Georgia Tech Eliminates Campbell, Setting up Showdown With #1 Tennessee in Regional Final
For the second straight day, Georgia Tech was in a win or go home situation in the NCAA Tournament regional. The opponent this time was a familiar one and Georgia Tech was hoping for a better showing against Campbell this time around. Marquis Grissom Jr would be the starter for Georgia Tech today and hoped to limit Campbell's offense.
Georgia Tech was first on the board today due to an Andrew Jenkins sac fly. It was good to see Georgia Tech get off to a solid start, even if it was the only run of the inning.
Grissom got off to a rough start in the first inning, hitting two batters and walking two more. He only gave up two runs, but it could have been much worse, as Campbell left the bases loaded.
Georgia Tech did not waste much time getting the lead back. Tim Borden hit a solo home run to tie the game 2-2 and then Jadyn Jackson drove in a run to make it 3-2. Drew Compton would then score on a throwing error to make it 4-2 and it was a great start through the first few innings.
Chandler Simpson got to third on a throwing error before being driven in by Kevin Parada to make it 5-2, still in the top of the second. Andrew Jenkins would then drive in Parada to make it 6-2 before the inning ended. It was a completely different start to the game than Friday and it was nice to see the offense clicking right from the start.
After Campbell scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-3, Georgia Tech went right back to work at the top of the third inning and Colin Hall had an RBI single to make it 7-3.
Campbell would get another run at the bottom of the third with an RBI single to make it 7-4, but every time that Campbell seemed to be getting closer, Georgia Tech's offense would punch right back at them.
The top of the fourth inning was another great one for Georgia Tech Baseball. Jenkins had another sac fly to make it 8-4 before Stephen Reid drove in another run with an RBI single to make it 9-4. Drew Compton would get one more run for the Yellow Jackets with an RBI single and they would leave the top of the fourth with a 10-4 lead.
Grissom was not able to last very long, going only 2.2 innings. He would be replaced by Josiah Siegel. Siegel had a good start to his day and provided some stability once Grissom was pulled.
It can't be understated how good of a day Simpson had at the plate. He had his fourth hit of the game in the top of the fifth inning and that allowed Parada to have an RBI single that made it an 11-4 game.
Reid was not done bringing in runs for Georgia Tech and had another RBI single in the top of the sixth to make it 12-4 and at that point, a matchup with number one Tennessee looked almost certain. Simpson would get his fifth hit of the day and would drive in two runs with it to make it 14-4. It was just an unbelievable day for the nation's leader in batting average.
Another guy that deserves a lot of praise from today's game was Siegel. he came in after Grissom had a shaky start and had a great performance. It was exactly what the Yellow Jackets needed and Siegel delivered at just the right time.
The offense would put up 16 runs and be just dominant all day long. The pitching recovered from the early bumps in the road and was great for most of the day. Georgia Tech would outhit Campbell
If- and this is a big if- the pitching can be stable and the offense carries over the momentum of the last two games- Georgia Tech has a shot against Tennessee. It is going to take a great effort, but Georgia Tech has dominated their last two days. Doing so in a matter of hours and against the number one team in the country is a different matter though.
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