ATLANTA - The 19th-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets defeated No. 14 Georgia 11-7 Friday in front of a sellout crowd of 3,394 at Russ Chandler Stadium.
Tech (9-1) grabbed a 3-0 lead in the first on three hits, an error, plus a high throw home that brought in the first run on a fielder’s choice. Drew Compton’s two-run double was the big hit in the frame. Georgia got a run back in the fourth on sophomore Corey Collins’ second home run of the year. It extended his hitting streak to a career-best 15 games going back to last year. Tech responded with a three-run home run from Tim Borden to make it 6-1 in the bottom of the fourth.
Bulldog starter Jonathan Cannon entered the game leading the nation with 14.1 scoreless innings on the year. He went six innings and allowed six runs on seven hits with one walk and eight strikeouts to fall to 2-1 on the year. Tech right-hander Chance Huff improved to 3-0, tossing a career-high seven innings with six strikeouts.
Down 8-1, Georgia came storming back in the eighth, rallying for six runs on five hits off the in the eighth to make it 8-7. In the frame, Josh McAllister’s two-run double brought the Bulldogs to within one. However, Tech answered with a three runs in the bottom of the eighth for the final. A bright spot in that inning came after Tech's outburst with a solid debut by Bulldog freshman Chandler Marsh. With two on and nobody out, he retired the first three hitters he faced including a pair of strikeouts to put an end to the inning.
“You have to play clean baseball when you face a good team, and we didn’t play clean and they made us pay,” said Georgia’s Scott Stricklin. “You never know how that first inning would’ve gone if we don’t make an error and make the throw home—it could’ve been a 0-0 game. Still, I was happy with the way we fought back and made it a one-run game. We battled.
“Chance (Huff) was throwing three pitches for strikes, he had his full arsenal tonight for them. I didn’t think Jonathan (Cannon) pitched bad as he was able to go six innings but there were a couple of mistakes, and they made us pay for it. I thought Chandler Marsh was sharp in his debut. He came in and was throwing 94 miles per hour and got us out of the eighth inning. He is going to get more opportunities for sure.”
It was the first loss of the year for the Bulldogs (8-1). The teams continue the series Saturday in Athens with first pitch at sold out Foley Field scheduled for 2:02 p.m. (SECN+). The three-game set concludes Sunday and will serve as the 19th annual Spring Baseball Classic to benefit Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Sunday’s game will be played at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville with first pitch at 2 p.m.
