University of Georgia Athletics
Georgia Tech Defeats Louisville, 8-5
May 31, 2008 | General
ATHENS, Ga. The second-seeded Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets posted an 8-5 victory over the third seed Louisville Cardinals in the second game of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championships Athens Regional on Friday evening.
“Obviously, it was a great way to start the tournament,” Georgia Tech head coach Danny Hall said. “I felt good about us scoring runs early and we had some good pitching. They took the lead from us there in the middle after some good adjustments by their hitters, but I felt the pitches David (Duncan) was throwing were good. Jason’s (Haniger) two run homerun was big and gave us the distance we needed.”
With the win, Georgia Tech (40-19) advances to face fourth seed Lipscomb in the winner’s bracket of the Athens Regional Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. Louisville (41-20) falls to the loser’s bracket and will face one seed and host Georgia at 3 p.m.
Georgia Tech starting pitcher, junior David Duncan, worked 5.2 innings allowing three runs on eight hits but did not factor into the decision. Duncan was relieved by sophomore Andrew Robinson (4-2), who tossed 2.2 innings allowing two runs on four hits for the win. Louisville starting pitcher Justin Marks (9-2) suffered the loss after allowing four runs, three earned, on six hits in 5.1 innings. Senior Yellow Jacket Brad Rulon recorded his sixth save of the season by recording the final two outs of the game.
From the plate, the Yellow Jackets were led by senior Charlie Blackmon and junior Jason Haniger. Blackmon went 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run, while Haniger went 3-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored including a home run. Louisville’s offense was led by senior Justin McClanahan and Chris Dominguez. McClanahan recorded three hits in four at-bats driving in three runs including a pair of home runs, while Dominguez went 2-for-4 with a solo home run.
Georgia Tech built an early 2-0 lead with a run in both the first and second innings. In the first, junior designated player Luke Murton provided the Yellow Jackets with a sacrifice fly that scored Blackmon. Blackmon led off with a walk, moved to second on a wild pitch and stole third to set up the sacrifice. In the second, Blackmon added an RBI single right that scored Haniger, who reached on a two-out single up the middle and was moved around to third by a hit and a walk.
Louisville jumped ahead 3-2 in the top of the sixth on back-to-back home runs from McClanahan and Dominquez. With junior John Dao aboard after leading off the inning with a double, McClanahan hit the first of the two home runs to left, and Dominguez delivered his blast on the fourth pitch of the next at-bat, also to left.
In the bottom of the sixth, Georgia Tech went back ahead 4-3. Sophomore Tony Plagman was hit by a pitch with one out, Haniger singled and sophomore Patrick Long was walked to load the bases full of Yellow Jackets. Louisville then turned to freshman relief pitcher Thomas Royce, who got the first batter he faced, freshman pinch hitter Thomas Nichols to line out to third. In the next at-bat, Blackmon recorded an RBI single on a hit that went deep in the hole a second. On the play, McClanahan, Louisville’s second baseman, committed a throwing error that allowed Haniger to also score.
The Yellow Jackets extended the lead to 7-3 in the seventh with an RBI single from Plagman and a two-run home run to center from Haniger. Freshman Derek Dietrich scored on Plagman’s single after doubling to left.
In the top of the eighth, McClanahan provided Louisville with his second home run of the game, a solo home run to left center, to cut the Georgia Tech lead to 7-4. The Yellow Jackets answered with a run in the bottom of the frame to push the lead back to four runs at 8-4. Freshman Chase Burnette led off with a walk, moved to second on a wild pitch, took third on a groundout and scored on a fielding error by Louisville right fielder Ijames Stewart.
Louisville put up a run in the top of the ninth to give the game final margin. Sophomore Andrew Clark led off with a single and was followed by Phil Wunderlich, who doubled down the left field line to put runners at second and third. Next, Drew Haynes provided a sacrifice fly to right field scoring Clark. Georgia Tech then turned to Rulon, who entered and got a fly out and a pop up to end the game.
POST GAME NOTES:
Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech is now 17-5 when scoring in the first inning
Charlie Blackmon’s two stolen bases on the night gives him 25 on the season, playing him in a tie for the 19th most stolen bases in a season at Georgia Tech
Blackmon extended his hitting streak to nine games with an RBI single in the second inning, and he notched his 28th multiple hit game with another single in the fifth inning
Jason Haniger hit his ninth home run of the season in the seventh inning, giving Georgia Tech 91 on the season. The last time Georgia Tech hit over 90 homeruns in a season was in 1998, when it had 103
Georgia Tech earned its first NCAA win at Foley Field
Georgia Tech earned its 40th victory of the season against Louisville, marking the 20th time in history the Jackets have notched 40 or more victories
Georgia Tech improved to 35-2 on the season when holding opponents to six or fewer runs
Brad Rulon made his team-leading 25th scoreless appearance out of the bullpen
Rulon moved into a tie for third place in Tech’s career record books with his 115th career appearance
Rulon notched his sixth save of the season and 10th of his career, placing him 10th in Tech’s career record books
Louisville
Senior Justin McClanahan and redshirt sophomore Chris Dominguez hit back-to-back home runs for the Cardinals in the sixth inning. It marks first time Louisville has hit back-to-back home runs since hitting back-to-back-to-back home runs against Ohio State April 16, 2008. The three straight home runs against Ohio State came from McClanahan, Dominguez and sophomore Andrew Clark
McClanahan added his second home run of the game by leading the eighth inning off with a home run to left center. McClanahan was also the last Cardinal to hit two home runs in a single game, achieving the feat on May 23, 2008 against Villanova
“Obviously, it was a great way to start the tournament,” Georgia Tech head coach Danny Hall said. “I felt good about us scoring runs early and we had some good pitching. They took the lead from us there in the middle after some good adjustments by their hitters, but I felt the pitches David (Duncan) was throwing were good. Jason’s (Haniger) two run homerun was big and gave us the distance we needed.”
With the win, Georgia Tech (40-19) advances to face fourth seed Lipscomb in the winner’s bracket of the Athens Regional Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. Louisville (41-20) falls to the loser’s bracket and will face one seed and host Georgia at 3 p.m.
Georgia Tech starting pitcher, junior David Duncan, worked 5.2 innings allowing three runs on eight hits but did not factor into the decision. Duncan was relieved by sophomore Andrew Robinson (4-2), who tossed 2.2 innings allowing two runs on four hits for the win. Louisville starting pitcher Justin Marks (9-2) suffered the loss after allowing four runs, three earned, on six hits in 5.1 innings. Senior Yellow Jacket Brad Rulon recorded his sixth save of the season by recording the final two outs of the game.
From the plate, the Yellow Jackets were led by senior Charlie Blackmon and junior Jason Haniger. Blackmon went 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run, while Haniger went 3-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored including a home run. Louisville’s offense was led by senior Justin McClanahan and Chris Dominguez. McClanahan recorded three hits in four at-bats driving in three runs including a pair of home runs, while Dominguez went 2-for-4 with a solo home run.
Georgia Tech built an early 2-0 lead with a run in both the first and second innings. In the first, junior designated player Luke Murton provided the Yellow Jackets with a sacrifice fly that scored Blackmon. Blackmon led off with a walk, moved to second on a wild pitch and stole third to set up the sacrifice. In the second, Blackmon added an RBI single right that scored Haniger, who reached on a two-out single up the middle and was moved around to third by a hit and a walk.
Louisville jumped ahead 3-2 in the top of the sixth on back-to-back home runs from McClanahan and Dominquez. With junior John Dao aboard after leading off the inning with a double, McClanahan hit the first of the two home runs to left, and Dominguez delivered his blast on the fourth pitch of the next at-bat, also to left.
In the bottom of the sixth, Georgia Tech went back ahead 4-3. Sophomore Tony Plagman was hit by a pitch with one out, Haniger singled and sophomore Patrick Long was walked to load the bases full of Yellow Jackets. Louisville then turned to freshman relief pitcher Thomas Royce, who got the first batter he faced, freshman pinch hitter Thomas Nichols to line out to third. In the next at-bat, Blackmon recorded an RBI single on a hit that went deep in the hole a second. On the play, McClanahan, Louisville’s second baseman, committed a throwing error that allowed Haniger to also score.
The Yellow Jackets extended the lead to 7-3 in the seventh with an RBI single from Plagman and a two-run home run to center from Haniger. Freshman Derek Dietrich scored on Plagman’s single after doubling to left.
In the top of the eighth, McClanahan provided Louisville with his second home run of the game, a solo home run to left center, to cut the Georgia Tech lead to 7-4. The Yellow Jackets answered with a run in the bottom of the frame to push the lead back to four runs at 8-4. Freshman Chase Burnette led off with a walk, moved to second on a wild pitch, took third on a groundout and scored on a fielding error by Louisville right fielder Ijames Stewart.
Louisville put up a run in the top of the ninth to give the game final margin. Sophomore Andrew Clark led off with a single and was followed by Phil Wunderlich, who doubled down the left field line to put runners at second and third. Next, Drew Haynes provided a sacrifice fly to right field scoring Clark. Georgia Tech then turned to Rulon, who entered and got a fly out and a pop up to end the game.
POST GAME NOTES:
Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech is now 17-5 when scoring in the first inning
Charlie Blackmon’s two stolen bases on the night gives him 25 on the season, playing him in a tie for the 19th most stolen bases in a season at Georgia Tech
Blackmon extended his hitting streak to nine games with an RBI single in the second inning, and he notched his 28th multiple hit game with another single in the fifth inning
Jason Haniger hit his ninth home run of the season in the seventh inning, giving Georgia Tech 91 on the season. The last time Georgia Tech hit over 90 homeruns in a season was in 1998, when it had 103
Georgia Tech earned its first NCAA win at Foley Field
Georgia Tech earned its 40th victory of the season against Louisville, marking the 20th time in history the Jackets have notched 40 or more victories
Georgia Tech improved to 35-2 on the season when holding opponents to six or fewer runs
Brad Rulon made his team-leading 25th scoreless appearance out of the bullpen
Rulon moved into a tie for third place in Tech’s career record books with his 115th career appearance
Rulon notched his sixth save of the season and 10th of his career, placing him 10th in Tech’s career record books
Louisville
Senior Justin McClanahan and redshirt sophomore Chris Dominguez hit back-to-back home runs for the Cardinals in the sixth inning. It marks first time Louisville has hit back-to-back home runs since hitting back-to-back-to-back home runs against Ohio State April 16, 2008. The three straight home runs against Ohio State came from McClanahan, Dominguez and sophomore Andrew Clark
McClanahan added his second home run of the game by leading the eighth inning off with a home run to left center. McClanahan was also the last Cardinal to hit two home runs in a single game, achieving the feat on May 23, 2008 against Villanova
BMW AD Update with Josh Brooks and Jordan Ross
Friday, February 06
2025 Arch Award - Colby Gardner
Tuesday, October 21
Recognizing Mental Health Awareness Month
Tuesday, September 30
Dawgs Choice Awards 2025
Thursday, May 01