ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Bryan Arendt hit a second-inning grand slam, RJ Sales allowed just three hits before leaving with one out in the eighth inning, and No. 2 seed UNC Wilmington blanked third-seeded Georgia Tech 9-0 on Friday at the Athens Regional.
UNC Wilmington (40-19) will play top-seeded Georgia in the winners’ bracket on Saturday. Georgia Tech (31-24) takes on Army in an elimination game on Saturday. Georgia opened the regional with an 8-7 victory over the Black Knights.
Georgia Tech starter Brett Thomas ran into trouble with one out in the bottom of the second. Alec DeMartino walked, John Newton singled and Brock Wills was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Arendt, the catcher, sent a 1-2 pitch over the fence in left field to give his batterymate a 4-0 lead.
Sales (11-3) left after issuing back-to-back walks. Luke Craig took the mound and struck out Matthew Ellis looking and John Giesler swinging to end the Yellow Jackets’ threat.
UNC Wilmington added five runs in the bottom of the inning to put it out of reach. Arendt was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. No. 9 hitter Kevin Jones followed with a two-run single and Jac Croom capped it with a two-run double.
Thomas (4-2) took the loss for Georgia Tech, retiring just four batters. Camron Hill followed with 3 1/3 shutout innings to keep the Yellow Jackets in it for a while.
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