May 29, 2005
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla.(AP)-Georgia Tech won its seventh Atlantic Coast Conference baseball championship when the Yellow Jackets scored twice in the seventh inning on a bases loaded walk and a wild pitch to edge Virginia 4-3 in the championship game at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.
Georgia Tech (42-16) won its second league crown (2003 was the other) in the past three seasons and improved its ACC Tournament record to 14-3 during that time frame. Tech lost to Florida State in last year’s finals. The Yellow Jackets thus earn the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA post-season tournament and will serve as one of the host sites for next weekend’s 16 regionals that were announced Sunday by the NCAA.
Like it did in two of its three games earlier in the tournament, Tech had to battle from behind, though not to the degree of the 7-0 and 4-0 deficits they overcame in their first two tournament games against Wake Forest and Florida State respectively. Virginia held 1-0 and 3-2 leads before Tech put together a seventh inning rally for the win.
Andy Hawranick led off with a walk and Whit Robbins followed with a single. After a force out and a strikeout, Tournament MVP Tyler Greene drew a walk to load the bases. That was followed by another walk to Jeff Kindel which brought in the tying run.
Virginia brought in reliever Pat McAnaney, but his second pitch got by catcher Scott Headd allowing Robbins to score with what proved to be the winning run.
The Cavaliers (41-18) advanced a runner to third base in their half of the seventh but couldn’t bring him home when Matt Street popped out to short. In the ninth, pinch-hitter Josh Darby was awarded second base when Greene’s throw from shortstop went into the Georgia Tech dugout. But reliever Matt Wieters, brought in to pitch the ninth inning, got Cavs second baseman Kyle Werman to bounce out to first to end the game and record his sixth save of the year.
Greene had a pair of hits and two walks to lead Tech which made the most of its five hits. Jordan Crews (2-1) threw 3 2/3 innings of one-hit relief pitching to earn the win.
Tim Henry led the Cavaliers eight-hit attack with three hits and he scored two of their three runs. Sean Doolittle (3-1), pitching in relief for the third time in the tournament, took the loss after giving up the two Tech runs in the seventh.
Whit Robbins and Jeff Kindel joined Greene on the All-tournament team for Georgia Tech while Scott Headd, Ryan Zimmerman and Tom Hagan joined Doolittle and Werman as all-tourney selections for Virginia.
