Not a good day for the bats
TRUIST PARK —#14 Georgia Tech Baseball (29-8) fell 5-2 to #5 Georgia in the Spring Classic benefitting Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Tech’s second dropped game in their last eight after sweeping Stanford and Cal.
Georgia implemented essentially a one pitcher per inning strategy, which did a number on Tech’s ability to find a groove at the plate all game.
“It’s hard when you’re facing one guy every inning and gets hard to kind of get in a rhythm. Usually if you see a guy twice, you’d have a chance to make adjustments,” said Georgia Tech Head Coach Danny Hall after the game.
Tech only managed four hits, half of them coming from Will Baker, who hit his fourth homer of the season.
The announced crowd was 15,000 people, seemingly evenly divided between the third and first base side, but easily the biggest crowd Tech has played in front of all season.
Tech next plays this weekend at Miami hoping to stay atop the ACC, where they’ll shoot for their 30th win of the season and more.
How It Happened
The Jackets got in early trouble as starting pitcher Brett Barfield only got one man out through Georgia’s first six batters, allowing two runs on a single, two walks, and a hit batsman before getting pulled. Carson Ballard came in with bases loaded down 2-0, inducing a ground ball to short that initially was called a fielder’s choice at second base with a throwing error by Alex Hernandez that allowed a second run to score. The runner coming into second though didn’t slide, which Danny Hall was able to successfully protest that interference should’ve been called, and then was after the SEC umpires discussed the play, turning what was a 4-0 UGA game with 2 outs to a 2-0 game and the end of the inning.
Will Baker’s third inning solo home run to the Chophouse cut Georgia’s lead to 2-1. After Justin Byrd walked Parker Brosius and struck out Vahn Lackey, Zach Harris came in and struck out Drew Burres and Hernandez to keep Georgia’s lead at 2-1.
Baker again came in clutch during the fourth inning, driving in a run on a bloop single over the shortstop to tie it at 2-2.
The tie lasted all of two batters into the bottom of the inning before Devin Obee hit a tailing fly ball that looked like it might get foul, but snuck inside the foul pole and barely cleared the wall in right field to put Georgia back ahead 3-2. Henry Hunter follwed up with a double off the right field wall, then Kolby Branch drove him in with a two-run homer, putting Georgia ahead 5-2.
Things sad mostly quiet until the top of the eighth inning when Tech got two on with two out, but Carson Kerce struck out swinging on a blistering 97 mile per hour high fastball to keep it 5-2. Jordan Stephens then retired Tech in order to close the game in the 9th.