ATLANTA—(February 17, 2017) No. 21 Georgia Tech got a pair of homeruns for a 5-3 opening-day victory over BYU baseball on Friday afternoon in the Atlanta Challenge.
Ryan Peurifoy got Georgia Tech aboard with its first hit, a two-out solo homerun off the centerfield batter’s eye on the first pitch by Maverik Buffo in the second inning.
A two-run homer to left field by Kel Johnson extended the Ramblin Wreck’s lead to 5-0 in the fifth inning.
“There's a reason Georgia Tech is ranked 21st in the country,” BYU coach Mike Littlewood said. “They are big, athletic, physical guys, and they have a lot of confidence on their home field. The difference in this game was our inability to get a big hit with runners in scoring position. We continually put the pressure on them but their pitchers made pitches when needed.”
The Cougars, who had at least one base runner every inning, had chances to tie a couple times to no avail as they out-hit Tech 11 to seven.
BYU’s Brennon Anderson got a two-out double and tried to score on Tanner Chauncey’s single to left field, but was thrown out at the plate to end the third. Buffo loaded the bases in the bottom of that frame, then made an errant pickoff throw to second to allow the first of two more Yellow Jacket runs for a 3-0 lead.
Brock Hale got BYU’s second double of the day, a two-out blast to right field, but was stranded in the fourth.
Freshman Xzavion Curry struck out five in as many innings and was replaced by Jake Lee who got stung by a pair of BYU sluggers.
Keaton Kringlen extended his current hitting streak to 12 games with a sharp single to third, then was driven home on the first pitch delivered by reliever to Colton Shaver for a homer to right center to close the margin to 5-2. It was Shaver’s 24th dinger of his three-year career.
Cougars Rhett Parkinson and Mason Marshall made good relief appearances in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. Lefty Parkinson set Tech down in order, then Marshall had a pair of strikeouts.
That allowed a good top of the eighth inning by BYU, narrowing the gap to 5-3. Tanner Chauncey drew a lead-off walk, then Kringlen dribbled an infield single. Chauncey advanced to third on a fly-out to the right field wall by Brock Hale and scored on Kyle Dean’s single to center.
Sophomore Daniel Schneemann was 3-for-5 on the afternoon, getting the initial single of the afternoon from his lead-off spot in the first and to right field in the ninth.
“We kicked the ball around a little bit, which is unlike us, but overall I was proud of the effort in a tough ACC environment,” Littlewood said. “I told the guys if we play like this every game we are going to win a lot of games this year. We need a better outing from Maverik, but he knows that and he'll put the work in to make the necessary adjustments.”
The Cougars (0-1) continue play in the Atlanta Challenge on Saturday at 2 p.m. EST at nearby Kennesaw State (1-0).