Miami ran into one of the nation’s hottest lineups Saturday, and Georgia Tech made the Hurricanes pay for every mistake.
Top-seeded Georgia Tech beat No. 5 seed Miami 9-3 in the ACC tournament semifinals at Truist Field, using three two-run homers and three Hurricanes errors to take control early and cruise into Sunday’s championship game. The loss ended Miami’s tournament run after wins over Stanford and Boston College earlier in the week.
Georgia Tech grabbed the lead early when Vahn Lackey launched a first-inning two-run homer. Ryan Zuckerman took over the middle innings, blasting two-run shots in the third and fourth to stretch the Yellow Jackets’ lead to six. Zuckerman finished 4-for-5 with the two homers, a double, four RBI and two runs scored.
Miami starter AJ Ciscar never settled in against Georgia Tech’s power-heavy order. Ciscar took the loss after allowing six runs, five earned, over 3 2/3 innings. Georgia Tech starter Jackson Blakely earned the win after holding the Hurricanes to two runs on seven hits across 5 2/3 innings.
The Hurricanes finally broke through in the sixth. Freshman Alonzo Alvarez scored when Vance Sheahan ripped an RBI double down the left-field line, and Dylan Dubovik later came home on a wild pitch to trim the deficit to 7-2. Miami added its final run in the eighth when Gabriel Milano lifted a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Alex Sosa.
The Hurricanes collected nine hits, only two fewer than Georgia Tech, but they managed just three runs and produced only one extra-base hit. Georgia Tech paired its 11 hits with power swings, free bases and cleaner defense, which turned the semifinal into a chase game before Miami’s offense found traction.
The result hurts, but it should not erase what Miami accomplished in Charlotte. The Hurricanes entered the week needing to reinforce their NCAA tournament résumé and did that with an 11-2 win over Stanford and an 8-2 win over Boston College before running into a Georgia Tech club pushing for a national seed.
Miami now shifts from ACC title hopes to NCAA tournament positioning. The Hurricanes will learn their regional destination during the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament Selection Show at noon ET Monday.
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