West Georgia Tech drops ABAC in series opener, 8-1

West Georgia Tech drops ABAC in series opener, 8-1

Team Stats

April 6, 2016

TIFTON, Georgia -- West Georgia Tech used a six-run surge over the eighth and ninth innings to pull away from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, 8-1 Tuesday in Tifton. The win gives West Georgia Tech a 1-0 series lead over the Stallions.

The Golden Knights and Stallions battled in a pitcher's duel through seven innings, as West Georgia Tech held a 2-1 lead going into the eighth. WGTC then scored three runs in both the eighth and ninth innings to take the 8-1 win. 

Miles Dutton pitched perhaps the best game of his career, allowing just one unearned run on six hits through six complete innings. The freshman from Woodstock, Ga. struck out a career-high nine ABAC batters while walking just one. Matt Orange and Tyler Elkins combined to pitch three innings of scoreless relief. Orange struck out three and walked one. Overall, West Georgia Tech pitching struck out 13 ABAC batters while walking just two.

West Georgia Tech scored first on an Avery Roth single, which scored Aaron Gonzalez in the top of the second, giving the Knights a 1-0 lead. WGTC extended its lead to 2-0 with an unearned run in the sixth. 

Dutton got out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the fifth. ABAC loaded the bases with no outs, but scored just one run with Dutton picking up a strikeout for the third out. WGTC pitched around trouble again in the sixth. ABAC had three hits in the inning, including a double, but failed to score thanks in part to Aaron Gonzalez throwing out a runner trying to steal second. Three pitches later, the ABAC batter hit a double, which would have easily scored the runner. 

WGTC scored three in the eighth. Josh Eidson hit a triple, which scored Jacob Olson. Eidson scored on a groundout to make it a 4-1 game. Connor Wilson followed with a single and scored on Angelo Rivera's double, giving West Georgia Tech a 5-1 lead. 

Jacob Olson hit a three-run homer in the ninth to complete the scoring. Prior to Olson's homerun, Logan Tillem doubled and Adrian Martinez drew a walk.

Coach Todd Pratt gave his take on today's game..."Miles Dutton pitched a great game with his second-straight quality start for us. He did a great job of holding them in check until our offense put the game out of reach late in the ballgame. Jacob Olson had a great game both offensively and defensively. His homer in the ninth put the game away. He had some solid plays out in the field. This is the first time all season that all three phases of our game came together. We played well defensively, we pieced together runs and our pitching was effective. It's a good way to start the series against a quality club. 
West Georgia Tech improves to 7-23-1 and 2-7 in GCAA play, while ABAC falls to 18-16 and 6-3 in league play. 

The series resumes Friday with a single game at 1:05 p.m. in Carrollton. The series will conclude Saturday with a twin bill starting at 1:05 p.m., also in Carrollton.