AUBURN, Ala. – Two four-run innings and 7.2 scoreless innings by the Georgia Tech baseball bullpen powered it past No. 15 Auburn, 9-3, at Plainsman Park on Tuesday night.
The Yellow Jackets (20-9) were out-hit on the day 11-9, but held the 15th-ranked Tigers (22-7) to just eight at-bats with runners in scoring position compared to GT’s 14 to keep them off the board.
Tech was led offensively by two multi-hit performances and three multi-RBI nights en route to its eighth midweek victory. Michael Guldberg returned to the lineup and immediately swung the bat well, finishing 2-for-4 with a two-RBI double to give him three on the night. Kyle McCann and Tristin English came through in clutch moments, collecting a combined four RBI overall.
Auburn finished with four multi-hit players with Matt Scheffler getting an RBI and Conor Davis hitting a double. The Tigers scored three runs in the second inning before behind held to zeroes the rest of the way.
The Jackets bullpen had a huge game. After three runs scored during Jake Brace’s first career start, freshman left-hander Luke Bartnicki came in and settled the game with 2.2 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out two. Jonathan Hughes (3-2) received the win after going 3.0 scoreless, issuing no walks while fanning four. Senior Keyton Gibson slammed the door shut with 2.0 hitless to finish, striking out three.
Auburn used four pitchers in relief with Kyle Gray (1-3) recording the loss while Will Morrison was the most effective, tossing 1.1 scoreless innings.
Georgia Tech will return home for a crucial ACC series between the other team tied atop the Coastal Division, No. 13 North Carolina, at Russ Chandler Stadium on April 6-8. First pitches are scheduled for 6 p.m., 4 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively, and will be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra.
Postgame Notes:
- The Yellow Jackets scored five runs with two outs on the board.
- Georgia Tech is now 8-2 in its last 10 games.
- The Jackets improved to a perfect 8-0 when having a big inning (defined as four or more runs).
- Tech now has three games this season with two big innings.
- Georgia Tech improved to a perfect 8-0 in midweek games.
- Colin Hall led off several innings and used two hits to light the fire.
Multimedia:
Head Coach Danny Hall Postgame Interview
Jonathan Hughes Postgame Interview
🔊 Jonathan Hughes talks about a huge night from the bullpen and the two big innings of offense in tonight's win pic.twitter.com/kM1f6PePB8
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) April 3, 2019
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