Heading into the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets weekend series finale against the Virginia Cavaliers, pitcher Jaylen Paden knew that he would need to put up a good performance if there was any chance of the Yellow Jackets breaking their seven game losing streak, and the Yellow Jackets lineup has been struggling to get any production going.
Paden would start the game off on the wrong foot, as the first batter of the game would get a free base after an interference call, and Cavaliers shortstop Eric Becker would hit his seventh home run of the season to give the Cavaliers a 2-0 lead.
That home run by Becker would be the only hit that Paden would give up until the fifth inning.
Paden would then retire nine straight batters, striking out three of them.
The streak of retiring nine batters would end in the fifth, when the Cavaliers reeled off consecutive hits to put runners on the corners with no outs yet in the inning. Paden would get a strikeout, but a wild pitch in the next at bat would bring home a run for the Cavaliers. Paden would record another out on a flyout, but it was deep enough to bring in another run, putting the Cavaliers up 4-1.
That would be all for Paden in the game, as Caden Spivey would come into the game in relief support, and Paden would end the game with five innings pitched, four strikeouts, three earned runs, and only walking one batter.