COLLEGE WORLD SERIES : Fullerton Does the Unexpected in Shutout Loss to Georgia Tech

After all the planning is finished and all the head-spinning baseball strategy is played out, sometimes it comes down to something unexpected.

That’s what happened in the opening game of the College World Series Friday when Georgia Tech pitcher Brad Rigby shut out Cal State Fullerton on three hits, 2-0.

It wasn’t so much that the second-seeded Yellow Jackets won. It wasn’t so much that they turned the tables on Mike Parisi, who had been the winning pitcher when the Titans beat Georgia Tech, 2-0, in February at Fullerton.

What was surprising was the way Georgia Tech won Friday, and that the normally opportunistic Titans were held scoreless for the first time in 194 games, more than three years.

The Yellow Jackets usually win with hitting, not pitching. Georgia Tech came into the tournament with three of college baseball’s top batters. But forget about those guys with the .400-plus averages. Nomar Garciaparra, Jason Varitek and Jay Payton managed only one hit among them. The bottom of the order hurt the Titans and Rigby’s pitching put them away.

Georgia Tech, No. 1 in college baseball in runs scored with an average of more than nine a game, scored in the fifth on two hits and Parisi’s control problems. It added the final run in the seventh when Michael Sorrow, a .240 hitter, hit his first home run of the season.

That turned out to be all the Yellow Jackets needed to boost their record to 48-16 and move into the winners’ bracket. Fullerton (45-15) now has to battle back in the losers’ bracket Sunday against LSU. Matt Wagner will be the Titans’ starting pitcher.

Titan Coach Augie Garrido said it was a matter of missed opportunities by his team, as well.

“We left several runners on base in the first three innings, and that certainly hurt us,” he said. “I think the game centered around pitching, and each opportunity we didn’t capitalize on contributed to our demise.”

Georgia Tech Coach Danny Hall said Rigby, who boosted his record to 14-4, was the key.

“He was throwing the ball well and keeping us in the game,” Hall said. “I was more comfortable with a game like this than one with our guys out there slugging it. Every time we got in trouble in the game, Brad would make a big pitch to get us out of it.”

The Titans had two runners on base in the first after two were out, but Jeff Ferguson, who had singled, was thrown out trying to steal. A walk and an error gave the Titans two more runners in the second with one out, but they failed to capitalize.

Fullerton had two runners again in the third on a walk to Mark Kotsay and an error that allowed Bret Hemphill to reach base. But the Titans again failed to get the clutch hit.

“It’s always difficult to separate whether it’s the pitching or the lack of hitting sometimes,” Garrido said.

Parisi gave up five hits in 7 1/3 innings and fell to 11-4.