Josh Heddinger (3-0) pitched a complete-game, two-hit shutout and Georgia Tech (37-26) shut out Vanderbilt 5-0 in an NCAA regional baseball game in Nashville on Sunday night, forcing a regional final between the teams on Monday night.
Mott Hyde had three hits and Kyle Wren two, and catcher Mitch Earnest, the No. 9 hitter in the lineup, hit a two-run home run for the Jackets, who have had 10 or more hits in each of their four regional games.
Earlier in the day, the Yellow Jackets overcame deficits of 2-0 and 3-2, scoring four runs in the top of the ninth to win 6-3 and eliminate Illinois. The victory put Georgia Tech in a regional final for the sixth consecutive year.
The Jackets were forced to play Sunday night without star players Daniel Palka (foot and shin injuries) and Sam Dove (hamstring injury).
Freshman Matt Gonzalez doubled in the go-ahead run as Georgia Tech scored four times in the ninth inning in the Sunday afternoon elimination game.
Wren tied the afternoon game with an RBI single. Gonzalez, who entered as a pinch runner in the sixth, hit the next pitch into right-center field to score Wren. Georgia Tech added two more runs off closer Bryan Roberts (3-4). Four times this season, the Jackets have ralllied to win after trailing through eight innings.
The Illini (35-20) had taken a 3-2 lead in the eighth on an inside-the-park home run by Jordan Parr when center fielder Brandon Thomas collided with right fielder Palka, who had called for the ball. It was Parr’s third home run of the regional. He had hit two in Friday’s regional opener victory against the Jackets.
“It looked like maybe we had let it slip away on a miscommunication on a fly ball to right that turned into an inside-the-park homer,” Yellow Jackets coach Danny Hall said at the post-game news conference. “To our guys’ credit, they battled hard and had a great ninth inning.”
Zane Evans pitched three innings of relief for Georgia Tech. As the designated hitter, he had three hits and two RBI. “(Zane) did a tremendous job as well,” Hall said. Evans pitched out of more trouble after the inside the park homer.
“Our guys bounced back from a tough loss (Saturday night),” Illinois coach Dan Hartleb said. “We take the lead going into the ninth inning and just couldn’t close it down. I’m really proud of all of our players; tough to see it end this way.”
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