Georgia Tech Baseball: Pitching preview for three-game set against Louisville

The Georgia Tech baseball team will look for their first ACC series victory as they take on the #2 Louisville Cardinals.

If the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are going to win their first ACC series victory, it’s going to be tough. The nation’s second-best team, the Louisville Cardinals come to Atlanta boasting a 28-4 (12-3) record.

Game Notes:

Georgia Tech game notes

Louisville game notes

Thursday: 

First Pitch: 6 p.m. ET

TV: ACC Digital

Radio: WREK 91.1 FM

Georgia Tech probable starter: RHP Ben Schniederjans (1-2, 5.31 ERA)

Junior Ben Schniederjans will take the mound on Thursday for the Yellow Jackets. For the Powder Springs native, it was a strong start before his last start against Clemson. After allowing six runs over his first eight appearances, the junior left-hander allowed six earned runs against Clemson in just one inning. If Schniederjans can get back into his groove on Thursday night and provide a quality start, the Jackets chance of pulling out a victory will be astronomically higher.

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Louisville probable starter: LHP Brendan McKay (4-2, 1.40 ERA)

If the Yellow Jackets are going to have any success on Thursday, they’re going to have to go get through one of the best pitchers in college baseball. McCkay is currently considered a top five pick in this year’s upcoming MLB Draft.

So far this season, McKay has been nothing short of dominant amassing a 1.40 ERA over 45 innings of work. Over those 45 innings, McKay has also amassed a stunning 68 strikeouts to just 10 walks.

The front runner for the Golden Spikes award, McKay will also be a pain on the base paths for the Jackets in the series on Friday and Saturday. In 100 at-bats this season, McKay has collected a total of 40 hits including 15 extra base hits.

Friday:

First Pitch: 6 p.m. ET

TV: ACC Digital

Radio: WREK 91.1 FM

Georgia Tech probable starter: RHP Xzavion Curry (3-3, 5.49 ERA)

After three strong starts to start the season, it’s been a tough last few weeks for Xzaion Curry. The freshman righthander has struggled with keep hitters off base allowing eight or more hits in three of his last four starts. Going up against a potent lineup on Friday evening will be no easy task for Curry, a strong start could help the freshman regain some confidence and help the Jackets try to finish the season off strong.

Louisville probable starter: RHP Kade McClure (3-1, 3.30 ERA)

Friday night will present the Yellow Jackets with their best chance for offensive success. With that being said, McClure is a strong pitcher in his own right. So far this season, McClure has been up and down. In his first start of the season, he got hit around by Maryland before having four strong starts against Omaha, Eastern Michigan, Pittsburgh, and Boston College. Since then, McClure has allowed 10 runs over his last 12 innings of work. With the potential for struggles on Thursday evening, a strong offensive performance on Friday will be pivotal for the Yellow Jackets.

Saturday:

First Pitch: 1 p.m. ET

TV: ACC Digital

Radio: WREK 91.1 FM

Georgia Tech probable starter: LHP Jay Shadday (2-2, 3.10 ERA)

While Curry has struggled of recent for the Jackets, Shadday has been impressive over the course of the entire season. After having a strong first half of the season coming out of the bullpen, allowing just one run over seven appearances, Shadday has started in each of his last four appearances. Shadday’s best performance of the season arguably came two weeks ago against Clemson when he allowed just one run over six innings, helping the Jackets salvage a game in this season.

Louisville probable starter: LHP Nick Bennett (3-0, 1.77 ERA)

The freshman left-hander for Louisville this year has been flat out dominant. Saturday afternoon’s game will mark his seventh start of the season and his fourth ACC start. In 35.2 innings of work, this season Bennett has struck out 32 batters while walking just eight.