The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets baseball team picked up a 9-2 win over the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers yesterday in their first game of the NCAA Tournament with Tate McKee on the mound, so the team now has the decision of who they want to come to the mound for game two today against the Murray State Racers. I think the Yellow Jackets should go with a pitcher that has steeped up in almost every big situation he has been thrown into this season: Brady Jacobs.
Jacobs has been a usual Saturday starter for the Yellow Jackets this season, and he tied with Tanner McKee for the most starts for the team in the regular season, so he has the experience on the mound, despite being a freshman.
Putting Jacobs on the mound can be something that works very well in the Yellow Jackets favor because if they do, Jacobs becomes available in a win-or-go-home situation if the Yellow Jackets make it that far in the Oxford region. So having him start early to use later would be preferable for the team.
A noted earlier, Jacobs is a freshman, so giving him his first start in the NCAA Tournament against the Racers will be something that is much more favorable than the Hilltoppers or the Ole Miss Rebels.
If Jacobs can get a good start, the Yellow Jackets could find themselves just one win away from the Super Regional round, and I think Jacobs gives the Yellow Jackets their best shot at getting through the Oxford regional.