Georgia Tech’s Jake Davies (front) is greeted by head coach Danny Hall as he rounds third base after hitting a three-run homer against the College of Charleston during Friday’s game. (The Associated Press)
The first two innings included 10 runs, 12 hits and two errors, and the Yellow Jackets (37-24) emerged with a 7-3 lead. They will move on to play Florida, the No. 1 overall seed tonight at 7 p.m.
Charleston (37-21) started with five hits in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead, but the Yellow Jackets answered with Davies.
The Cougars tied it 3-3 in the top of the second on a two-run home run by Marty Gantt. Georgia Tech answered with four runs, including Thomas.
Georgia Tech reliever Dusty Isaacs (6-4) held the Cougars scoreless over the final 5 1-3 innings for the win. Charleston will play today in an elimination game against Bethune-Cookman.
Tech gave up a first-inning run to the Cougars but didn’t waste time taking the lead. Davies followed a one-out single by Sam Dove and a walk to Thomas with his 14th home run of the season — and fifth since the ACC Tournament started last Wednesday.
The ACC Tournament MVP continued his hot hitting, belting the first pitch he saw from Charleston starter Christian Powell (9-4) over the right field fence.
The Cougars tied the game on a two-run homer from Marty Gantt in the top half of the second, but Tech quickly re-captured the lead by scoring four times in the bottom half.
After former Calhoun star Mott Hyde singled and Paul Kronenfeld reached on a fielder’s choice, Cougar catcher Jimmy Holton mishandled a two-out dribbler from Kyle Wren in front of home plate, giving the Jackets a pair of runners on. Dove singled home Kronenfeld to put Tech ahead 4-3, then Thomas ripped the first offering from Powell over the right-field fence for a three-run home run and a 7-3 Tech lead.
“We gave up that run in the first, but Jake took care of that in the bottom of the first with his homer, which was a huge momentum shift,” said Tech coach Danny Hall. “Brandon’s home run was huge as well, giving us an even bigger lead.
“I think we’re pretty aggressive hitters, but I also think we’re pretty smart hitters. Sometimes that first pitch is the best one you’re going to see, and it’s a good one to jump on. I know Jake’s homer came on the first pitch, and so did Brandon’s. They both got pitches they thought they could handle, and they didn’t miss them.”
Each team added a run in the fourth, Charleston on Brandon Murray’s RBI single and Tech on Davies’ RBI double.
Isaacs (6-4) took it from there for the Yellow Jackets, who were playing their first NCAA regional game outside the state of Georgia since 1998. After starter Cole Pitts gave up the single to Murray, Isaacs came on to get the final out of the fourth and strand two Cougar runners, then allowed only four baserunners the rest of the way. He struck out four.
“The main thing I wanted to do today was force contact and get outs,” Isaacs said. “I had good command of all my pitches and I had a real good feeling for my slider.”
Pitts, a freshman who earned key wins for the Yellow Jackets against Miami to finish the regular season and against Virginia in the ACC Tournament, didn’t last long enough to get the victory Friday despite excellent run support. The right-hander gave up four runs and 10 hits and was lifted with two outs in the fourth.
Powell surrendered all eight Tech runs, though all four in the second inning were unearned, on seven hits in 3 1/3 innings. The Charleston bullpen held Tech in check on four hits over the final 4 2/3 innings, but the Cougars, who outhit Tech 13-11, could not muster any offense against Isaacs. It was just the third time this season that Tech won when getting out (3-16).
Thomas finished the game with four hits, while Davies, Dove and Kronenfeld had two apiece for the Yellow Jackets.
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