Georgia Tech came very close to winning the series today on the road against Virginia.
It looked like it would be a low-scoring game for Virginia, but both teams' offenses came alive in the closing stages. He led Virginia to 7-2, but it didn't last long. Georgia Tech tried to tie the game to force overtime, but the Cavaliers were able to settle it in the 11th inning. Georgia Tech will play the Cavaliers tomorrow at 1 p.m., looking for their second straight win in the series against a top-20 team.
Georgia Tech, which dominated the No. 10 team in the nation last night, was looking to pick up another impressive win this afternoon on the road against Virginia State. The Yellow Jackets were starting to put together an impressive NCAA resume and looked to continue that today in Charlottesville, but they fell short.
Let's look back on today's match.
The Yellow Jackets' starting lineup was as follows, with Cam Jones on the mound.
1. LF Trey Junger
2. CF Drew Burress
3.C Matthew Ellis
4. P. Cam Jones
5. 1B John Giesler
6.SS Peyton Green
7.RF Parker Brosius
8. 2B Carson Kurth
9.3B Ryan Jarosz
Both teams issued walks in the first inning, but the offense could not gain momentum and the score was 0-0 going into the second inning. The second inning began with Green's leadoff double, and he advanced to third base on a passed ball. Georgia Tech was in a great position to take an early lead. After Brosius popped out, Kase popped out and hit the green for his first point of the game. Georgia Tech entered the bottom of the second inning with a 1-0 lead.
The lead didn't last long.
Virginia hit a leadoff home run in the bottom of the second inning, making the game 1-1. Virginia briefly stole momentum from the game, but it didn't take long for the Yellow Jackets to regain momentum.
Burress popped out in his third inning start, but then Ellis issued a walk, giving Georgia Tech a runner on base. After that, Jones jumped out, but Giesler was hit by a pitch, leaving Georgia Tech with two outs and second base, and Green returned to the bat. Green made a timely hit to get a runner on, and Georgia Tech regained a 2-1 lead and advanced to the bottom of the third inning.
The bottom of the third inning was tense. Virginia hit back-to-back one-out singles, giving runners in scoring position. However, Cam Jones was able to get out of the jam and the Yellow Jackets held the lead until the fourth inning.
Georgia Tech went three scoreless innings, and Virginia regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth. After Jones struck out a batter and then allowed a single, his day was over. He pitched five innings, allowing four hits, striking out three batters, and allowing three earned runs. Dawson Brown took his place, but predictably got off to a terrible start. He allowed a three-run homer to put Virginia ahead, and suddenly Georgia Tech was in trouble for the first time all weekend.
Brown allowed a single, but gave the batter a walk, and Danny Hall made another pitching change. Michal Kobala came on but didn't get off to a good start. He added two more points on a defensive error to make it 6-2, then a sac fly to make it 7-2. It looked like the Cavaliers were headed for a landslide victory.
But Georgia Tech wasn't going to go quietly either.
After Jarosz reached on a throwing error and Junger elected to walk, Burress hit an RBI single to make it 7-3, and Ellis hit a big single with two RBIs to cut the lead to two points at 7-5. Georgia Tech scored one more run before the inning ended, and after falling behind by five runs, they entered the bottom of the seventh with a one-run lead.
Brett Thomas appeared in the bottom of the inning and had three strikeouts, moving the game into the eighth inning.
It looked like Georgia Tech was going to take the lead at the top of the inning. Becketti hit a leadoff double and Junger singled to put runners on the corners. And then the worst-case scenario happened. After Burress hit a double play, Ellis flew out. Georgia Tech ended up having him try to score in one inning. Thomas survived the bottom of the eighth inning and was ready for Georgia Tech's comeback in the ninth.
In the 9th inning, which started with Jones' first hit, Giesler was trailing 0-2 and was hit by a pitch, giving Georgia Tech runners on first and second base with no outs. Green bunted to advance the runner, but was out at first. With one out and second and third base, Zmarzulak stepped up to bat. Zmarzlak grounded out, but Jones scored and Giesler advanced to third base. In a tied game, Carson Kearse had two outs. He struck out to end the inning, but Georgia Tech quickly struck back.
Thomas pitched well in the bottom of the 9th inning. He allowed a first hit, but avoided it and sent the game into overtime. Georgia Tech was going to have the top of its lineup back at the plate.
Neither offense was able to go into overtime, but the University of Virginia scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the 11th inning to defeat Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets fought back and took control of the game, but were unable to capitalize on the few opportunities in front of them.
