Three Takeaways From Georgia Tech's Sweep Of NC State Over The Weekend

Georgia Tech did not have a midweek contest and they were able to focus their efforts on NC State, another ranked ACC foe. The Yellow Jackets passed the test with flying colors, winning the first two games despite the offense not fully clicking and then they clinched the sweep behind a 10-0 win and strong play from behind the plate and on the mound.

So what were the biggest takeaways from the weekend?

1. Pitching was stellar

There was no panicking, but Georgia Tech had a rough stretch of games between the game three loss to Clemson, the 9-2 loss to Auburn, and the first two games of the series against Pitt, where the pitching was not very good. While just one series, it looks like things are back on track and Georgia Tech got a strong weekend from Tate McKee, Porter Buursema, and Jackson Blakely.

Blakely, making his third Sunday start of the season, was incredibly effective all day, pitching 7.0 innings with no runs allowed, four hits, one walk, and three strikeouts on 96 pitches. He becomes the first Tech pitcher to throw 7.0 scoreless innings in a start since Brady Jones threw a one-hit complete game shutout over 7.0 innings against Louisville last season

Tech pitching held No. 14 NC State to just five runs over the three-game series, the fewest runs allowed to a Top 25 ranked opponent since giving up five to No. 2 North Carolina back in 2006, also the last season the Yellow Jackets reached the College World Series. This was the third shutout of the season for the GT pitching staff, the most in a single season since 2022.

Georgia Tech has a chance to get Auburn back tomorrow night and will need to continue the strong pitching.

2. Offense remains among nation's best

While they only scored three runs in the first win and then six in the second, Georgia Tech's offense got back into form on Sunday. It was an especially good weekend for Drew Burress and Vahn Lackey.

Lackey went 2-for-3 at the plate as the designated hitter, launching his team-leading 10th home run of the season and driving in the opening run of the game on a productive out. Lackey has now hit as many home runs this season (10) as he did in his freshman and sophomore seasons combined.
He now stands at 36 RBI for the season, the most on the team. He continues to lead the Yellow Jackets offense in almost every offensive category this season: avg (.423), runs (36), home runs (10), RBI (36), slugging (.845), OBP (.541), and stolen bases (7-for-7).

Burress has scored 33 runs this season, the second most on the team behind Lackey, and 183 runs as a Yellow Jacket, bringing him two runs away from cracking into the Top 20 for runs scored in program history. He is now 13 runs away from tying the BBCOR era program record for career runs, currently held by Wade Bailey (196 runs - 2015-18).

3. Georgia Tech should be the ACC favorite still

The top of the ACC is crowded, with Florida State leading the way, but they have lost superstar Myles Bailey for the rest of the season. Virginia has been very good this season, but just lost a series to Boston College (who remains underrated) and North Carolina is a strong contender for the top spot in the conference.

But Georgia Tech looked the part this weekend and bounced back from their sloppiest stretch of play this season. Can they continue that this week against Auburn and then against Cal this weekend?