will now take place on Saturday, Aug. 8. Callaway Plaza
activities start at 3 pm. Autographs in the stadium from 4-6 pm.
Tech Falls, 7-5, In Game One Of NCAA Super Regional
June 11, 2004
ATLANTA (AP) - Johnny Dobbs threw the right pitch and Marshall Szabo
made the play. Just like that, they stopped Georgia Tech's best threat.
"The whole game could have turned right there," Dobbs said.
Dobbs escaped that bases-loaded jam and Bobby Felmy had a three-run
homer before leaving the leg cramps to lead Georgia past Georgia Tech
7-5 Friday in Game 1 of the NCAA super regional.
Szabo went 2-for-5 and had a two-run single to move the Bulldogs
(42-21) within one victory of a trip to the College World Series. Clint
Sammons scored two runs and Will Startup pitched the final three innings
for his ninth save.
Dobbs (5-2) pitched 2 1-3 innings in relief of starter Michael Hyle
and allowed only Nickeas' solo shot in the sixth. He struck out one and
walked one.
"That's how we play, we pick each other up," Georgia coach David
Perno said. "Johnny Dobbs picked up Michael Hyle, and Bobby Felmy picked
us up with two outs. It was a collective effort by everybody in our
lineup."
Georgia Tech closed to 5-3 in the third on Eric Patterson's two-run
homer, then Hyle got two outs in the fourth. He threw two balls to Mike
Trapani and pitching coach Butch Thompson came out for a visit. After a
brief discussion, Hyle left in favor of Dobbs.
Hyle hadn't pitched since May 28 because of stiffness in his
shoulder.
"He wasn't as sharp as he has been, and that's expected because he
skipped a week," Perno said. "He just couldn't quite get a feel."
Dobbs promptly threw two more balls to walk Trapani, and another
walk to Patterson loaded the bases. Brandon Boggs worked to a full count
before hitting a grounder, and Szabo had to wait on a big hop before
throwing to first.
His relay narrowly beat Boggs, who slid headfirst into the base.
"The infield played hard, so I was treating it like a high hop,"
Szabo said. "My first step was back. I knew he's a good runner, so I
just had to do my best to get it there as quick as I could."
"That play was huge," he said. "If Marshall doesn't make that play,
then Georgia Tech gets the momentum and could have had a big inning. I
was worried, but he made a great play."
Mike Nickeas had three hits - including a home run - and Patterson
also homered for the Yellow Jackets (44-20), who lost for only the third
time in 26 games.
"You hate to lose, especially at home in a situation like this,"
Patterson said. "But it's best-of-three, and something we can't dwell
on. We've got a job to do, and we're going to do it."
The Bulldogs made it 7-3 in the sixth with two runs off Micah Owings
(9-3). Jason Jacobs brought in Sammons with a single, and Felmy scored
on a sacrifice fly by Justin Holmes.
Owings lasted six innings and gave up seven runs on nine hits, both
season highs. He lost for the first time in 10 starts, dating back to
March 12 against Virginia. He threw 104 pitches to bring his total over
the past three outings to 381.
"I don't think we played our best baseball," Georgia Tech coach
Danny Hall said. "Give Georgia credit. They got some hits when they
needed them, capitalized on a couple of mistakes that we made."
The Yellow Jackets got within three runs on the solo homer by
Nickeas, then added another run in the eighth on a bad-hop single by
Tyler Greene that brought in Nickeas.
Felmy's homer came during a five-run third against Owings. Szabo
drove in Josh Smith and Holmes with a single, and after Szabo was caught
stealing for the second out, Joey Side and Sammons walked.
Down in the count 0-2, Felmy hit a fastball from Owings over the
fence in right, a towering drive that nearly carried the secondary wall
about 30 feet beyond the field. That made it 5-1.
"I had a two-strike approach, and I was just trying to put the ball
in play," Felmy said.
Georgia Tech took a 1-0 lead in the first when Patterson scored on a
double by Steven Blackwood in the first.
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