) faced three batters over the minimum and allowed just one runner past first base to earn the first win of his career. He also struck out three and walked one.
Nichols and Rowland, also freshmen, smacked the first home runs of their careers while another newcomer, shortstop Derek Dietrich, drove in a pair of runs with a double in the third inning. Nichols went 2-for-2 with two runs and three RBI.
Chris House and Charlie Blackmon led the Yellow Jackets with 3-for-4 performances at the plate, and Tony Plagman and Jason Haniger added two hits apiece.
The Jackets took an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning when Nichols hit a two-run home run over the right field wall that scored Plagman, who had reached base earlier in the inning on a double to right field.
Tech extended its lead to 9-0 with a seven-run third inning, which was highlighted by Dietrich’s two-run double and a two-run home run by Rowland. Nichols and House also drove in runs in the inning.
Ty Wright put the Eagles on the board with a solo home run in the top of the fourth inning, but Rowland pushed Tech’s lead back to nine runs with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth.
Matt Miller pulled a triple down the right field line to score Jeremy Beckham in the top of the eighth inning for Georgia Southern’s second run of the game before Murton pushed a bases-loaded single past the pitcher in the bottom of the frame to score Jason Haniger for the 11th and final run for the Jackets.
Beckham led the Eagles with two hits against Tech pitching. Georgia Southern starter Burt Barto (0-1) took the loss, giving up eight runs on nine hits in 2.2 innings of work.
The Jackets and Eagles will conclude the midweek series Wednesday afternoon. First pitch is at 4 p.m. with freshman right-hander Brandon Cumpton taking the mound for Georgia Tech. Live stats for the game will be available at Ramblinwreck.com.
2008 GEORGIA TECH BASEBALL Georgia Southern at #22 Georgia Tech Feb. 26, 2008 at Atlanta, Ga. (Russ Chandler Stadium) Georgia Southern 2 (1-3) Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB Avg. ------------------------------------------------------------ Matt Miller cf........... 4 0 1 1 0 1 2 0 1 .500 David Richardson cf..... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .000 Jonathan King lf......... 4 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 1 .368 Chris Shehan rf.......... 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .429 Phillip Porter rf....... 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .667 Kyle Blackburn dh........ 3 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 .429 Ty Wright dh............ 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .200 A.J. Wirnsberger 3b...... 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .312 Kevin Bowles ph......... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Jeremiah Parker 1b....... 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 3 2 .133 Griffin Benedict c....... 3 0 1 0 0 0 9 0 0 .300 Brian Pierce ss.......... 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 3 0 .333 Jeremy Beckham 2b........ 3 1 2 0 0 0 1 2 0 .500 Burt Barto p............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Tony Chisman p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 - Ryan Steidl p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Totals................... 32 2 6 2 1 6 24 8 4 Georgia Tech 11 (4-0) Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB Avg. ------------------------------------------------------------ Jeff Rowland cf.......... 3 1 1 3 0 0 3 0 2 .300 Jay Dantzler ph/cf...... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 Patrick Long 3b.......... 4 1 1 0 0 1 2 3 1 .167 Brad Feltes ph/3b....... 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 .000 Charlie Blackmon dh...... 4 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .412 Luke Murton rf/1b........ 5 0 1 1 0 2 4 0 0 .467 Tony Plagman 1b.......... 4 2 2 0 0 1 10 1 0 .385 Curtis Dupart ph/rf..... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .333 Derek Dietrich ss........ 4 1 1 2 0 1 1 4 1 .267 Jason Garofalo ph/2b.... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000 Thomas Nichols 2b........ 2 2 2 3 0 0 0 1 0 .714 Jeff Ussery ph/2b....... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .167 Chris House lf........... 4 1 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 .400 Jason Haniger c.......... 3 2 2 1 0 1 6 0 0 .364 Deck McGuire p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Taylor Wood p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Totals................... 37 11 16 11 2 8 27 10 7 Score by Innings R H E ------------------------------------------- Georgia Southern.... 000 100 010 - 2 6 0 Georgia Tech........ 027 010 01X - 11 16 0 ------------------------------------------- DP - Ga. Southern 1; Georgia Tech 1. LOB - Ga. Southern 4; Georgia Tech 7. 2B - Plagman, T.(1); Dietrich, D.(1); Haniger, J.(1). 3B - Miller(1). HR - Blackburn(2); Rowland, J.(1); Nichols, T.(1). HBP - Haniger, J.. SF - Rowland, J.(1); Nichols, T.(1). SB - Blackmon, C.(2); House, C.(1). Georgia Southern IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP ERA -------------------------------------------------------- Burt Barto.......... 2.2 9 8 8 0 2 16 18 58 30.37 Tony Chisman........ 3.1 5 2 2 0 3 13 14 58 4.15 Ryan Steidl......... 2.0 2 1 1 2 3 8 10 41 9.64 Georgia Tech IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP ERA -------------------------------------------------------- Deck McGuire........ 7.0 3 1 1 1 3 23 24 78 1.12 Taylor Wood......... 2.0 3 1 1 0 3 9 9 30 4.50 Win - McGuire, D. (1-0). Loss - Barto (0-1). Save - None. WP - Chisman(1). HBP - by Barto (Haniger, J.). Inherited runners/scored: Chisman 1/1. Pitches/strikes: Barto 58/40; Chisman 58/37; Steidl 41/23; McGuire, D. 78/48; Wood, T. 30/23. Umpires - HP: Steve Manders 1B: Danny Everett 3B: Jay Pierce Game Time Conditions: 50 degrees, cloudy and windy Start: 4:00 pm Time: 2:21 Attendance: 1042