Zuckerman, Rogers power Tech to another big win, series sweep
Georgia Tech’s Ryan Zuckerman and Drew Rogers each had explosive offensive efforts on Sunday afternoon to lead the way in a 14-6 victory over Northwestern and complete the three-game weekend series sweep at Mac Nease Baseball Park at Russ Chandler Stadium.
The pair drove in a combined nine runs on six hits for Tech (11-1) with five of those being of the home run variety. The third baseman Zuckerman belted three homers to drive in four runs and score four times as well while the catcher Rogers was 3-for-5 with a pair of homers, five RBIs and three runs scored.
The Jackets actually fell behind early in the series finale with Northwestern (5-5) scored four runs in the top of the first to chase Georgia Tech starter Cooper Underwood. But Tech scored a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning to cut the deficit in half and then take the lead with a three-run fourth.
After the visiting Wildcats tied the game up with a run in the top of the fifth, Tech immediately answered to go back ahead with a run in the bottom half. The Jackets extended the advantage with a three-run seventh and put the game away altogether by plating five more in the eighth.
Along with Zuckerman and Rogers’ huge days, Carson Kerce added a pair of doubles and a run scored while Vahn Lackey and Will Baker each had a double and an RBI. Parker Brosius contributed a hit and an RBI as well, and Drew Burress had a hit, a stolen base, a run scored and two walks.
Justin Shadek (1-0) earned his first win as a Jacket as the Rutgers transfer was impressive out of the bullpen on Sunday by going four innings and allowing one run on three hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.
Underwood got the start and lasted just 1/3 of an inning while allowing four runs on three hits, and Caden Gaudette followed by pitching the next 2 2/3 innings and allowing no runs on one hit with three strikeouts.
Following Shadek’s outing, Tech used three more pitchers, including Caden Spivey, Brett Barfield and Kayden Campbell, as the trio combined to toss the final two innings and allow one run on three hits with one strikeout and two walks.
Up Next…
Georgia Tech will travel just up the road to Gwinnett Field (Formerly Coolray) on Tuesday for a midweek matchup vs. Georgia State starting at 6 p.m. to try to even things up against the Panthers after their 9-4 win at Tech this past Tuesday.
The Jackets will then open ACC play this coming weekend with a three-game series vs. Virginia Tech at Russ Chandler Stadium starting at 4 p.m. on Friday.
