“My mindset was just to make sure I didn’t lose. It’s true that I gave up a home run, but other than that, I just focused on not letting my previous at-bat affect my next one. Every batter is a new batter. I just had to stay calm and come through strong.”
Finateri (6-4) pitched six-plus innings, allowing just two runs on eight hits and one walk, while striking out five and throwing 63 of his 88 pitches for strikes.
Army finished the season with a 31-23 record.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, with Tech leading 3-2, John Giesler came to bat with the bases loaded and one out. Giesler walked on the eighth pitch, driving in a run and putting the Jackets ahead 4-2.
Freshman Tate McKee (S, 1) came in to relieve in an attempt to get the save, and after reaching base on a walk as the leadoff batter, he sealed the win with a liner to center field, a foul out to left field and a grounder to first base.
Tech took the lead in the first inning when Drew Burress hit a 2-1 pitch from Army starter Justin Lehman deep to left field to make the score 1-0. One out later, Giesler hit a liner to left field that just barely cleared the wall for a solo home run to make the score 2-0.
“It’d been a while (since I’d scored) and I knew that,” Burress said. “I just needed to get on (the scoreboard) so I could have another opportunity and take my chance. It’s not something I have in my mind all the time, but it’s definitely something in the back that I’m a guy that I want to help move the team forward.”
The Jackets had gone 18 consecutive innings without scoring before the first-inning home run.
“They had two big guys, Burress and Giesler, and I made mistakes against both of them, and they both decided to do what they had to do,” Lehman said.
In the fourth inning, Bobby Zmažulak walked with one out and advanced to second base on a bunt swing by Peyton Green, then Mike Becchetty singled to left to send Zmažulak home and give the Jackets a 3–0 lead.
Chris Barr, Army’s leadoff hitter in the top of the sixth, hit a cue shot to the right of second base for an infield single, which brought Sam Ruta to the plate, and the senior third baseman hit a two-run home run that hit the scoreboard in right field to cut the score to 3-2.
Another infield hit, this one by Ethan Ellis, put a runner on second base in the top of the seventh, which forced Finately out of the game and Tech brought in freshman Riley Stanford.
A sacrifice bunt advanced Ellis to second base, then Derek Berg walked. After a fly to center field, Ruta came to bat and popped the first ball he saw into the foul zone, where Tech first baseman Cam Jones was waiting for the squeeze play to get the final out.
Lehman (5-4) pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing just three runs, throwing 96 pitches (63 strikes), allowing six hits, walking three and striking out two.
The University of Georgia and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington were scheduled to play at 6 p.m. Saturday, with the winner advancing to a 6 p.m. game on Sunday and the loser to play in an elimination game against Tech at noon on Sunday.
“I told our guys before the game, ‘We’re backed up against the wall and it’s going to be a tough battle,'” Tech coach Danny Hall said. “You can’t back down because the wall is behind you, so you’ve got to move forward, and the guys did a great job of moving forward. Now we’ve got to carry the momentum into the game (Sunday) and play well again.”
