Georgia Tech pitcher Blake Neleman said that she realized by the third or fourth inning of her team’s first-round matchup in the ACC Tournament against Syracuse that she had yet to allow any hits.
“But that’s kind of usually where I start to give up a few hits, so I was really just trying to keep strong because the (Tech) hitters were battling out there, and I just wanted to have their backs with that,” Neleman told the AJC. “So I was trying not to think about it too much.”
It proved an effective strategy. Neleman went on to no-hit the eighth-seeded Orange in a 6-0 win Wednesday for the No. 9-seed Yellow Jackets. The win advanced Tech to a Thursday quarterfinals matchup with top-seeded Clemson in Louisville, Ky. Syracuse’s Gabby Teran, a Marist School grad, was her team’s only batter to reach base, once on a hit by pitch and the other on an error. Neleman racked up nine strikeouts against no walks.
“It felt pretty amazing,” said Neleman, a second-year freshman from Lassiter High. “One of my really good friends, she’s the catcher (Emma Kauf). Usually, we go for a high-five (after games). This time, she wanted to hug me, and that was amazing. Just being there and getting to experience that with her was awesome.”
It was Tech’s first no-hitter since 2015 and its first in a postseason game since 2010. It was also the fifth no-hitter in ACC Tournament history.
Tech (20-25) took a 1-0 lead over Syracuse (20-24) in the first on a leadoff home run from Breanna Roper, and the score remained 1-0 until the Jackets put the game away in the top of the sixth with five more runs. Roper’s bases-loaded single drove in two, which was followed by a triple by Kauf for two more runs.
Tech has now won six in a row, its longest win streak of the season. Clemson swept the Jackets in a three-game series in February at Tech.
Neleman said she was unusually confident through the game.
“I wasn’t very nervous,” she said. “I knew we were going to hit well against them, and I knew we were going to play well (in the field), so that kind of made everything feel easier.”
The no-hitter was preserved in part by standout play by Mallorie Black at third base. Black handled line drives for the first two outs in the bottom of the seventh (and final) inning.
“She had several line drives right at her that she caught,” Neleman said. “That was a big deal. A couple balls hit really hard at her, so she made a lot of those plays.”
Neleman said she tried not to think about having a no-hitter at stake.
“I try not to think about it like that because I don’t want to start pressing,” she said. “I feel like, when you do start thinking like that, it becomes more about you. I feel like it should always be about your team, and whether you get a no-hitter or not, try and get the win for your team and just do well.”
After the final strikeout, Neleman was mobbed by teammates.
“That was really great,” she said. “Just seeing them be so happy for me was really great.”
She and Kauf, who was named a first-team All-ACC catcher Tuesday, have a ritual where they make sure to be the last to high-five each other before going back on the field after Tech’s turn at bat. If a teammate happens to give either five after their high-five, they re-do it to maintain order.
“That actually happened (Wednesday), where someone high-fived me after, and Emma and I turned around and high-fived again,” said Neleman, an environmental engineering major who aspires to a career in water quality. “It was like, Can’t be doing that now.”
It hasn’t been the best season for Neleman, whose 3.96 ERA and .223 opponent batting average haven’t quite held up to her numbers in the abbreviated 2020 season (1.45, .160), although Tech played only three ACC games before the season was cut short because of COVID-19.
“Not really my best stuff,” Neleman said. “I feel like that’s why (Wednesday) felt so good, too, really. All season, the hitters have been contributing a lot of runs. That’s been our way to win. So it felt nice to put a lot of zeros on the board for them. So it was nice to do that.”
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