Yellow Jackets Fall in Atlanta Regional

Things started going wrong for the No. 1 seed Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (40-20) even before the first pitch was thrown during Friday’s NCAA Atlanta Regional.

While going through a normal workout session Thursday, the same workout that he goes through every day before a start, Yellow Jackets coach Danny Hall said starting pitcher Mark Pope felt a twinge in his back. Pope stopped his workout and went home to rest.

Upon arriving at Friday, Hall said Pope was on the mend.

“When he got to the park today,” said Hall. “He (Pope) said he felt better than he felt yesterday when he left. We just kind of went with him and said ‘all right, we’ll see what you can do’. In the second inning it (his back) kind of grabbed him again.”

With two outs in the second inning, Pope called the trainer out to the mound. Hall quickly followed, joining the rest of the infield on the mound. After a brief conversation, Hall motioned for a new pitcher.

Matt Grimes, who was informed prior to the game to stay loose as a precaution, was called upon to relieve Pope. Even though Grimes pitched well, he couldn’t keep the Austin Peay Governors (34-22) off of the scoreboard as Georgia Tech eventually lost, 2-1.

Grimes threw 6 2/3 innings of relief and only gave up three hits and two earned runs. But those three hits were well timed; a double followed by a single in the fourth inning by John Hogan and Reed Harper respectively, led to a run later that inning. The decisive blow came in the seventh inning when Jordan Hankins launched a line drive over the right-center field wall.

“After I got that first ball, I just felt like he (Grimes) was going to come right back at me,” said Hankins. “It was too much of a line drive, so I didn’t know at first. But then it started carrying a little bit so I knew (it was going to be a home run)."

Two runs on just four hits usually would be a good sign for the Yellow Jackets, but Georgia Tech got just seven hits of its own and failed time and time again to capitalize on its base runners.

The Yellow Jackets stranded 10 men on the bags Friday, two at third base. The innings were killed by the Austin Peay defense, which ended threats in two innings with double plays, and starting pitcher Jack Snodgrass, who closed three innings with a strikeout.

Georgia Tech answered Austin Peay’s first run in the fourth inning with a quick run of its own. Zane Evans got a base hit and later scored on an RBI single by Brandon Thomas. However, that would be the team’s lone run of the game as Austin Peay sent the Yellow Jackets to the loser’s bracket in the NCAA Atlanta Regional.

 “It was a tough loss,” said Hall. “We had several opportunities. I don’t know how many men we left on base, but I’m sure it’s quite a lot. We had several opportunities to score and we could not get the hit. That’s pretty deflating.”

Hall did have high praise for the freshman Grimes who set a career mark with his 6 2/3 innings of work. He’d thrown six innings on four occasions this season, but had never goner deeper than that.

“I can’t say enough great things about Matthew (Grimes). To be pushed in, in the middle of the game, the first game of the NCAA Regional, I thought he pitched outstanding. It’s a shame that he didn’t come out of there with a win.”

The Yellow Jackets will face Southern Mississippi on Saturday at 3 p.m. Georgia Tech will send junior Jed Bradley to the mound to start the game.