June 6, 2005
Columbia, S.C. – Number two national seed Georgia Tech shut out South Carolina 5-0 Monday night behind the five hit pitching of Tim Gustafson and Matt Wieters and the Yellow Jackets advanced to a super regional next weekend against the Tennessee Volunteers.
Georgia Tech, 45-17, will host the best of three super regional at Russ Chandler Stadium with the winner advancing to the College World Series in Omaha. South Carolina, which advanced to the World Series each of the past three years, ended its 2005 season with a 41-23 record. The Gamecocks won three of five games in the Atlanta regional.
The Gamecocks forced a Monday game by winning twice on Sunday. South Carolina eliminated Michigan 4-3 in a game delayed three hours and 32 minutes by rain and then downed Georgia Tech 8-3 to extend the regional tournament to Monday night.
Weather again played a part with the start of the Monday game delayed an hour and 16 games by lightning.
Aaron Rawl, attempting to pitch on just two days rest, was reached for seven hits and four runs in 2 1/3 innings to end his career with the loss. Rawl had a no decision in the regional opening game, a 4-3 win over Michigan, and ended his senior season 9-6. His career record of 35-15 places him third on South Carolina’s all time win list.
Sophomore left-hander Forrest Beverly relieved Rawl and allowed only four hits and one run over the final 6 2/3 innings for his most impressive outing of the year. The outing was also his longest of his career.
Rawl retired the first two batters in the first inning but then gave up three singles and one run. Georgia Tech added three in the top of the third on back to back home runs by Wieters, who played first base the first seven innings and pitched the final two, and Jeremy Slayden. The Wieters home run followed a walk to Jeff Kindel.
The Yellows Jackets added an insurance run in the seventh inning. Slayden doubled and scored on a hit by Andy Hawranick.
Gustafson allowed four hits in seven innings to improve his record to 6-2. He walked two and struck out four. Wieters allowed one hit — a one out ninth inning double by Chris Brown — and struck out four of the seven Gamecocks that he faced.
South Carolina had runners on first and second with no outs in the fourth and sixth innings but failed to score. The Gamecocks were shut out for the first time in 64 games this season.
First baseman Steve Pearce and shortstop Steven Tolleson accounted for four of South Carolina’s five hits. Pearce, who led the tournament with 10 hits, singled in the first and sixth innings Monday. Tolleson singled in the fourth and sixth. Tolleson also had nine assists defensively.
South Carolina placed three players on the regional all-tournament team, Pearce at first base plus third baseman Neil Giesler and outfielder Michael Campbell. The three accounted for the four home runs that South Carolina hit in five games, two by Pearce and one each by Giesler and Campbell.
