Georgia Tech Baseball: Jackets top Arkansas-Pine Bluff for fifth-straight win

Tech faced the Golden Lions for the first time ever. The visitors came in at 2-1, having had five straight games lost to weather. They should be rested, and sent Peyton Burkes, a redshirt junior LHP against Tech’s Connor Thomas, who pitched an outstanding game in Statesboro last Tuesday.

The Jackets used some fine pitching and timely hitting in the game to get their fifth relatively easy victory in a row and go to 6-1.

In the top of the 1st, Connor Thomas made a good defensive play that resulted in saving a run. With one out, he fielded a high chopper and found nobody covering first base. So he beat the batter to the base. When the next batter doubled down the 3rd base line, it is likely a run would have scored. Tech got two in their half of the 1st on RBI singles by English and Austin Wilhite.

In the Tech half of the 2nd, A-PB went to their bullpen with two outs and runners on 2nd and 3rd. Tyrus Lopez, a senior RHP came in and got Bart for out three. Meanwhile, Thomas was pitching very efficiently for Tech. He got some more run support in the Tech 4th when Waddell doubled and scored on an error by the shortstop. Thomas Sanchez, a junior LHP, came in with runners on the corners. Murray immediately hit a bloop single to short center field that scored Guldberg. Sanchez got Bart and English to keep it 4-0 after four.

Redshirt junior RHP Tim Reynolds came in with two outs and two on in the Tech 5th after Sanchez walked a couple of batters. He got Guldberg to pop out. Thomas’ outing was done after five innings and only 51 pitches, with Tristan English coming in to pitch. Baron Radcliff and Nick Wilhite also came in to play outfield in the 6th. English gave up one hit in the 6th and struck out the side in order in the 7th, preserving the 4-0 lead. Tristen then led off the bottom of the inning with a single and scored on Kyle McCann’s 4th homerun in two games to make it 6-0. Austin Wilhite followed with a triple deep of the right center wall and scored on Baron Radcliff’s double to right. Redshirt sophomore RHP Antoine Luster relieved Reynolds. Luster walked the bases loaded but got out of trouble by coaxing pinch hitter Cold Neuber into a 6-4-3 DP to keep it 7-0.

Micah Carpenter pitched the 8th and Neuber stayed in the outfield. Micah got through the batters in order. In Tech’s 8th, Cameron Turley got a two out RBI single to drive in McCann, who had tripled. It went to the 9th with the Jackets leading 8-0. Oscar Serratos came into to close it out and Turley stayed in to catch. It was gratifying to see Thomas pitching efficiently, English very well with 90+ velocity, and Carpenter and Serratos close it out. No walks, no errors, and only three runs make for a great pitching day. The hot hitting by McCann, English, Wilhite, Waddell, etc. continued. Thomas got the win, Burks the loss. Thomas may very well move to a weekend role as ACC play approaches. A tougher opponent in UIC comes in this weekend.