Baseball: The decision that wasn't
Fernando Gonzalez rewards his coach's faith with a game-winning grand slam for Bulldogs
Sometimes, the best decisions are the ones you don’t make.
Georgia head coach Scott Stricklin found that out on Thursday night. He went back and forth before ultimately deciding not to pinch hit for catcher Fernando Gonzalez with the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth inning.
The freshman rewarded his coach with a grand slam, spurring the Bulldogs (27-14, 10-9 SEC) to a 4-0 win over Auburn (17-21, 3-16) at Foley Field.
“One swing of the bat can change a baseball game,” Stricklin said. “That’s what’s so great about this game.”
Before Gonzalez’s big moment, Georgia had its issues at the plate. Through the first five innings, the Bulldogs went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
In each of the first three innings, Georgia left a runner on second. Twice, that came after a Bulldog doubled with one out.
The bottom of the sixth looked as if it would be more of the same. After a walk and a single to start the inning, left fielder Riley King struck out after fouling off a pair of bunt attempts.
“It looks like ‘Oh no, here we go again,’” Stricklin said.
Designated hitter Corey Collins strode to plate while Gonzalez went to the on-deck circle. Stricklin thought about sending out lefty Garrett Spikes to go against Auburn right-handed Mason Barnett, but then decided against it.
Collins worked a walk, loading the bases with one out. Once again, the prospect of sending Spikes to the plate in place of Gonzalez crossed Stricklin’s mind.
“Fernando leads our team in grounding into double plays,” Stricklin said. “He’s grounded into several double plays and he’s not a great runner. He’s a catcher. That was the thought, and Garrett Spikes is a fastball hitter and hits for a lot of power. That’s what I was going to do.”
However, Stricklin also weighed the benefits of Gonzalez’s defense behind the plate. He eventually decided to let his catcher swing away against the tough Tiger righty.
Gonzalez came up trying to stick to his usual approach of hitting the ball to the right-center field gap. He got his bat on the ball, sending a low, slicing missile down the right field line and over the wall for his first career grand slam.
“It’s good, especially when you’ve got (Ryan Webb) on the mound,” Gonzalez said. “When he’s doing a great job, you want to help him no matter how. You just want to put a couple runs on the board. I’m glad I was the one that did it.”
Gonzalez’s blast put Georgia on top 4-0, a mark that held up thanks to a two-hit performance from starting pitcher Webb and reliever Ben Harris.
In the dugout, Stricklin felt relief. Twice, he had almost “out-thought” himself. Instead, it was the call that he didn’t make that led his team to a win in game one of the series.