Jackets can't hold on to early lead, unable to complete sweep of Pitt
Georgia Tech's offense continued its impressive series on Sunday afternoon with 10 runs on 12 hits, but the Jackets' pitching staff couldn't hold up as Pittsburgh rallied from an early 6-0 deficit to earn a 12-10 win and deny Tech's bid at a three-game sweep of the ACC series.
The Jackets (16-4, 4-2 in ACC) scored six runs over the first two innings, but Pittsburgh answered with 10 combined in the fourth, fifth and sixth to go up 10-7. The Panthers (11-7, 1-2 in ACC) added two more to go up 12-8 in the ninth which proved to be important as Tech rallied for two in the bottom half of the ninth but couldn't get any closer.
"We got out to a great start. Alex Hernandez had a couple big at-bats, and we had a nice cushion there. Just the thing we talked about inside...when you have a lead like that, you want to make the other team have to get hits to beat you," said Georgia Tech head coach Danny Hall. "And the walk kind of got us in trouble, and they hit a three-run homer to cut it back in there. Then it just didn't seem like whoever we brought in today couldn't quite get the momentum back on our side. To (Pittsburgh's) credit, they kept swinging the bat, scoring runs. We had a couple chances there late to get it back even and couldn't get the hit. To their credit, (Pittsburgh) got a couple in the ninth, and as it turned out, they needed them."
After scoring 21 combined runs in the first two games of the series, Georgia Tech's offense wasted no time once again on Sunday, scoring four in the bottom of the first thanks to a Kent Schmidt RBI single followed by an opposite-field, three-run homer by the freshman phenom Alex Hernandez.
Hernandez continued his incredible start to his freshman season by sending another one over the wall in the second inning for a two-run homer to make it 6-0 Georgia Tech and give him his seventh on the year.
Pittsburgh cut the deficit in half in the fourth on a three-run homer by Ryan Zuckerman to make it 6-3, but the Jackets got one of those runs back immediately in the bottom half of the inning on a sac fly from Hernandez to give him six RBIs on the day and make it 7-3.
The Panthers scored three in the top of the fifth to cut the deficit to 7-6 thanks to a bases-loaded walk drawn by Lorenzo Carrier followed by a two-run double by AJ Nessler, but Jackets' reliever Sam Swygert came in and got two huge outs to stop the scoring right there and maintain his team's one-run lead.
Pittsburgh continued its offensive momentum in the sixth with three straight hits to open the inning, including a two-run double by David Pedanou to give his team the lead for the first time in the game at 8-7. Luke Cantwell followed with an RBI single and then an RBI fielder's choice groundout by Nessler pushed Pitt's lead to 10-7.
Drew Burress got one run back for Tech in the bottom of the sixth as he hit his eighth homer of the season, a solo shot to right-center to make it 10-8 Pitt.
The Panthers added two more crucial insurance runs to their lead in the ninth on an RBI single by Sebastian Pisacreta followed a few batters later by a sac fly from Jake Kendro to make it 12-8. Tech's Caleb Daniel hit his first career homer in the bottom of the ninth, a two-run shot, to cut the deficit to two, but the Jackets were unable to rally any further.
Swygert (0-1) took the loss for Georgia Tech as he allowed three runs on two hits with one strikeout in one walk in his 2/3 of an inning of work. He was one of eight Tech pitchers to see the mound on a tough day for the staff overall. Riley Stanford got the start and was strong through three innings but had a rough fourth as Pitt started their comeback. He finished going 3 1/3 innings in a no decision as he allowed three runs on two hits with four strikeouts and two walks.
Caden Gaudette, Brett Barfield, Swygert, Kayden Campbell, Cooper McMullen, Adam McKelvey and Connor Chicoli followed as Barfield and McMullen were the only two to not allow at leads one run.
"We just didn't throw enough strikes. That's the bottom line," said Hall. "We had a couple situations...I think it was Kessler, we had him 0-2 and we threw a pitch right down the middle and he hit a double. Looking like we were going to get him out and get off the field and it didn't happen. And I think Sam got ahead of a guy and just kind of hung a pitch and they hit it. It's just more as a group we didn't do enough to get off the field and make pitches when we needed to. Definitely gave up too many free passes."
Ethan Firoved (1-1) got the win for Pitt after coming on in relief and going 5 1/3 innings and allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits with nine strikeouts and one walk. Daniel McAuliff earned his second save for the Panthers thanks to two innings of work in which he allowed two runs on three hits with two strikeouts and one walk. They both followed starter Drew Lafferty who lasted just 1 2/3 innings, allowing six runs on five hits with one walk.
"Firoved just shut us down," said Hall. "He was their (Mason) Patel today where he came in the game and just didn't give us anything to extend the lead. They had a reliever that got hot. We couldn't hit him, and then they just kept scoring off of about every guy we brought in the game."
Hernandez led the Jackets offense with his two homers and six RBIs while Burress was 3-for-4 with a homer, two doubles and one RBI. Schmidt added a double among two hits with an RBI and two runs scored, and Daniel was 2-for-5 with his homer and two RBIs.
Nessler and Zuckerman each drove in three runs for Pitt while Pedanou was 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs. Cantwell had three hits, an RBI and two runs scored, and Carrier, Pisacreta and Kendro all drove in one run apiece.
Georgia Tech will be back at home on Tuesday night for a mid-week showdown vs. Gardner-Webb starting at 6 p.m. before making the trip north for a three-game ACC weekend series at Notre Dame starting on Friday at 4:30 p.m.
"You always hate it when you lose on Sunday because it leaves a bad feeling in your stomach heading into the next week," said Hall. "But that was the message that we won a series. We've won two series in a row. That's always the goal is to win every series you play. The guys, it just wasn't quite their day. Learn from it and get better from it. We had a lot of guys have a great day. Lot of positive things. We're playing great defense, but today Pitt got the best of us."
-
FSU softball sweeps doubleheader from Pitt on alumni weekend
The Florida State softball team was back at JoAnne Graf Field for an ACC series opening weekend against Pittsburgh. Entering ACC play, the Seminoles had a 22-5 record and a No. 10 national ...Yahoo Sports - 1d -
Florida baseball can't prevent sweep against Tennessee Volunteers
Florida took its first lead of the weekend against Tennessee in the fourth inning, but the Volunteers rallied to complete the sweep.Yahoo Sports - 12h -
Lady Jackets' rally comes up one short
Lee County softball has started the 2025 season with a very unfavorable schedule, and the Lady Jackets finally overcame it to get their first win of the season on Wednesday. They came a run short ...Yahoo Sports - 1d -
Serie A | Venezia 0-0 Napoli – Conte misses chance to go top
Antonio Conte and Napoli missed an opportunity to go top of the Serie A standings after a 0-0 draw away against Venezia in Sunday’s early kick-off slot, which means that Inter are still leading the ...Yahoo Sports - 19h -
No. 4 FSU baseball sweeps ACC opener against Boston College with doubleheader victory
Florida State baseball completed a sweep of Boston College with a pair of wins in a doubleheader on Saturday, hitting five home runs in two games.Yahoo Sports - 1d -
Sam Landry's complete game shutout leads OU to 7-0 win over Arkansas
Oklahoma Sooners take game one of series from Arkansas 7-0 behind fantastic outing from Sam Landry.Yahoo Sports - 1d -
Notre Dame baseball salvages weekend with a Sunday road victory over No. 10 Clemson
Notre Dame baseball was potentially going to get swept by No. 10 Clemson on Sunday, but they battled to take the series finale.Yahoo Sports - 9h -
Georgia Tech faces Virginia in ACC Tournament
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets take on the Virginia Cavaliers in the ACC TournamentABC News - 5d -
One year after milestone first victory, Rajah Caruth returns to Las Vegas looking toward his future
Caruth, the third African-American driver to win a NASCAR race, is reflecting one year after his first Truck Series victoryCBS Sports - 4d
More from Yahoo Sports
-
Bruno Fernandes hits back at stinging Roy Keane criticism after big Man Utd win
Keane had slated Fernandes’s leadership and claimed he isn’t a fighterYahoo Sports - 19m -
Manchester City see host of clubs line up for out-of-favour forward amid Pep Guardiola frustrations
Jack Grealish is set to attract widespread interest at the end of the season and is looking to leave Manchester City after four years at the Etihad Stadium, as per reports.The 29-year-old is ...Yahoo Sports - 20m -
How Dan Burn, Newcastle’s local boy and ungainly colossus, ended 70 years of pain
Liverpool 1-2 Newcastle United: Dan Burn and Alexander Isak secure glory at Wembley to end the Magpies’ droughtYahoo Sports - 41m -
World Indoor Track and Field Championships 2025: How to watch, schedule, preview
How to watch the 2025 World Indoor Track and Field Championships from Nanjing, China.Yahoo Sports - 42m -
Commanders bring back key defensive line reserve for 2025
The Washington Commanders brought back a key reserve from their 2024 defensive line on Sunday night.Yahoo Sports - 43m
More in Sports
-
Bruno Fernandes hits back at stinging Roy Keane criticism after big Man Utd win
Keane had slated Fernandes’s leadership and claimed he isn’t a fighterYahoo Sports - 19m -
Manchester City see host of clubs line up for out-of-favour forward amid Pep Guardiola frustrations
Jack Grealish is set to attract widespread interest at the end of the season and is looking to leave Manchester City after four years at the Etihad Stadium, as per reports.The 29-year-old is ...Yahoo Sports - 20m -
Source: Pulisic in talks over new AC Milan deal
United States national team star Christian Pulisic is in negotiations with AC Milan over a new contract, a source has told ESPN.ESPN - 38m -
How Dan Burn, Newcastle’s local boy and ungainly colossus, ended 70 years of pain
Liverpool 1-2 Newcastle United: Dan Burn and Alexander Isak secure glory at Wembley to end the Magpies’ droughtYahoo Sports - 41m -
World Indoor Track and Field Championships 2025: How to watch, schedule, preview
How to watch the 2025 World Indoor Track and Field Championships from Nanjing, China.Yahoo Sports - 42m