April 10, 2002

Box Score

Atlanta - Western Carolina only surrendered three hits to Georgia Tech, but the fourth-ranked Yellow Jackets still managed to pull out a narrow 2-1 victory Wednesday night at Russ Chandler Stadium.

The Catamounts (20-11) used six different pitchers in a designated staff day, and they combined to limit the Yellow Jackets to their lowest total of the season and a total of eight base runners. Starter Ryan Basner (1-2), who allowed one run in two innings, was the tough-luck loser. Others to see action for the Cats included Brad Josey, Rob Hoover, Dan Foley, Jared Burton and Joe Camac.

The Yellow Jackets (29-4) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning without the aid of a base hit. Eric Patterson, who scored both of Tech's runs, drew a leadoff walk. After stealing second base and moving to third on a groundout, Patterson scored on a sacrifice fly from Jeremy Slayden, who drove in both of Tech's runs in the game.

Tech made the score 2-0 in the third inning, again scoring without a hit. Patterson drew another leadoff walk and then scored on another sac fly from Slayden after stealing both second and third bases.

Western Carolina, who out-hit Tech 7-3, rallied in the ninth. Donovan Minero had a leadoff double and scored on a single by Alan Beck. Beck advanced to second on a wild pitch and nearly became the tying run. With two out, freshman Clint Ramsey hit a solid shot, but defensive replacement Davis Myers at short stop made a shoestring catch to record the final out.

Beck broke out of a mild slump with a 3-for-4 performance, while Minero added two hits.

For Western, it marked the first time in five games this season it had lost a one-run game and just the third time in 21 games it had lost when out-hitting its opponent.

Chris Goodman (3-0) held the Catamounts scoreless for the first eight innings of the game, allowing just two runners to advance past first base, before finally surrendering a run in the ninth inning. He allowed six hits and issued two walks while striking out three batters in eight-plus innings of work. Tech reliever Aaron Walker recorded the first out of the ninth inning before yielding to Nick Wagner, who record the final two outs to earn his first save of the season.

The victory, which extended Tech's current win streak to 11 games, improved the Yellow Jackets' record to 20-0 at their new home park in 2002 and extended Tech's overall home winning streak to 25 games dating back to last season. Tech's Victor Menocal went 0-for-3 to snap his school-record hitting streak at 31 games. He was hit by a pitch in the fifth inning, extending his streak of reaching base safely in every game of the 2002 season.

Western Carolina will return to action with a three-game set versus the College of Charleston this weekend. The two teams, who are tied for third in the league, will play on Friday at 3 pm, while playing single games on Saturday and Sunday at 1 pm. All three games will be played at Childress Field/Hennon Stadium.