May 26, 2004

2004 ACC Baseball Championship Central | Gametracker

SALEM, Va. (AP) -- Steven Blackwood hit a two-run double in the third inning and top-seeded Georgia Tech won its 18th straight game Wednesday, 4-3 against Maryland in the opening round of the ACC tournament.

The Yellow Jackets (39-17), will play Clemson in the winner's bracket Thursday night. The Tigers beat North Carolina 7-6 in the first game.

The Terrapins (22-33), who got into the tournament with a 15-12 victory against Wake Forest in the play-in game Tuesday night, will play North Carolina in the first game Thursday, with the loser going home.

Georgia Tech trailed 2-0 against Terps starter Sean Kane (1-8) and had just one hit when it came to bat in the third.

After Whit Robbins drew a leadoff walk, consecutive singles by Mike Trapani and Eric Patterson brought one run home, Tyler Greene's bunt single loaded the bases and Blackwood doubled two runners in.

A sacrifice fly by Micah Owings made it 4-2.

Brian Burks (7-5), the MVP of last year's tournament when the Yellow Jackets won a triple-header on the final day to win the title, allowed two runs in the first and coasted until the eighth, when Brian Jarosinski doubled and scored on Truan Mehl's single off the right-field wall.

Burks retired Bobby Ryan on a fly ball to left to end the eighth, and Nick Wagner worked the ninth for his third save.

The Terps started fast, getting a triple from Matt Maropis on a fly ball to center that a diving Brandon Boggs failed to come up with.

One out later, Will Frazier singled Maropis home, and two-out singles by Jarosinski and Dan Melvin gave Maryland the 2-0 lead.