AuburnFamilyNews.com: Atlanta Regional Round-Up: Day 2

Saturday, June 1, 2019

Atlanta Regional Round-Up: Day 2

#1 Georgia Tech vs #2 Auburn

  • Saturday: Game 4 – 6-5 W

Chills…that’s all I can say. It was almost like I had seen this before…I saw it in 97…I saw it in 2010…and we all saw it Saturday night in Atlanta. Auburn did everything it could to ensure Tech had the win, from dropped balls that led to Tech runs, to swinging at first pitches and not working the count against a pitcher that tried to expand the zone, to hitting into 4…count them FOUR double plays (for those counting, you can only hit in to 9 for a game). Even in the 9th, the Tigers found themselves down to their last strike…but there were some positives before that. Richard Fitts came in to relieve Tanner Burns after just 3 innings of work and worked a masterpiece, going 6 innings of 4 hit ball with 4 Ks and no walks. Fitts was able to keep the Jackets off the board, give the offense time to figure out Tech starter Connor Thomas AND (maybe more importantly) saved the Auburn bullpen to keep it as fresh as possible. As for the offense, it was rough going for the first 8 innings as Auburn could only muster 4 hits, highlighted by a Ryan Bliss solo home run in the 1st which started the scoring and an RBI base hit in the 6th as Auburn tried to chip away. Then came the bottom of the 9th, Conor Davis was able to beat out an error by the short stop and Holland was hit by a pitch to get a couple of runners on for Auburn. Tech would get the next two out to push Auburn to the brink. Rankin Woley would follow up with a single through the left side to drive in a run and set the stage for Steven Williams.

I scared the dog I freaked out so much. I called my dad who was already laughing. It’s the moment we’ve been waiting for with this team all year. It’s the moment we hoped for this weekend, after the past two weeks this community has been through. It was exactly what was needed.

Now comes the fun part. Putting this win, the biggest of the season to this point, in the rear view and getting ready for the next biggest game of the year that happens to be tomorrow afternoon at Russ Chandler Stadium.

Around Atlanta

  • #4 Florida A&M vs #3 Coastal Carolina – 9-4 Coastal, FAMU Eliminated

Not to much to see here as the Chants led the entire way and they now prepare for an 11 am start against Georgia Tech for the chance at playing the Tigers in the night cap and hope to get things to Monday.

Other Scores of Interest from the Tournament

  • All SEC teams have advanced to play on Sunday as Tennessee, Florida and Texas A&M won their first elimination games. LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt and Arkansas join Auburn in the 2-0 club while Georgia dropped their game to FSU and will have to fight to keep their season alive twice tomorrow and once on Monday.
  • The main score of note from Saturday outside of the SEC was Creighton eliminating the defending champs Oregon State 4-1. The Beavers become only the 3rd team in the history of the tournament to go 0-2 the year after winning it all.

On Deck

  • Game 5 - #3 Coastal Carolina vs #1 Georgia Tech – 11 am
  • Game 6 - #2 Auburn vs TBA – 5 pm

For the 3rd year in a row, Auburn finds themselves as the 2-0 team in the Regional Final playing for a chance to go to the Supers with one more win. Auburn’s bullpen is in as good of shape as you could hope for with Richard Fitts saving the arms for the Sunday evening final. I expect Auburn to go with Brooks Fuller, hoping the freshman can give them 3 innings or so and then handing things over to Cody Greenhill for as long as he wants it. Auburn does have other arms in the arsenal as well, Garrett Wade, Will Morrison, Blake Schilleci and even Elliott Anderson could give an inning. The best news of all is that both Tech and Coastal will be going with their 4th option on the mound which could prove the most important part of the equation. We will find out tomorrow, but the most important thing is that the Tigers are playing for another regional title after pulling this win out of the fire!



from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2019/6/1/18649146/atlanta-regional-round-up-day-2

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