Feb. 22, 2008 | Box Score

Untimely Errors, Big Inning Result in 14-0 Loss to No. 25 Georgia Tech

    Atlanta -- Two untimely errors and a seven-run eighth inning overshadowed the five innings Youngstown State held No. 25 Georgia Tech scoreless on Friday in the season opener for both teams.
    One of the Yellow Jackets' three runs in the first was unearned, and they scored four more unearned runs in the fifth thanks to a dropped fly ball with two outs and the bases loaded. Georgia Tech then added seven runs on four hits, a walk and two hit batters in the eighth to make the score seem worse than it really was.
    The Penguins, playing on a baseball field for the first time since the fall, will have two more chances at the Yellow Jackets. Game two of the series starts tomorrow at 2 p.m. while the finale is set for Sunday at 1 p.m.
    Starter Lucas Engle allowed six runs, only two of which were earned, in 4.2 innings in the loss. He surrendered base hits to the first four batters of the game but settled down to retire five straight hitters and continually used his experience to work out of trouble.
    Even in the first the Yellow Jackets got help from a dropped foul ball before a run scored. Chris House and Derek Dietrich singled to start the inning, and Charlie Blackmon singled to load the bases after receiving new life when his pop up near the seats was dropped. Patrick Long then ripped a two-run single to left, and Tony Plagmon followed two batters later with a sacrifice fly to center.
    Blackmon hit a leadoff double to start the third and advanced to third on a fielder's choice. After a walk to Long, Engle got a grounder back to the mound and caught Blackmon in a rundown to get out of the jam.
    Engle then got help from Eric Marzec in right in the fourth when the sophomore gunned down Jeff Rowland at the plate on House's one-out single.
    In the fifth the Yellow Jackets loaded the bases with one out, but Engle got a strikeout before handing the ball off to Ryan Wackerman. Wackerman forced what appeared to be an inning-ending fly ball, but John Koehnlein's drop resulted in an eventual four-run inning.
    David Duncan held the Penguins to two hits and struck out six in his seven innings of work to earn the win.
    Jay Dantzler went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, and Blackman finished with three hits for the Yellow Jackets.
    Josh Page, Dustin Wachter and David Leon all singled for the Penguins.
    Koehnlein went 0-for-4 to end his 29-game hitting streak that dated back to April 8 of last season.