THE FLATS – No. 11 Georgia Tech baseball regained its status as Cardiac Jackets quickly on Opening Day when Andrew Jenkins walked off Wright State, 9-8, on Friday night at Mac Nease Baseball Park at Russ Chandler Stadium.
The Yellow Jackets (1-0) held a 7-3 lead before the Raiders (0-1) fought back to take an 8-7 lead heading into the bottom half of the ninth.
Jake DeLeo led off bottom ninth by reaching on a fielding error on the Wright State shortstop before Tim Borden II was hit by the very next pitch. Chandler Simpson laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third, causing Kevin Parada to be intentionally walked. Jenkins then skied a ball to deep center field where the centerfielder dropped it, causing two runs to score and the Jackets to survive.
The Georgia Tech pitching staff was sensational for most of the game, falling just two strikeouts shy of the school record, finishing with 17 for the day. RHP Chance Huff dealt a terrific 5.0 innings, fanning nine and walking one, giving up only an unlucky fly ball that carried on the windy day over the fence for three runs.
RHP Marquis Grissom, Jr. then struck out four in 2.0 scoreless before LHP Joseph Mannelly fanned three to complete his inning. LHP Dalton Smith (1-0) received the win, getting the final strikeout of the top of the ninth.
At the plate, Stephen Reid led with a 2-for-5, two-RBI day while Simpson finished 2-for-3 with two stolen bases. Jake DeLeo initially catapulted Tech ahead with a two-RBI double in the fifth, while Drew Compton also finished with a double.
Georgia Tech returns for game two against Wright State on Saturday, Feb. 19 at Mac Nease Baseball Park. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra and WREK 91.1 FM.
Postgame Notes:
- Head coach Danny Hall improved to 28-1 in home openers at Georgia Tech.
Multimedia:
Postgame Press Conference (Coach Hall, Chance Huff, Andrew Jenkins)
Around Social Media
😍😍😍#WreckHavoc // #OpeningDay pic.twitter.com/XxOryDu6Dq
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) February 18, 2022
Welcome to the starting rotation @huff_chance12 !!#WreckHavoc pic.twitter.com/61GBtyLW9c
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) February 18, 2022
Just another day at the yard.
First AB = first hit@parada_kevin_ | #WreckHavoc pic.twitter.com/Hb5eyarrJo
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) February 18, 2022
Double down the line? Double down the line.@Drew2Compton | #WreckHavoc pic.twitter.com/KqhAdgu0nU
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) February 18, 2022
First career hit as a Jacket in the books 💪@chandlr27 | #WreckHavoc pic.twitter.com/V7XZzxZGVU
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) February 18, 2022
Opening Day feels. @GTAthletics @GTBaseball @GT_Turf @WillPercy2 @Katt_Ming @Cmchenry_10 pic.twitter.com/XkaAmJsMqY
— Chris May (@ChrisMay117) February 18, 2022
You knew it was coming! @Jake_deleo BREAKS IT OPEN!#WreckHavoc pic.twitter.com/kAePgwHmkI
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) February 18, 2022
DOTTED 👀@MarquisJr9 | #WreckHavoc pic.twitter.com/deS2W7LcZH
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) February 18, 2022
"A BANGER" – @deckmcguire @josephbmannelly | #WreckHavoc pic.twitter.com/IV4lmYxyh0
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) February 19, 2022
Video game speed.@chandlr27 | #WreckHavoc pic.twitter.com/eN5uSn0gRd
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) February 19, 2022
Station. To. Station.@stephennreid | #WreckHavoc pic.twitter.com/RdmRxlCt0t
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) February 19, 2022
DO YOU BELIEVE???!!!
ANDREW JENKINS DOES IT AGAIN!! TECH WINS!!#WRECKHAVOC pic.twitter.com/b0xuAnjtYc
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) February 19, 2022
WHAT. AN. ENDING ‼️
Huge opening day W for the Yellow Jackets 😤
(via @GTBaseball) pic.twitter.com/kuLF5GcKym
— ACC Network (@accnetwork) February 19, 2022
New year, same #CardiacJackets. Congrats to @GTBaseball on their #OpeningDay W! #WreckHavoc#TogetherWeSwarm https://t.co/i8L5hWkh2Q
— Todd Stansbury (@GTToddStansbury) February 19, 2022
𝗪ow #CardiacJackets pic.twitter.com/1ZDZinZhmE
— Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (@GTAthletics) February 19, 2022
𝗪ow #CardiacJackets pic.twitter.com/1ZDZinZhmE
— Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (@GTAthletics) February 19, 2022
.@GTBaseball with a 9-8 WALK-OFF win on Opening Day!
Here’s an “in the booth” view of the radio call on @WREKSports @NCAABaseball @STAAtalent @11point7 @d1baseball pic.twitter.com/BS4QTIBFcV
— Bryce Koon (@bryce_koon) February 19, 2022
Happy postgame press conference. pic.twitter.com/75ynzR5IrS
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) February 19, 2022
