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Georgia Tech Baseball: Jackets and Tar Heels set for showdown in Atlanta

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 is set for a showdown against the North Carolina Tar Heels.

The Georgia Tech and North Carolina baseball teams are set for a highly important matchup this weekend that will decide who is leading the ACC Coastal at the end of the weekend.

Both teams enter the three-game series with 7-5 records in conference play and similar overall records. The Tar Heels are 22-7 on the season while the Jackets sit at 20-9. Last season,  the Jackets were swept out of Chapel Hill by the Tar Heels in a series that was completely dominated by the Tar Heels.

Despite the similar records, the Tar Heels are ranked No.13/No.16 in the country while the Jackets are on the outside looking in despite multiple upset victories. The Jackets are coming off another upset heading into this weekend as they took down a top-25 ranked Auburn Tigers team on Tuesday night.

Additionally, the Jackets are ranked higher in the RPI rankings heading into this weekend at No.17 while North Carolina sits at No.21.

On Friday, the Jackets are expected to send junior right-hander Xzavion Curry to the mound, looking for his fourth win of the season. He enters the weekend at 3-0 with an ERA of 3.89 ERA. Last week, he had one of his rougher starts of the season but he’ll need to bounce back in a big way against the Tar Heels.

The Tar Heels are a dangerous offensive team hitting .264 as a team and reach base at a strong .398 clip. Power wise, the Tar Heels are similar to the  Jackets, hitting a combined 29 home runs, one more than the Jackets 28 home runs. That being said, they only have one player hitting above .300 on the season, that player is junior infielder Ike Freeman who’s hitting .347 on the season with 4 home runs and 25 RBI.

Overall, the Tar Heels are a team that has quality power throughout the lineup. If Curry or any of the Jackets pitchers are not careful this weekend, the Tar Heels will make them pay for their mistakes.

The Tar Heels pitching staff has been pretty good so far this season, pitching their way to a team ERA of 3.77. As a team, they do pretty well at limiting the long ball, giving up just 15 home runs over 974 at-bats. That’s one home run every 64 at-bats, which equates to one home run every two games.

The Tar Heels are set to roll out starting pitchers Tyler Braum (5-2, 3.63 ERA) and Austin Bergner (3-0, 3.62 ERA) in the first two games of the series while they haven’t announced their game three starter according to Georgia Tech’s game notes.  The Jackets, of course, will send Xzavion Curry, Connor Thomas, and Brant Hurter to the mound in each of the three games respectively.

First pitch is currently scheduled for 6:00 pm on Friday from Russ Chandler Stadium.