Georgia Tech played its longest game in school history Tuesday, rallying past Georgia 7-6 in 14 innings in front of a crowd of 1,163 at Russ Chandler Stadium.
The five-hour and 37-minute contest ended on a sacrifice fly by Justyn-Henry Malloy as Tech improved to 26-20 while the Bulldogs dropped to 29-21. John Medich, the 10th pitcher of the night for the home team, pitched 1.1 scoreless innings for his first win. Freshman Hank Bearden pitched the final 3.2 innings and fell to 3-2. Georgia used seven pitchers who combined for 15 walks and 14 strikeouts. The Bulldogs also made three errors and led 6-3 going to the bottom of the eighth.
The Bulldogs took a 2-0 lead in the second. Randon Jernigan picked up an RBI on a bases-loaded walk and Josh McAllister collected one when he was hit by a pitch with the bases full of Bulldogs. Tech lifted Dalton Smith and turned to closer Luke Bartnicki who got them out of the inning without any further trouble. A two-out run-scoring single by Luke Waddell in the bottom of the frame made it a 2-1 contest. A pinch-hit RBI-single from freshman Parks Harber put Georgia in front 3-1 in the sixth.
Jack Gowen provided three scoreless innings and six strikeouts, both career highs, before Georgia looked to Collin Caldwell to get out of a two on, two-out jam in the sixth. He retired Waddell to maintain a 3-1 advantage. Tech tied the game in the seventh on a two-run single by Andrew Jenkins. In the eight, Cole Tate (4-for5) led off with a double and took third on a miscue by left fielder Jake DeLeo. Tate would score on a base hit by Garrett Spikes and then a pinch-hit RBI-single by freshman Luke Wagner made it 5-3. Garrett Blaylock came through with a sacrifice fly for a 6-3 lead.
In the bottom of the eighth. Tech rallied back on a two-out, two-strike, two-run single from Stephen Reid. On the play, a throwing error by Spikes allowed the tying run to score. Nolan Crisp fielded a ground ball headed up the middle by Jenkins to end the inning. Georgia escaped a bases-loaded one-out jam in the 10th. After a leadoff double by Waddell, Crisp issued a pair of walks in between a lineout. Then, he retired Reid on a pop out and Jenkins on a groundout. Georgia looked to Bearden in the 11th.
For the second straight game, Georgia redshirt junior Connor Tate, the team’s leading power hitter and run producer, was out of the starting lineup. He was hit in the ankle by a pitch in last Saturday’s contest at Florida. Tate had started every game this season. He has reached base safely in 28 straight games and owns an 11-game hitting streak, both career highs. Also, graduate starting left fielder Riley King missed his third consecutive game with a sore knee. Spikes and Jernigan replaced them in the lineup.
Georgia plays host to No. 11 Ole Miss starting Thursday night in the final regular season series at Foley Field. First pitch will be at 7:02 p.m., and the game will be available on SEC Network+ and can be heard on the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.
Georgia’s Ike Cousins Head Baseball Coach Scott Stricklin
On the game…
“This was a tough one to lose. We had some opportunities. We were able to take a late lead and then let it get away. We had too many walks and made some mistakes out there too, and that can get you in position to lose. It was just too many free passes, and the mistakes we made on some plays, it’s tough to win when you put it all together.”