Drew Compton's Grand Slam Propels Georgia Tech Past Mercer 6-3

Georgia Tech is now 23-18 this season after this win

Author:
Jackson Caudell
Publish date:
Apr 25, 2023 9:17 PM EDT

Georgia Tech Baseball has been disappointing this season and time is running out on trying to make a push to the NCAA Tournament. While a win over Mercer does not completely change things, it would be a nice start for a team that has been prone to drop midweek games this season.

After dropping the first two games of the weekend series against No. 17 Miami, the Yellow Jackets were able to bounce back with a win against the Hurricanes to avoid getting swept.

Camron Hill was on the mound for the Yellow Jackets tonight and here was the lineup for Georgia Tech against the Bears:

1. 2B- Kristian Campbell

2. CF-Jake DeLeo

3. RF- Stephen Reid

4. IF- Angelo Dispigna

5. 1B- John Giesler

6. 3B- Drew Compton

7. DH- Jackson Finley

8. C- Jack Rubenstein

9. SS- Jadyn Jackson

Hill hit the leadoff batter from the game, but got out of the inning without allowing a run or even getting into any trouble. The Yellow Jackets lineup went down 1-2-3 to start the game and it was 0-0 heading to the 2nd.

After Hill breezed through the Bear's lineup in the top of the 2nd, GT had a chance to put runs on the board.

After Dispigna flew out to start the inning, Giesler tripled and Compton was hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners with just one out. However, Finley struck out swinging and Compton was caught stealing second. That ended the inning and it was a blown opportunity to strike first in the game.

Hill continued his strong start in the 3rd inning after giving up a leadoff single. He struck out another batter to get him to four through the first three innings and it was great to see such a strong start for Hill. The Yellow Jackets' offense continued to struggle in the third and they did not record a hit. Through three innings, both teams had just one hit each.

After Hill worked quickly through the Mercer lineup in the 4th, Georgia Tech finally was able to put some runs on the board and in large part due to walks. DeLeo had a leadoff single and advanced to second on an error. After Reid grounded out, Dispigna and Giesler walked to load the bases and that gave Compton the opportunity to smash a grand slam and he did just that to give GT a 4-0 lead.

After starting so slow on offense, it was nice to see Compton take advantage of the bases being loaded and give Georgia Tech a nice four-run lead.

Hill ran into his first bit of trouble in the 5th. After a groundout to start the inning, Hill gave up a single and then a walk to put two runners on with one out. His day was done after that and Cody Carwile came in to replace him. It was a very good day for the young pitcher though, tossing 4.1 IP and giving up only two hits and striking out four batters.

Carwile loaded the bases, but the next batter grounded into a double play to end the inning and the Yellow Jackets preserved their 4-0 lead.

Georgia Tech came out strong in the 5th, but failed to extend their lead. A pair of walks and a fielders choice loaded the bases with two outs, but Compton flew out and the inning was over.

It was a shaky 6th inning for Carwile, but he found a way to survive it. He hit one batter and gave up two singles to load the bases, but a pair of strikeouts ended the inning and Georgia Tech kept the shutout.

After a pitching change for the Bears, Finley had a leadoff single and then an RBI double from Rubenstein stretched the lead to 5-0.

That was the only run in the 6th that the Yellow Jackets scored and Carwile came back for the 7th inning.

After a leadoff walk and a single that put two runners on base, Aeden Finateri came in to replace Carwile. He struck out the first batter, but then gave up an RBI single to give Mercer their first run and make it 5-1. The Bears scored another run to make it 5-2 before the Yellow Jackets got the final out.

Reid got things going in the 7th with a single and then after Dispigna was out, Gieslercame up big with an RBI double to extend the lead to 6-2.

Finateri remained in the game and did give up two singles in the 8th, but had two strikeouts as well and did not allow a run.

After the Yellow Jackets went scoreless in the 8th, Finateri came back to finish the game.

It did not start out smoothly though.

A single and an RBI double made it 6-3 and it looked as if Georgia Tech was going to be in trouble, though briefly. Finateri came through and got the final outs and GT won the game.

Georgia Tech wins their second game in a row and never trailed in this one. The grand slam from Compton proved to be the difference and a solid performance from Hill was huge.

Georgia Tech will be back in action this Friday to start a non-conference series with Gardner-Webb. Game one is set for 6:00 p.m.

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