This is the ninth ACC tournament title for Georgia Tech baseball tying Clemson for the most tourney titles. Miami and Florida State were considered the favorites to meet in the finals but each managed only one win in pool play.
The victory means that the Yellow Jackets get the ACC’s automatic berth in the NCAA baseball tournament. The other teams will await their fate when the NCAA selection committee names the field on Monday.
Below are our game tweets from Sunday’s ACC tournament final.
ACC honoring Armed Forces today. 26-year vet Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Bender threw out the first pitch – a strike.
Starters for today’s ACC title game: MD, Jake Drosser, 4-1 with a 2.18 ERA in 10 start. GT’s Devin Stanton, 5-3 with a 2.13 ERA in 10 starts.
First pitch for ACC baseball tourney final is 1:06 pm. Ga. Tech at the plate.
Ga Tech’s Thomas Smith doubles to the left field wall, driving in Matt Gonzalez with the first run of the game. GT 1, MD 0. 2 out, 1 on.
Ga Tech’s AJ Murray doubles to left center gap to drive in Smith. GT 2, MD 0. Still one on with two out.
MD escapes without further damage in the top of the first. GT 2, MD 0.
Ga Tech’s rightfielder Ryan Peurifoy records three putouts as MD goes scoreless in the bottom of the first. GT 2, MD 0.
Double play ends Ga Tech half of the second. GT 2, MD 0.
MD’s Black Schmit goes yard for the first time this season. Ball bounced on the top of the fence just over the glove of Matt Gonzalez. 2-1.
No further damage as Ga Tech leads Maryland 2-1 after two innings.
Three up, three down for Ga Tech in the third. MD coming to bat in the bottom of the 3rd with the score 2-1 GT.
Maryland strands a runner on third as the Terps still trail Ga Tech 2-1 after three innings.
Ga Tech’s Thomas Smith led off the 4th with a double down the left field line and was singled in by DH AJ Murray making it GT 3, MD 1.
Ga. Tech leaves one on in the top of the fourth. GT leads 3-1 in the bottom of the 4th. MD has men on the corners with 2 outs.
Maryland’s Anthony Papio bloops one to right to score Blake Schmit with the Terps’ second run. GT, 3-2. MD has two on, two out in the 4th.
Ga Tech making a pitching change. Starter Devin Stanton is out and Matt Grimes is in. Grimes is a 6-foot-6 righthander with a 4.08 ERA.
Stanton finishes with 54 pitches, giving up two runs and five hits in three and two-thirds innings.
Maryland leaves the bases loaded but comes up with 1 run in the fourth. Ga. Tech 3, MD 2 after four innings.
Ga Tech goes three up, three down but still lead 3-2 midway through the 5th. Each team has five hits.
Maryland goes quietly in the bottom of the 5th. GT 3, MD 2 after 5.
Ga Tech threatens with a runner in scoring position but fail to score. Still GT 3, MD 2 midway through the sixth inning.
Maryland reliever Bobby Ruse pitched that last half inning and survived a lead off double by GT’s Gonzalez.
GT’s Grimes walks leadoff batter Schmit and yields a single to Tim Lewis. Yellow Jackets bullpen gets busy. RP Jonathan Roberts warming up.
Nick Cieri loads the bases for MD with a single to center. Meeting at the mound.
MD’s Anthony Papio singles sharply to center driving in the tying run. Bases loaded, no outs. MD 3, Ga Tech 3.
MD’s Kevin Martir grounds into a double play but the go-ahead run comes home from third. MD 4, GT 3.
I would have been tempted to go home on that play had I been GT freshman third baseman Brandon Gold to keep the runner from scoring.
A ground out ends the threat but the Terps came up with two runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a 4-3 lead. MD has now outhit GT 8-6.
GT’s Brandon Gold drops in a double to right center and advances on a sacrifice bunt by Ryan Peurifoy. Tying run on third with one out.
Pitching change for Maryland as 6-foot-2 sophomore righthander Kevin Mooney is warming up.
Mitch Earnest drives in Gold with a sacrifice fly to medium right field. Score tied at 4. Two outs, nobody on in the top of the 7th.
Maryland’s Mooney strikes out Mott Hyde to end the top of the 7th. Score tied at 4-4 going to the bottom of the inning.
Nice rendition God Bless America by Richard Hodges midway through the 7th inning.
GT’s senior reliever Jonathan Roberts gets Maryland in order in the bottom of the 7th. Score tied at 4-4 going to the 8th.
GT’s Daniel Spingola leads off the top of the 8th with a slicing double to left field. Hits are even at 8 a piece now.
On a sacrifice bunt attempt by Matt Gonzalez, MD pitcher Mooney air mails one into the stands and Spingola comes around from 2nd to score.
Sacrifice bunt moves GT’s Gonzalez to third. One out, man at third. 5-4 in favor of Georgia Tech has a 5-4 lead with a runner on second and no outs.
GT’s AJ Murray draws a walk. Runners at the corner with one out.
Wild pitch moves Murray into scoring position at second and eliminates the double play chance.
GT’s Connor Justus singles up the middle, plating two as Yellow Jackets open it up a bit at 7-4 in the top of the 8th. Still just 1 out.
MD senior lefty Ben Brewster coming in to pitch, replacing Mooney, who gave up 3 earned runs on 3 hits and a walk in one inning of work.
Maryland catcher Kevin Martir picks off GT’s Justus at second ending the top of the 8th. But GT scores 3 to take a 7-4 lead.
GT pitcher Roberts nearly hits Schmit and then does hit him, drawing Schmit’s ire. Cooler heads prevail as freshman lefty Ben Parr comes on.
GT’s Parr strikes out MD’s Tim Lewis. Catcher and pitcher both fired up. One out, one on in the Terp half of the 8th. Still GT 7. MD 4.
Maryland’s Nick Cieri grounds out weakly to first while Schmit advances to second with two outs.
GT’s Parr gets MD’s Papio looking. Terps will have one more chance to tie or take the lead. GT up in the top of the 9th ahead of MD 7-4.
Terp pitcher Brewster strikes out two batters but then he hits one batter and GT’s Matt Gonzalez drives in a run. GT 8, MD 4.
Maryland freshman Tayler Stiles takes over for Brewster on the mound. Stiles has a 3-2 record and a 4.30 ERA.
Thomas Smith’s sharp liner off the pitcher results in a single. GT not through as Jackets have runners on the corners with 2 outs.
A few Ga. Tech fans start an A-C-C, A-C-C chant as AJ Murray singles in GT’s 9th run. Two on, two out. GT 9, MD 4.
MD finally out of the inning as Justus strikes out. But GT picks up 2 more to extend the lead to 9-4. That’s 6 runs over the last 3 innings.
Heading into the bottom of the 9th, GT has 13 hits, compared to 8 for MD, and has committed no errors while the Terps had 1 costly error.
Georgia Tech soph lefty Sam Clay, now in the game, walks the leadoff batter, Maryland’s Kevin Martir. Clay has 8 saves and a 1.35 ERA.
MD’s Charlie White singles up the middle to put two on with nobody out but a nifty 4-6-3 double play leaves the Maryland with just one more out.
Clay drills Brandon Lowe in the back to keep Maryland’s dim hopes alive. Men on the corners with two outs. GT fans standing, can taste it.
Clay strikes out Jose Cuas to end it. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are your ACC baseball champs, earning an automatic berth to the NCAAs.
Georgia Tech completes an impressive effort with six runs over the last three innings to come back from a 4-3 deficit to win 9-4.
Matt Gonzalez and AJ Murray led the way for the Yellow Jackets. Gonzalez went 4 for 5 with 3 runs while Murray went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI.
This is the ninth ACC tournament title for Georgia Tech baseball tying Clemson for the most tourney titles.
Good afternoon from Greensboro’s NewBridge Bank Park where Georgia Tech defeats Maryland 9-4 to win the ACC baseball championship.