Yellow Jacked Up
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Georgia Tech Baseball: Jackets take two of three from Northwestern

By Dylan Callaghan-Croley

4 Mar 1998: A general view of a baseball laying in a glove on the grass during an Arizona Diamondbacks spring training game against the Chicago Cubs at Hohkam Stadium in Mesa, Arizona. The Diamondbacks defeated the Cubs 9-8.
4 Mar 1998: A general view of a baseball laying in a glove on the grass during an Arizona Diamondbacks spring training game against the Chicago Cubs at Hohkam Stadium in Mesa, Arizona. The Diamondbacks defeated the Cubs 9-8. /
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The Georgia Tech baseball team took two games against Northwestern this weekend behind a few big efforts.

The Georgia Tech baseball team had themselves a quality weekend against Northwestern. The Jackets dominated the first two games of the weekend series before dropping their final game on Saturday night. Either way, it was a great weekend for the Jackets as their bats have seemed to wake up from their early-season slumps.

Game 1: 12-1 win on Friday

The Jackets started the series off with a huge win over the Wildcats as they got a total team effort from everyone on the field. Xzavion Curry got the start for the Jackets and picked up his second victory of the season as he pitched five shutout innings. He did allow two hits and two walks but it was another strong effort out of the junior. That being said, Curry needs to work on keeping his pitch count low, despite pitching just five innings, he threw 93 pitches. The Jackets bullpen pitched well in relief, allowing just one run on three hits and two walks.

Offensively, the bats were alive and well. The Jackets put together 16 hits and four walks on the evening as they put up 12 runs against a strong Northwestern pitching staff. Kyle McCann, however, was the star of the show on Friday night, going 3-for-5 at the plate with 7 RBI. Yes, 7 RBI, a career high for the junior catcher. McCann had two home runs on the evening, his fourth and fifth of the season. The other five runs on Friday night came from five different Yellow Jackets.

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Game 2: 9-2 win on Saturday

Game two of the weekend pitted Connor Thomas against fellow lefthander Ryan Bader. For the second straight game, the Jackets would chase Northwestern’s starter before the fourth inning as Bader lasted just 3.1 innings. Connor Thomas pitched great for the Yellow Jackets, allowing two runs through seven innings while striking out six. He dropped his season ERA to 3.46 after a rough last outing against UCLA.

Offensively, Kyle McCann blasted his sixth home run of the season and third in two games but Austin Wilhite and Luke Waddell provided most of the damage. Both provided three RBIs in the Jackets victory. Combined, the two infielders reached base seven times in the first game on Saturday.

Game 3: 5-1 loss on Saturday

Game three for the Yellow Jackets featured a late collapse and spoiled a fantastic start by Brant Hurter. Hurter in this game was nothing short of magnificent as he mowed the Wildcats bats down for seven innings while racking up 13 strikeouts. All his pitches were moving and he kept the Wildcats bats guessing. When looking at his last two starts, it’s starting to appear the Jackets have something special in Hurter. Hopefully, he could continue the success going forward. That being said, Keyton Gibson came in for relief for Hurter and struggled, allowing there runs while facing just three hitters. Tristin English relieved Gibson of his duties but couldn’t stop the bleeding, allowing two more runs while just getting a single out. Offensively, the bats went silent in the final game of the series, totaling just six hits for the evening.

Overall, the Jackets weekend was just a few innings away from being phenomenal but that’s not always how the ball rolls. The Jackets would’ve enjoyed a sweep but they had two dominating offensive performances and got a phenomenal pitching performance in the other. With the two wins, the Jackets improved their record to 7-4 on the season. They’ll have a chance to move their record to 9-4 this week with a home-and-home series against Kennesaw State.