On a cold, dreary Saturday morning in Charlotte, North Carolina, the No.1-seeded Georgia Tech bats were too much for Miami’s pitching staff to handle as the Hurricanes fell to the Yellow Jackets, 9-3.
The nation’s most explosive offense, Georgia Tech, got off to a hot start, scoring two runs in the first inning.
Miami starting pitcher AJ Ciscar hung a breaking ball to Vahn Lackey, who crushed the 1-2 pitch over the left field wall for a two-run home run.
Ciscar, looking to match the quality outings of Rob Evans and Lazaro Collera earlier in the tournament, only lasted 3.2 innings, allowing six runs on seven hits while striking out three batters. Despite the rough outing, the freshman limited further damage by escaping a bases-loaded jam in the third inning.
Baseball’s continued to fly, a common occurrence throughout the ACC tournament.
In the top of third, Georgia Tech’s Ryan Zuckerman sent the first pitch 426 feet over the center field wall for a two-run home run to extend the lead to 4-0.
An inning later, Zukerman hit another two-run blast to right center field that ultimately ended Ciscar’s outing.
While the Yellow Jackets continued to mash, Miami could not plate any runs through the first five innings of the game against Georgia Tech starting pitcher Jackson Blakely.
Blakely pitched 5.2 innings, struck out three, allowing two runs on seven hits.
This game between Miami and Georgia Tech marked its first matchup of the season as they did not see each other in the regular season.
The last time they played was during the 2025 season where Miami swept Georgia Tech at Mark Light Field in a three-game weekend series.
Shortstop Vance Sheahan opened up the scoring for Miami as he doubled down the left field to score Alonzo Alvarez from second base. Dylan Dubovik went on to score on a wild pitch.
It was the freshmen coming together again to put Miami in position to score in the sixth as Alavarez walked and Dubovik singled.
Alvarez had a great day at the plate, going 3-for-3 showing why he belonged on the ACC All-Freshman team.
Miami used four relief pitchers in the loss. Jack Durso, Ryan Bilka, Erick Peralta, and Frank Menendez each threw at least one inning.
The long ball really carried the Yellow Jackets to victory as they barely out-hit the Hurricanes, 11-to-9, but timely homers extended their lead significantly.
Georgia Tech’s situational hitting really helped them cruise past the Hurricanes. They hit 7-for-15 with two outs while Miami was a mere 1-for-10.
The Hurricanes defense did not help, as there were three errors committed.
Miami will return to Coral Gables to await its postseason destination for the NCAA Regionals. The NCAA Division I Baseball Selection Show is set for Monday, May 25 at noon and will air on ESPN2.