NASHVILLE – Three errors and four unearned runs proved too much to overcome as Georgia Tech baseball fell to No. 4 Vanderbilt, 4-3, on Saturday night in the Nashville Regional at Hawkins Field.
The Yellow Jackets (30-24) got a fine start out of true freshman RHP Marquis Grissom, Jr. (1-3), who worked 4.1 innings and allowed just two hits and struck out two, getting two double plays as well.
Tech took the lead in the top of the fourth when Kevin Parada drilled a 3-1 pitch to left center for a leadoff home run. The fourth-ranked Commodores (42-15) were then able to get their runs with two in the bottom half of the fourth and two in the fifth – all unearned.
Offensively for the Jackets, Drew Compton cut the lead to one in the ninth with a mammoth two-run homer. Austin Wilhite also doubled early and Justyn-Henry Malloy also blooped a single. In relief, RHP Zach Maxwell recorded a strikeout before LHP Dalton Smith dealt 3.1 terrific innings to close, striking out four and allowing just one hit.
On the mound for Vanderbilt, RHP Jack Leiter (9-3) struck out 11 in six innings of work allowing the Parada homer. CJ Rodriguez led at the plate with an RBI double on the night.
Georgia Tech will now have to battle back, playing in the 3 p.m. ET elimination game in a rematch against Indiana State.
Postgame Notes:
- Georgia Tech moves to 4-3 on Hawkins Field in the postseason;
- Georgia Tech moves to 8-4 in one-run games this season, 20-11 since 2019 and 144-102 since 2002.
- Georgia Tech has now played nine one-run games in its last 13, winning six of them;
- Georgia Tech moves to 66-55 in the NCAA Regionals.
Multimedia:
Postgame Press Conference – Coach Hall, Dalton Smith
Around Social Media
KEVIN PARADA SEE YOU LATER!!
Jackets strike first! pic.twitter.com/X6Hk01jK02
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) June 6, 2021
Photo Gallery
Georgia Tech vs. Vanderbilt
Photos by Joe Howell
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Support The Swarm Fund, which helps Georgia Tech athletics offset the significant financial challenges associated with Covid-19, and the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech baseball team, follow us on Twitter (@GTBaseball), Facebook, Instagram (@gt_baseball) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.
