On Tuesday, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets would go on the road for the first time this season, as they faced off against the Georgia Southern Eagles, and while the team was looking forward to the matchup, one player would be facing his former team: Yellow Jackets pitcher Jaylen Paden.
Paden was a part of the Eagles pitching rotation for his first three years of eligibility, where he made a total of 32 appearances for the team, including 21 starts, 14 of which came on the 2021 season.
Paden would make his second appearance of the season against his former team, getting the call to the mound in the ninth inning to close out the game for the Yellow Jackets, who had built up a 5-3 lead.
Paden had already made his case to be the closer that the Yellow Jackets could rely on this season, putting on a masterful performance for the team in their season-opening 3-2 win over the Old Dominion Monarchs, and getting sent in to close out the game against the Eagles all but confirmed that he got the job as the team’s closer.
Paden would go on to put on another strong performance against his former team, as he would allow one hit and walk a batter, but with runners on first and second and needing two outs, Paden would strike out the final two Eagles batters to secure the Yellow Jackets 5-3 win over his former team and a 4-0 start for the Yellow Jackets.