Live from Georgia Tech-So. Miss. Check back often
Tonight will likely be the last game at Russ Chandler Stadium for Tech’s three seniors. Should the Jackets win tonight, it would seem most probable that Tech will play Florida in Gainesville in the Super Regional. That announcement will come out much later tonight.
Luke Murton, Chris House and Jason Haniger sat down with me a few minutes before the team started stretching to share their favorite moments during their time at the Rusty C.
They weren’t given a lot of time to think about it, but all three came up with mostly the same moments:
1. Haniger’s walk-off grand slam to defeat UNC this year.
Luke Murton describes the moment:
“One of the most packed games we’ve ever had. There was a ton of people here. It was a big series for us and they had won the first game, so to win the series we obviously had to win the next two.
“In the Saturday game Jason Haniger was 0-for-5 and then the bases loaded. He was a having a tough day. I think he had two strikes [actually 2-2 count, sixth pitch of the at bat] and when he hit the home run…
“We’ve hit a couple of walk-off home runs in my career but that one was by far the biggest one we’ve had. That was an awesome moment for the team.”
2. House noted beating Florida State on Senior Day this season as one of his favorite moments:
“That was awesome. Coming from behind in the ninth inning. Big win for us, big series win too because it was tied 1-1 coming into Senior Day.
“Senior Day was great because I led off the inning and got on base and scored the first run. Murton walked with the bases loaded so he drove me in there. That was great.”
3. All three listed beating College of Charleston their freshman years to make it to Omaha and the College World Series as another favorite team memory. It was also Murton’s favorite memory of a personal achievement:
“It was the clinching game. We were playing well and we were winning easily by five runs, six runs.
“I was hitting sixth on the day. I was hitting around a lot of the older guys. A lot of the seniors and some juniors that were definitely going to be gone in the draft. The fans were basically saying their goodbyes to them because it’s their last game at home. And it was just really awesome to see what those guys had done for the program and the way the fans treated them on the way out. A couple of the guys got chants of one more year.
“Being in between them, being a freshman, they couldn’t just stand up and give everybody a standing ovation and not give me one. So, they stood up and gave me a standing ovation when I came up because I was between them all. It was pretty funny but still pretty cool.”
Haniger said he’s also miss the ground crew: ”The field is one of the big things. Our crew out here does a great job of taking care of it.”
Feel free to share you favorite memories in the comments sections and check back for updates throughout the game, scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Guides
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2009 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
241 comments Add your comment
Dawgaholic5
June 1st, 2009
5:35 pm
Good luck to your squad tonight jackets!!! Cause if you guys do, then the matchup with florida would be a perfect time to drop a bomb over the field, killing two birds with one stone…..only kidding…..well sorta:)
Come on Jackets!
June 1st, 2009
5:48 pm
Jackets, You can win this thing. Let’s see you pull it off and head to Gainesville!!!
You can do it!!
GT
June 1st, 2009
5:56 pm
Tech has one of the great legacies in college baseball, check the major league rosters. Go out winners tonight guys.
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
5:58 pm
Well, it’s just about an hour from first pitch. Danny Hall would not be happy by the crowd here so far. Here’s what he said after last night’s game: http://tinyurl.com/lsr4uu
BehindEnemyLines
June 1st, 2009
6:27 pm
Not sure if Murton is looking to be the next David Justice or what, but I’d suggest that he & Hall both worry more about the performances on the field than the people in the stands. Hall’s legacy is largely one of consistent post-season underachievement and a team that has managed one win in two years in the conference tournament would do very well to keep their mouths shut and be glad anybody bothered to show up at all given that wins in tournament play are actually surprising at this point.
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
6:31 pm
30 minutes before first pitch. There are probably less than 300 fans here, at best.
AtlMike
June 1st, 2009
6:34 pm
Go Southern Miss!
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
6:44 pm
Line-ups tonight:
USM:
Bo Davis
James Ewing
Kameron Brunty
Corey Stevens
Michael Ewing
Joey Archer
B.A. Vollmuth
Kyle Maxie
Taylor Walker
GT
Jeff Rowland
Chase Burnette
Luke Murton
Tony Plagman
Jason Haniger
Matt Skole
Derek Dietrich
Chris House
Jason Garofalo.
Crowds starting to arrive now. Probably around 500 now. Far fewer fans of the Golden Eagles today, likely because most of them had to go back to work today
Joe's place Joe speaking
June 1st, 2009
6:50 pm
Thanks doug! Why so little support from the fans and bloggers??
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
6:57 pm
Well Tech fans seemed to take Hall’s and Murton’s pleas to heart. Very loud during introductions. Very loud when Tech took the field.
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
7:06 pm
Error on Deitrich on a easy grounder puts runner on first with one out. McGuire using a lot of pitches so far. Tech fans loud.
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
7:07 pm
Error on me in last post. It’s Dietrich, not Deitrich
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
7:10 pm
runners on first and second with two outs. McGuire at 25 pitches. More than 1,000 fans here, easily.
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
7:12 pm
McGuire strikes out Michael Ewing with a high fastball to end the inning. Crowd cheers him off.
Folks still coming, most of them trying to find a seat in the shade.
McGuire at 29 pitches, unofficially.
PTC Jacket
June 1st, 2009
7:12 pm
I’d go to the game, but I’m stuck doing research all day, and I can’t find the daggum game on tv.
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
7:15 pm
PTC, stay right here. Hopefully I can give you the details.
Rowland singled to lead off Tech’s half of the inning.
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
7:20 pm
Jonathan Dwyer and Roddy Jones are in the crowd. Paul Johnson sitting in one of the open boxes.
PTC Jacket
June 1st, 2009
7:23 pm
Wow, good support
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
7:23 pm
Haniger fists one into centerfield to bring home Murton, 1-0 Tech. Plagman on third
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
7:26 pm
Skole single to right scores Plagman, 2-0 Tech. Runners on first and third, two out.
LENNIE
June 1st, 2009
7:26 pm
GO JACKETS and Coach Hall, the Coolville kid!
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
7:27 pm
Single Dietrich to right makes it 3-0, Tech
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
7:29 pm
End of the first, Tech 3-0.
Crowd cheers them off the field. Tuck’s dugout is fired up.
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
7:29 pm
Early estimates are crowd is 2k strong.
AtlMike
June 1st, 2009
7:31 pm
A crowd of 2K at a regional is very embarrassing. No wonder one one cares about sports at tech.
PTC Jacket
June 1st, 2009
7:31 pm
Woo!!!! Good start!
PTC Jacket
June 1st, 2009
7:32 pm
They obviously don’t care about education wherever you’re from (if you went anywhere).
Robert
June 1st, 2009
7:34 pm
Georgia Tech harbors terrorists.
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
7:34 pm
Southern Miss comes back on a 2-run homer by B.A. Vollmuth. The shot hit the scoreboard in left-center field.
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
7:39 pm
Runners on first and second, one out for the Eagles. Still in the second.
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
7:44 pm
McGuire hits a batter to tie the game and keep the bases loaded. Patrick Long and Jed Bradley warming up in the bullpen
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
7:47 pm
McGuire just misses with a curve on the corner to walk a run in. So. Miss leads 4-3. Bases still loaded
chad
June 1st, 2009
7:48 pm
This is the time of the year when we see the real Danny Hall. Another year same old story. The only positive this year is that ugay can’t eliminate the jackets. This was one of the easiest brackets and the choking jackets do what they do best.
chad
June 1st, 2009
7:50 pm
Errors, rag arm pitcher, bye bye jackets
chad
June 1st, 2009
7:54 pm
pittyful
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
7:55 pm
Inning over, So. Miss 9-3. The worst inning of McGuire’s career.
Jason
June 1st, 2009
7:56 pm
Its ‘pitiful’, idiot, now quit trolling and go get a life.
buzz29
June 1st, 2009
7:56 pm
Leave then, atmike.
Great job so far Doug. Much better than Jeff did Friday night.
AtlMike
June 1st, 2009
7:57 pm
YES!! Great start for Southern Miss. Pour it on!
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
7:59 pm
Danny Hall is irate over a strike call in the third. The umpire just warned him. It’s a little tense.
chad
June 1st, 2009
7:59 pm
jason suck me and shut up.
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
8:00 pm
Fan just hit in the head by a foul ball down the right-field line. Luckily, it was a bouncer and not a line drive.
chad
June 1st, 2009
8:01 pm
Hall is pissed because he feels the heat. I’ve never seen somone take gold and turn it into pure bullsh*t.
BehindEnemyLines
June 1st, 2009
8:02 pm
Hall ought to be irate with his own inability to get a team ready for the post-season. He’s the NCAA equivalent of Bobby Cox in that regard.
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
8:02 pm
Tech fans are letting the ump have it in the half-inning.
McGuire’s final line: 2 innings pitched, 7 hits, 9 runs, 4 earned, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts, 17 batters faced, 73 pitches thrown.
New pitcher is left-hander Jed Bradley.
TechDan
June 1st, 2009
8:02 pm
HALL! YOU SURE AS HELL BETTER HAVE SOMEONE IN THE BULLPEN AFTER THAT TRAVESTY OF AN INNING.
Sorry for the caps guys, but that second was just pathetic.
TechDan
June 1st, 2009
8:04 pm
Hmph, I can’t get the stupid radio stream to work. Anybody got a working link? Gametracker is too slow.
Alabama Jack
June 1st, 2009
8:04 pm
Would somebody tell the headline writer we are playing the University of Southern Mississippi tonight and not Mississippi State.
AtlMike
June 1st, 2009
8:05 pm
Typical tech fans always blaming it on the refs, no matter what sports. Absolutely the worst and most obnoxious fans in all of college sports.
chad
June 1st, 2009
8:05 pm
I really miss Jim Morris, those were the good old days. BEL is right, hate to admit it. Danny Hall can recruit, coach a great regular season, but he should had over control this time of the year.
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
8:06 pm
1-2-3 for Bradley
TechDan
June 1st, 2009
8:06 pm
What are you talking about mike? I’m blaming Danny Hall for not doing a better job of prepping his pitchers.
chad
June 1st, 2009
8:08 pm
TechDan type 91.1 atl, on yahoo search, then go to listen to 91.1 fm, then follow the icons.
chad
June 1st, 2009
8:10 pm
Let me warn u ur not missing a whole hell of a lot. If you like crying in ur beer, then be my guest.
Baba O'Riley
June 1st, 2009
8:12 pm
Definition of a LOSER…posting on your rival’s in-game baseball blog. I’ll bet AtlMike sat in the opponent’s bleachers during his high school days and begged his way out of a$$kickings at football games.
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
8:12 pm
Another fan hit by a foul ball, this time down the left side.
Haniger just went down looking on a pitch that even the late umpire Forrest Gregg wouldn’t have called a strike.
Baba O'Riley
June 1st, 2009
8:13 pm
Eric Gregg
chad
June 1st, 2009
8:14 pm
good one doug, i remember that game in fla. this is going to be a long night.
TechDan
June 1st, 2009
8:14 pm
Thanks, Chad. You’re probably right about thwe crying part, but I don’t drink, so there’s no beer around.
Although, I did just get a 2-liter of Barq’s.
chad
June 1st, 2009
8:16 pm
Skole is a one man recking crew, he may single handed blow this whole tourney for the jackets. He has certainly made that grand slam a wash as it stands right now.
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
8:18 pm
Another error on my part. Eric Gregg, former umpire. Not Forrest Gregg, former NFL star. Thanks, Baba.
by the way, did you know Baba O’Reilly was the first song played on 96rock, back when it was 96rock?
.
chad
June 1st, 2009
8:19 pm
what the hell was that, they are giving us outs now and we will not accept them. freaking a
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
8:19 pm
In one of the more odd plays you’ll see: Stevens strikes out on a wild pitch, but Haniger airmails the throw, allowing Stevens to go all the way to second.
chad
June 1st, 2009
8:21 pm
I hope they do not pull an FSU on tech tonight, surely not.
SlimG
June 1st, 2009
8:22 pm
Did any of the fans bring a glove?
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
8:23 pm
Tech out of a small jam in the fourth, still 9-3
chad
June 1st, 2009
8:24 pm
I got an idea maybe Danny Hall can play third, put a mask on him. He couldn’t do any worse.
chad
June 1st, 2009
8:28 pm
Good news tech is only down 6, but the bad news is tech will not score 10 runs.
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
8:30 pm
I promise it just looked like the first-base ump wasn’t paying attention to the ball-strikes. USM catcher Kyle Maxie appealed to first, and the first-base ump’s body language looked as if he said “what? Oh, folks are running off….well then, let’s call it a strike.”
Headed to the fifth, 9-3.
chad
June 1st, 2009
8:30 pm
I am tired of getting pumped up for these games, only to go to bed wondering what the hell just happened.
TechDan
June 1st, 2009
8:32 pm
I agree, Chad. This team has too much talent to be throwing it all away like this.
TechDan
June 1st, 2009
8:33 pm
From what I can tell, Jed seems to be doing fine at pitcher for now (knocks on wood). The offense just needs to be getting it done at this point.
chad
June 1st, 2009
8:36 pm
Tech has the bats to come back, but hell when your pitching and fielding goes to crap what do you do? Tell me why do they pick the biggest games to play like a bunch Sunday afternoon softball want to bees.
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
8:37 pm
Another So. Miss run and the “U-S-M” chant goes up.
AtlMike
June 1st, 2009
8:38 pm
The hits keep on coming! 10-3.
chad
June 1st, 2009
8:39 pm
I’ll refresh that tech will not score 11 runs now.
TechDan
June 1st, 2009
8:39 pm
It appears I have jinxed it.
Sorry Tech fans. Someday, you’ll tell your grandkids about the comment by TechDan that mad Jed Bradley’s pitching go all f*&%-over.
chad
June 1st, 2009
8:41 pm
This is crazy tech is losing to second rate program, and I’ll refresh it again. They will not score 12 runs.
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
8:41 pm
Another So. Miss run. It’s now 11-3, and it Hall goes to the bullpen again. Kevin Jacob is jogging in to take over for Bradley.
TechDan
June 1st, 2009
8:41 pm
On the plus side, if Tech doesn’t get at least six more runs, it doesn’t matter anyway. So, they either have to win, or lose just spectacularly enough that I don’t feel bad.
AtlMike
June 1st, 2009
8:41 pm
11-3.
chad
June 1st, 2009
8:43 pm
No TD you didn’t jinx anything, typical GT baseball, different year same song.
BehindEnemyLines
June 1st, 2009
8:43 pm
Of course none of this would have happened if the entire city has shown up & begged for the privilege of watching yet another post-season collapse.
chad
June 1st, 2009
8:45 pm
Did tech put the pitching machine on the field when they are on defense. This is disapointing.
BehindEnemyLines
June 1st, 2009
8:45 pm
Well, that is to say we might be within 5 runs now instead of down 8 and counting. The post-season failure itself is as given as death & taxes.
chad
June 1st, 2009
8:46 pm
BehindEnemyLines, where are your boys at?
TechDan
June 1st, 2009
8:49 pm
I’m tired of being a fan of a school that has the tendency to collapse in the post season in all of it’s major sports. Unfortunately, I’m a) a student, b) given much to hope for during the off/regular seasons (except basketball), and c) prone to making very poor decisions when it comes to my mental health.
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
8:49 pm
Jacob strikes out two to end the inning.
TechDan
June 1st, 2009
8:51 pm
Crap, I spelled “its” incorrectly. Inb4grammarnazis.
The Grinch
June 1st, 2009
8:52 pm
To poor little all-lowercase-chad
So now you’re a sports enthusiast? Gollee, Gomer, I thought you just sat around in your basement all day calling people gay and talking about their mothers. BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!
chad
June 1st, 2009
8:52 pm
I would say wait until next year, but ugay has that cliche already.
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
8:52 pm
Hall is now out at first base arguing a close play on a Jeff Rowland grounder. If he stays in the game it’ll be amazing.
and he does. Wow.
Southern Miss is playing outstanding defense.
chad
June 1st, 2009
8:54 pm
girly man grinch has joined the party, what your daddy let u use the computer tonight? hey grinch go get me beer and give your mon the usual tip. bitz&h
dawg james
June 1st, 2009
8:54 pm
atlmike and other uga fans….i am a uga alum and obviously a huge dawg fan and would like nothing other for gt to go down…but im not going to post mess when tech fans are trying to follow their team. just because we are out does not mean than we have to show our butts. dont be that guy.
buzz29
June 1st, 2009
8:55 pm
Have we already lost? Come on jackasses, support your team!
The Grinch
June 1st, 2009
8:55 pm
poor little all-lowercase-chad (plalc)
Hey, plalc, how was the 17th showing of Star Trek this weekend?
chad
June 1st, 2009
8:55 pm
TechDan, let me introduce you to the grinch. If you talk nice to him he might give u oral pleasure.
Doug Roberson
June 1st, 2009
8:56 pm
Tech out 1-2-3 in the fifth. To the sixth we go
The Grinch
June 1st, 2009
8:57 pm
Careful, dawg james, all-lowercase-chad may come up with something unique like “ugay” and say meeeeaaaaaannnnn things about your mother.
chad
June 1st, 2009
8:57 pm
dawg james i respect that, but your friend a$$ lick grinch ruins it for dawg peeps. peeps means people grinch, i know that flew over your head retard.