Oklahoma Trips Up Tech To Take The Regional Crown
" Forever is composed of nows"- Emily Dickinson
Sunday night, after a tough loss to Oklahoma had forced a decisive game 7 on Monday , Georgia Tech coach James Ramsey declared "Ghosts aren't real". He said it in response to a question about significance of the weight of Tech's tough baseball history on the now-necessary Monday game. His assertion met with nods and a few chuckles.
One day later, though, the question lives on. Unlike Tech's tournament hopes.
For the second consecutive day, Oklahoma came back from an early deficit to defeat Georgia Tech.
This time the Sooners tied Tech up in the bottom of the ninth ( Tech was the "home" team that batted first, again, according to the sometimes arcane logic of the NCAA). The Sooners then walked off with the win an inning later when Dayton Tockey hit a home run to centerfield off of Tech starter cum reliever Tate McKee.
McKee was making only his second relief appearance of tbe season. More importantly, he had thrown 104 pitches two days earlier against the Sooners in a 9-3 Tech win.
Ramsey later explained his choice by citing the rationale, "..it's the old adage, of, if we're going to lose this game, you have this guy on the mound, you're okay with it".
They did lose, but no one around North Avenue was okay with it. Which is quite understandable, if a bit unfair.
In any baseball game decided in late innings, and especially in today's game where a complete game effort by a starter is a rare commodity, the losing coach will face questions regarding the choices made for relief pitchers.
Baseball is a quirky game and therefore sometimes a cruel game. And only one man can pitch at a time. So there are two decisions that are omnipresent – keep going with the guy who's out there, or take him out and put in...whom in his stead?
If you win, these moves are ignored, or on occasion, even lauded. Given those starkly disparate outcomes, you can hear the decision- maker's explanation– and occasionally wonder at his logic.
Often the decision will be based on a default of sorts. Lefty vs lefty is a common one. In this case, Ramsey decided that losing with his star starter Tate McKee would be among the least painful ways to go out...and who can complain if you go with your lead horse and things don't work out?
Well, it turns out that lots of people can and will complain. And that's part of the awful beauty of baseball.
The bottom line is that Oklahoma scored eight runs and Georgia Tech scored only seven , so the Sooners will play on, while one of the greatest teams in Tech history will go home to wonder.
Patrick Conarro
RamblinSports