April 27, 2018
.@SportsCenter #SCTop10 play again from Mr. Top-10 Nick Wilhite in center field versus the Demon Deacons on Friday night!!! #TogetherWeSwarm#beentheredonethat pic.twitter.com/GOk60Pn3O3
— GeorgiaTech Baseball (@GTBaseball) April 28, 2018
THE FLATS – The Yellow Jackets rode the right arm of starting pitcher Xzavion Curry to a complete-game, two-hit shutout on Friday night, as Georgia Tech defeated Wake Forest 7-0 in ACC play at Russ Chandler Stadium.
The win snaps a four-game losing streak overall for the Jackets and a three-game skid to the Demon Deacons. Tech improves to 23-20 overall and 10-12 in the ACC, while Wake Forest falls to 19-24 overall and 10-12 league play with the loss.
Curry (7-2) matched his career high with 12 strikeouts in the sophomore’s first complete-game win as a Yellow Jacket. The Atlanta native held Wake Forest to just two hits, both of which came in the second inning, and two walks, as he closed the game out with seven-hitless innings.
Curry’s complete-game shutout is the first by a Tech starting pitcher since Josh Heddinger went the distance for a two-hit shutout of the nation’s No. 2 overall seed Vanderbilt, 5-0, in the 2013 Nashville Regional.
Friday night’s victory is the fourth shutout of the season for the Jackets, topping last year’s mark of three. The shutout was also the first against an ACC opponent since a 6-0 win over Boston College at the 2016 ACC Baseball Championship on May 24, 2016, but the first in regular season conference play since a 6-0 win over North Carolina on the road on March 26, 2016.
The complete game was the second of the season for the Jackets, as Saturday starter Connor Thomas went the distance in a 2-1 complete-game win over then-No. 6 Florida State on April 7.
The win came against arguably one of the best pitchers in the ACC in Griffin Roberts (4-4) who picked up the loss after allowing seven runs on seven hits, four walks and nine strikeouts in 7.1 innings. The Wake Forest ace was matching Curry inning-for-inning until a six-run eighth allowed the Jackets to pull away for the win.
Freshman Colin Hall (3-for-4, 2B, RBI, run) led the Jackets at the plate with three base hits, while sophomores Austin Wilhite (2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBIs, run) and Chase Murray (1-for-3, 2 RBIs, BB) each drove in two RBIs in the win.
Senior Wade Bailey (1-for-4, run) pushed his hitting streak to 11-straight games, while Luke Waddell (1-for-4, RBI) and Nick Wilhite (1-for-3, run) were big in the bottom half of the lineup on Friday night for the home team.
With both pitchers dominating from the opening pitch and hits few and far between, the Yellow Jackets finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom half of the fifth inning on an Austin Wilhite double followed by an RBI single up the middle by Colin Hall to take a 1-0 lead into the sixth.
Curry, who was on cruise control for most of the game, got some defensive help in the top of the seventh inning as Nick Wilhite went crashing into the outfield wall in center field after making a leaping catch to rob Wake Forest’s Shane Muntz of an extra-base hit.
The Jackets then went to bat literally in the bottom of the eighth for their starter, plating six runs on six hits to blow the game open.
Colin Hall led off the eighth with a single to left center field, his third hit of the game, while Nick Wilhite and Bailey followed with back-to-back bunt singles to load the bases with no outs.
After Joey Bart hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Colin Hall from third and put the Jackets on top 2-0, Kyle McCann drew a walk to reload the bases for Murray.
The ACC’s leading hitter came through with a single through the right side of the infield to score both Nick Wilhite and Bailey to give the White and Gold a 4-0 lead with no outs in the eighth.
The Jackets then got a free pass to Tristin English, before an infield RBI single by Waddell and a two-run single through the left side of the infield by Austin Wilhite plated three more runs and pushed Tech’s lead out to 7-0 with one inning to play.
Curry, who had not allowed a hit since the second inning, sent the Demon Deacons down in order 1-2-3 in the ninth to earn the shutout.
Georgia Tech (23-20, 10-12 ACC) and Wake Forest (19-24, 10-12 ACC) will play game two of the three-game ACC series tomorrow at 4 p.m.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech baseball team, follow us on Twitter (@GTBaseball) , Facebook , Instagram (@gt_baseball ) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com .
Have a day Zay! Xzavion Curry strikes out 12 in a 7-0 complete-game shutout win over Wake Forest on Friday night! Curry didn’t allow a hit over the final seven innings in the win. #TogetherWeSwarm pic.twitter.com/b8WGzeWfsn
— GeorgiaTech Baseball (@GTBaseball) April 28, 2018
