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HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Jacksonville State baseball turned to Ryan Geraghty in its second NCAA Tournament game, even with two weekend starters still available.
The decision backfired quickly in the first inning with four straight singles after an opening out. Geraghty's day ended with a walk and the Gamecocks trailing 2-0 before another run crossed prior to the inning ending.
That first inning ended up being the difference in a 8-6 loss to Little Rock that sent the Gamecocks (47-14) to the losers bracket on Saturday night. They now need to win three games in two days to advance out of the Hattiesburg Regional.
After the game, Gamecocks coach Steve Bieser defended the pitching decision, even with Friday starter Eli Pillsbury and Sunday starter Steven Cash available to start.
"We sat down and we looked at it. If you at look what they do on paper, they dominate left-handed pitching. It's a big split between how they handle right-handed versus left-handed pitching. Ryan Geraghty has been throwing the ball great for us down the stretch and he was the right matchup," Bieser said.
Geraghty had three starts on the season heading into the NCAA Tournament. He had an ERA of 4.83 with 45 strikeouts and allowed 34 hits and 25 walks in 41 innings of work. Cash holds an ERA of 2.94 in 16 starts, leading the team, while Pillsbury holds an ERA of 4.07 in 15 starts.
"You can go back and look he's had some really good starts. He beat Auburn twice. We weren't throwing off, I can promise you that," Bieser said.
Now the Gamecocks will face Virginia in an elimination game at 3 p.m. on Sunday. The game will air on ESPN+, the winner will play later that day at 8 p.m. against Little Rock, needing to beat them twice.
Maxwell Donaldson covers high school sports, Jax State athletics, the outdoors in Alabama and more for the Gadsden Times and USA TODAY Network. Find him on Twitter/X @_Max_Donaldson and contact him at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Jax State baseball defends strategy after NCAA Tournament loss to Little Rock
Continue reading...
The decision backfired quickly in the first inning with four straight singles after an opening out. Geraghty's day ended with a walk and the Gamecocks trailing 2-0 before another run crossed prior to the inning ending.
That first inning ended up being the difference in a 8-6 loss to Little Rock that sent the Gamecocks (47-14) to the losers bracket on Saturday night. They now need to win three games in two days to advance out of the Hattiesburg Regional.
After the game, Gamecocks coach Steve Bieser defended the pitching decision, even with Friday starter Eli Pillsbury and Sunday starter Steven Cash available to start.
"We sat down and we looked at it. If you at look what they do on paper, they dominate left-handed pitching. It's a big split between how they handle right-handed versus left-handed pitching. Ryan Geraghty has been throwing the ball great for us down the stretch and he was the right matchup," Bieser said.
Geraghty had three starts on the season heading into the NCAA Tournament. He had an ERA of 4.83 with 45 strikeouts and allowed 34 hits and 25 walks in 41 innings of work. Cash holds an ERA of 2.94 in 16 starts, leading the team, while Pillsbury holds an ERA of 4.07 in 15 starts.
"You can go back and look he's had some really good starts. He beat Auburn twice. We weren't throwing off, I can promise you that," Bieser said.
Now the Gamecocks will face Virginia in an elimination game at 3 p.m. on Sunday. The game will air on ESPN+, the winner will play later that day at 8 p.m. against Little Rock, needing to beat them twice.
Maxwell Donaldson covers high school sports, Jax State athletics, the outdoors in Alabama and more for the Gadsden Times and USA TODAY Network. Find him on Twitter/X @_Max_Donaldson and contact him at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Jax State baseball defends strategy after NCAA Tournament loss to Little Rock
Continue reading...
