Archive for June, 2012

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida pitcher Jonathan Crawford earned himself a chunk of history Friday night, throwing a no-hitter against Bethune-Cookman in the second game of the NCAA Gainesville regional. The Gators defeated the Wildcats 4-0, with Florida second baseman Casey Turgeon saving the no-hitter with a leaping grab of a line drive for the final out of the game.

“I guess the stars aligned for me,” said Crawford, who needed only 98 pitches to take care of the Wildcats.

Crawford’s teammates mobbed him in the center of the infield after the final out. It was the first no-hitter in NCAA tournament play since 1991, when Florida pitcher John Burke no-hit Furman. It came on the same night of another rarity – Kent State’s 20-inning win over Kentucky in the Gary, Ind., regional. Both seem to point to the impact of rule changes instituted prior to the 2011 season to deaden bats.

“This is a night that doesn’t come around very often,” Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan …

Continue reading Next up for Tech: Gators no-hit Bethune-Cookman »

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Georgia Tech baseball team continued its hot postseason run, defeating College of Charleston 8-4 Friday afternoon in its opening NCAA tournament game at the Gainesville regional.

Five days after completing their run to the ACC championship, the Jackets opened the game early with seven runs in the first two innings, largely funded by three-run home runs by Jake Davies and Brandon Thomas. For Davies, the ACC tournament MVP, it was his fifth home run in the past five games. He drove in another run in the fourth to his 15th RBI in the same span.

The Jackets (37-24) will play Saturday at 7 p.m. against the winner of Friday night’s game between top-seeded Florida and Bethune-Cookman. Either way, coach Danny Hall’s calculated risk of holding back staff ace Buck Farmer for the Gators paid off. Starter Cole Pitts had a rocky outing, giving up 10 hits and four runs over 3 2/3 innings, but left with a 7-4 lead. Reliever Dusty Isaacs held the Cougars (37-21) …

Continue reading Georgia Tech wins NCAA opener over College of Charleston »

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – We’re about an hour from the scheduled first pitch of Georgia Tech’s NCAA Gainesville regional opener against College of Charleston and the field is covered. Skies are overcast and it wouldn’t surprise me if the game gets pushed back some, but hopefully I’m wrong.

Obviously, the big question today (aside from the rain) from Tech’s perspective is whether or not the calculated risk to start Cole Pitts over Buck Farmer pays off or not. College of Charleston is throwing ace Christian Powell (2.39 ERA, 81 hits in 90.1 innings) so the Jackets won’t have it easy by any stretch. Powell is expected to go fairly early in next week’s major league draft. Baseball America magazine ranked him in the top 200.

Pitts was naturally jittery in his outing at the ACC tournament, giving up three runs in the first three innings, ultimately going five innings with eight hits allowed. Two of his four runs were earned. Tech is playing with a lot of confidence, but …

Continue reading Georgia Tech-College of Charleston live blog »