Many of these players hale from Gwinnett County, GA. Georgia Tech took the first step last night in getting to Omaha by defeating cross-town rival Georgia St. 9-3 in the opening round of their regional. Two Gwinnett area ball players on the Yellow Jackets squad played big roles. Second Baseman Connor Winn, a Freshman from Suwanee, GA (Wesleyan School) went 2 for 3 with an important bunt single in the fifth inning, an inning which saw 5 Tech runs cross the plate. Jr. First Baseman Tony Plagman, also a product of the Wesleyan School, drew a walk to score win later in the inning.
Georgia St. had a Gwinnett player do well in a losing cause. Freshman Catcher Michael McCree (Lawrenceville, GA Berkmar HS) went 3 for 4 in the loss against Tech. McCree also had two hits in the Panthers' loss to Elon in the elimination game on Saturday. Georgia Tech faced Southern Miss in the winners bracket, and Chase Burnett, a Sophomore OF from Buford, Ga and Buford HS, went 1 for 3 with a double and scored two runs. Tony Plagman went 1 for 4 with 2 RBIs. But despite the efforts of both players, the Jackets fell to the Golden Eagles 10-7 and they will face Elon in the elimination game on Sunday at 3pm.
As mentioned earlier, other Gwinnett players are contributing in the other regionals. Freshman OF Zach Cone from Stone Mountain, GA and Parkview HS, went 2 for 6 to help the Georgia Bulldogs rout Ohio St. 24-8 in the opening round of the Tallahassee Regional. The Bulldogs lost to Florida St. in the winners bracket on Saturday by a score of 8-2. In that game, FSU Freshman OF James Ramsey, another alum from the Wesleyan School in Norcross, entered the game as a pinch runner in the Seminoles half of the eighth inning. Two hits later, Ramsey came around to score one of the Seminoles' 8 runs. In their opening game of the regional against Marist College, Seminole Sophomore Catcher Parker Brunelle, a high school teammate of Ramsey at Wesleyan, drew a walk and scored a run in the eighth as FSU routed Marist 16-4.
In other action, the Alabama Crimson Tide lost their two games in the Clemson Regional. Oklahoma St. beat them 10-6 Friday, and Tennessee Tech eliminated the Tide 6-2 on Saturday. Although he didn't play in the Tide's two defeats, Jr. Walk-On Catcher Brock Bennett, who played his high school ball at Greater Atlanta Christian, has loyally served as the Crimson Tide's Bullpen Catcher the past 3 years in spite of only playing in 5 games in his career. During his Freshman year, Benett singled in his first collegiate at-bat against Canisius on Feb. 16 2007. That's making the most of your opportunities.
In the Louisville Regional, Vanderbilt lost to Middle Tennessee 5-4 on Friday, but blanked Indiana 10-0 in the elimination game on Saturday. The Commodores Face their in-state rivals Sunday. Vandy has a Gwinnett pitcher from, you guessed it, Wesleyan. He's Grayson Garvin, a Freshman from Suwanee, GA. He didn't see action in Vandy's first two regional games, but for the season, he has a record of 0-1 with a 7.82 ERA with 8 walks and 18 strikeouts. He also has a .333 batting average in limited action.
The Georgia Southern Eagles lost Friday night to Gonzaga 19-10 and then ended their season with a tough lost to Cinderella minded Utah 11-10. Utah moved its record to 27-30 while the Eagles finished the season at 42-17. The Eagles have a bright future, however, with Red shirt Freshman Catcher Rick Anderson. Anderson, another Wesleyan School product from Norcross, GA, hasn't played a lot this year, but he has 4 at bats and has scored a run. By the way, Georgia relief pitcher Steve Esmonde, a Jr. from Lilburn, GA and Parkview HS, pitched 2 innings in the Dawgs win over Ohio St. He gave up 2 hits and 1 run and teammate Justin Earls, a Jr. pitcher from Suwanee, Ga and Collins Hill HS, could see action on Sunday as the Dawgs try to stave off elimination against Ohio St. One other thing, just so we are covering all of the Gwinnett players involved one way or another in the NCAA Tournament. Georgia Tech Jr. Left handed Relief pitcher Taylor Wood, out of Greater Atlanta Christian, hasn't pitched in the Jackets two games but could see action tomorrow against Elon if needed.
The combined batting average of all the Gwinnett players participating in the NCAA Tournament happens to be .324 after the first two days of competition. Connor Winn, Chase Burnett, and Tony Plagman have gone a combined 4 for 16, Zach Cone of Georgia has gone 2 for 10, and Michael McCree of Georgia St. has gone 5 for 8, all of this for a total of 11 for 34, an average of .324. The action continues Sunday. Lets hope the Gwinnett players keep up their outstanding work.
No comments:
Post a Comment