Updated: Georgia Southern's Fisher flirts with no-hitter in win; Notre Dame downs Eagles

STATESBORO — To say left-hander Ty Fisher wasn't put in the best position for success could be an understatement. But the Georgia Southern starting pitcher is an understated kind of guy.

When the Eagles' opener against UNC Greensboro in the Statesboro Regional was postponed by inclement weather Friday and pushed to Saturday morning, Fisher did not get a good night's rest.

"I was kind of tired," Fisher said Saturday. "I didn't get a lot of sleep. I was yawning before I started throwing."

It didn't seem to matter. He struck out the side in the first inning — something he hadn't done all season — and took a perfect game into the sixth inning and a no-hitter into the seventh.

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"After the first inning, I thought I could do something pretty cool," said Fisher, a sophomore transfer from Tennessee Tech who hails from Tunnell Hill, Georgia. "It worked out."

Fisher (6-2) finished with a complete-game four-hitter as the Eagles shut out the Spartans 8-0 before a home crowd of 2,182 at J.I. Clements Stadium.

Top seed Georgia Southern advanced in the winners' bracket against second seed Notre Dame on Saturday night in the double-elimination tournament — the first NCAA regional ever hosted by Georgia Southern and its first regional since 2014.

Notre Dame had defeated third seed Texas Tech 3-2 on Friday night. Texas Tech (38-20) eliminated UNCG (34-30) 2-0 on Saturday afternoon.

Notre Dame (37-14) trailed 1-0 to Georgia Southern (41-19) on Noah Ledford's mighty blast in the third inning for his 17th home run this season. The designated hitter would finish 3-for-4 with two runs scored, one RBI and the homer.

But the Fighting Irish had more firepower — both at the plate with homers from Jack Zyska, Jack Brannigan and Zack Prajzner, and on the mound. Notre Dame, the designated home team, broke a 4-4 tie with two runs in the bottom of the seventh on a one-out walk, a single, a two-out infield single and two bases-loaded hit batters.

The Eagles threatened in the top of the eighth with leadoff singles for runners at first and third with no outs, but freshman left-handed reliever Jack Findlay struck out two batters and coaxed a groundout. Findlay struck out two more in a scoreless ninth to end the game before a GS single-game record crowd of 3,533 at J.I. Clements Stadium, breaking the mark of 3,435 for a game between Georgia Southern and UGA in 2017.

Georgia Southern and Texas Tech are scheduled for an elimination game at 2 p.m. Sunday, with the winner facing unbeaten Notre Dame at 7 p.m. Sunday. The losers' bracket team would have to top the Irish for force another meeting at 6 p.m. Monday for the regional championship.

Early Saturday Eagles highlight

Fisher stayed ahead in the count, striking out six and walking one in throwing 110 pitches against 31 batters and saving the Eagles' bullpen for use (if needed) later Saturday.

"I was just throwing strikes," he said. "I was able to locate both sides of the plate. The fastball, curveball felt really nice. The changeup wasn't there at first but started to come along, the second, third time in the order. It really helped."

Fisher is not one to gush — that was left to his coach, teammate and the opposing coach, Billy Godwin of UNCG in the postgame press conference.

"Their pitcher I thought was Tom Glavine there," said Godwin, referencing the former Atlanta Braves ace now in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Godwin praised the entire Eagles team for its offense (12 hits) and defense (no errors and spectular plays by shortstop Austin Thompson and left fielder Parker Biederer to keep the perfect game alive), and Fisher for effectively mixing his pitches and his command of the strike zone.

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GS right fielder Christian Avant, who drove in three runs against the Spartans, said Fisher's workmanlike pace is "awesome" for his defense.

"I can't say enough about what he does on the mound," said Avant, a fifth-year player. "He's one of my favorite pitchers to play behind because I know he's going to be in the zone. I'm ready for the ball at all times. Walks are limited. Hit by pitches are limited. So I know the ball is coming. It's easy to stay on my toes."

Fisher could only react as quickly as possible to a line drive to the mound during a Feb. 25 home game against UCF. The ball hit him in the face, breaking two bones in his nose and the orbital bone around one eye, as well as 15 to 20 stitches in his lip, he said. The scar tissue appears to be only physical from the incident.

"I told myself I wouldn't think about that moment until after the season is over," Fisher said Saturday. "I kind of replay it in my head every now and again to remind me why I'm here and keep being strong and battling with my team because the support I got when I was hurt was awesome. The least I can do is give my all every game."

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Fisher missed about three weeks of the season and came back strong.

"That was scary for all of us, obviously, when that happened," GS head coach Rodney Hennon said. "He's a battler and I think the way he handled that situation shows that."

Fisher, who lowered his ERA to 2.34 with the shutout Saturday, was all UNCG could handle and more. The Spartans boasted of the first seven batters in the lineup hitting between .309 and .380 and ranked 10th in the nation with a .311 team batting average.

"He's a competitor every time he takes the ball," Hennon said. "Today he had really good stuff. The thing I appreciate about Ty, and I think it's the mark of an outstanding pitcher, is even on those days he doesn't have his good stuff, he battles, he competes for you and he gives you a chance to win. And that's what you're looking for in a starter.

"These guys that are out there behind him know that. They believe in him. He got us off to a great start this weekend."

Notes

Fisher's complete game was the first for the Eagles since May 24, 2018, when Seth Shuman threw a complete game against UT-Arlington. ... This was also the first postseason shutout for the Eagles since the 2014 Tallahassee Regional, where GS defeated host Florida State 7-0.

Nathan Dominitz is the Sports Content Editor of the Savannah Morning News and savannahnow.com. Email him at ndominitz@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @NathanDominitz

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Georgia Southern baseball beats UNC Greensboro in NCAA regional