Jun. 5—The trouble that Georgia Tech’s presented to Indiana State’s baseball team in the opening round of the NCAA Nashville Regional on Friday wasn’t so much that the Yellowjackets had one or two hitters that were All-American-level scary, it’s that Georgia Tech had an entire lineup of hitters who could bleed you to death with a thousand cuts.
It took time, but that’s exactly what Georgia Tech did to the Sycamores at Vanderbilt’s Frank Hawkins Field.
A five-run seventh inning for Georgia Tech, one in which 10 Yellowjackets batted, helped Georgia Tech slip past ISU for a 7-6 victory to send the Sycamores into the loser’s bracket.
“Coach Smiley and I were talking in the dugout around the third or fourth inning and we always talk about a number we need to get to. Ironically, it was seven,” ISU coach Mitch Hannahs said.
ISU will play the loser of Friday’s night’s Vanderbilt-Presbyterian game at 2 p.m. (EDT) tomorrow.
It was a tight game and a tight strike zone for both teams. The latter was on the minds of some of the Sycamores after the game, and the tight strike zone did likely influence the starting outings for both pitchers as their pitch counts rose, but Georgia Tech (30-23) took maximum advantage of the one big inning it had and that hurt ISU most.
“We gave it our all, but it goes back to situations that could have been turning points for us and we didn’t take advantage,” said ISU catcher Grant Magill, who was 2-for-4 with four RBI on the day.
For most of the contest, ISU was in-command. The Sycamores got off to a good start in the first inning when Jordan Schaffer and Ellison Hanna II led off with singles. They were brought home by a two-run Magill single to make it 2-0.
ISU’s lead increased to 3-0 in the second inning when Brian Fuentes hit a solo home run over Vanderbilt’s convex left field fence. Georgia Tech answered with two runs of its own in the bottom half of the second via a two-run Andrew Jenkins’ blast to left field.
From there, ISU starting pitcher Geremy Guerrero walked a tight rope. Several Georgia Tech fly balls made it to the warning track, but stayed in the park. Hannahs knew going into the regional that the Yellowjackets were extremely patient at the plate and they demonstrated that.
“It was a tough day for both pitchers who started when we both realized our zone was going to be tight from the get-go,” Guerrero said.
“I didn’t have my best stuff, I knew that, I knew I had to compete with what I had. I had to nibble on the outside corner as much as I could knowing calls may or may not happen out there. I was a mentally challenging game,” the ISU ace added.
Despite the hard day for Guerrero, ISU didn’t lose the lead and increased it to 6-2 by the seventh inning. Magill knocked in Sean Ross in the fifth and ISU scored two in the seventh against a faltering Georgia Tech bullpen. One run was walked in and another scored via a wild pitch.
A big inning was in the cards for the Sycamores with the bases loaded and one out after the two runs were scored. However, Georgia Tech reliever Josiah Siegel got Fuentes to hit into a 6-4-3 double play, and in hindsight, the momentum of the game changed there.
“There were some moments we could have done a better job. In the seventh, we had bases loaded and they had an off-speed guy. One of those guys where you don’t want to put it on the turf and we do for a 6-4-3 and they’re out of the inning. Then they get the five-spot [in the next half-inning],” Hannahs said.
Georgia Tech coach Danny Hall also saw the play as pivotal.
“The biggest pitch of the game was Josiah Siegel who got a double play ball. Then we had some good at-bats to get the lead in the next inning,” Georgia Tech coach Danny Hall said.
Guerrero threw six innings and started the seventh, but with his pitch count nearing the century mark and with one Yellowjacket aboard after a leadoff double, Hannahs turned to the ISU bullpen.
“Geremy by no means had his best stuff today with the heat. We knew they had lefties coming up and we had [Tyler] Grauer ready for that. We felt it was time [to take Guerrero out],” Hannahs said.
The Yellowjackets were ready, however. Grauer, cleared bothered by the tight zone as he gesticulated his displeasure on the mound, allowed two hits and a walk as Georgia Tech closed the deficit to 6-4. Enter ISU closer Connor Fenlong.
Fenlong didn’t have his best day either. He walked the first batter he faced and then Stephen Reid rolled a two-run single to right to tie the game. One batter later, Drew Compton drove home another run with another single and Georgia Tech had a 7-6 lead.
ISU had runners on-base in both of the subsequent innings. In the ninth, Miguel Rivera hit a one-out double, but pinch-runner Nate Barrett misjudged a liner hit to right by Magill. Barrett ran from second, but the ball was caught, and Barrett was easily doubled off second to end the game.
In 2012 and 2014, ISU lost loser’s bracket games when it had a chance to stay alive. Hannahs was there in 2014 and knows there’s no time for regrets.
“This game is unforgiving. You get caught sulking? You’re going to get it handed to you. We have to get past it and get ready,” Hannahs said.
INDIANA STATE (AB-R-H-RBI) — Schaffer ss 4-1-2-0, Hanna rf 4-2-3-0, Wright dh 4-1-1-0, Ross cf 4-1-1-0, Rivera 1b 4-0-1-0, Barrett pr 0-0-0-0, Magill c 4-0-2-4, Beck lf 3-0-0-0, Fuentes 3b 4-1-1-1, Urdaneta 2b 4-0-0-0. TOTALS 35-6-11-5.
GEORGIA TECH (AB-R-H-RBI) — Waddell ss 5-1-1-1, Gonzalez cf 3-1-2-0, Parada c 5-0-0-0, Malloy 3b 4-2-2-1, Jenkins 1b 3-2-2-2, Reid rf 4-0-3-1, Grenkoski rf 0-0-0-0, Compton dh 4-0-1-1, DeLeo lf 3-1-1-0, Wilhite 2b 2-0-0-0, Anderson ph 1-0-0-0, Jackson ph-2b 1-0-0-0. TOTALS 35-7-12-6.
Indiana State=210=010=200=-=6
Georgia Tech=020=000=50X=-=7
DP — GT 2. LOB — ISU 9, GT 8. 2B — Hanna (6), Rivera (11); Gonzalez (15), DeLeo (8). HR — Fuentes (5); Jenkins (8). S — DeLeo (1). SB — Ross (2). CS — Magill (2).
Indiana State=IP=H=R=ER=BB=SO
Guerrero=6=7=3=3=1=1
Grauer=2/3=2=3=3=1=1
Fenlong (L, 4-3)=1 1/3=3=1=1=1=0
Georgia Tech=IP=H=R=ER=BB=SO
Hurter=6=7=4=4=0=7
Crawford=0=2=2=2=0=0
Maxwell=1/3=0=0=0=3=0
Siegel (W 2-0)=2/3=0=0=0=0=0
Bartnicki=2=2=0=0=0=3
HBP — by Hurter 4 (Ross, Wright, Schaffer, Hanna). WP — Grauer (6); Maxwell (9). T — 3:04. A — 3,055.
Next — ISU (30-20) plays either Vanderbilt or Presbyterian at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Georgia Tech (30-23) plays either Vanderbilt or Presbyterian at 7 p.m. on Saturday.