With a scouting report that advises batters to be wary of the fastball, J.B. Bukauskas turned to a different pitch to out No. 25 Georgia Tech’s batters — his slider.
And the adjustment paid off.
While No. 7 North Carolina (19-4, 6-3 ACC) dropped two games to the Yellow Jackets (18-5, 5-4 ACC) for its first series loss of the season, the Tar Heels shined behind Bukauskas on Friday. The sophomore pitcher went eight innings, tying his career high of 11 strikeouts and retiring 17 consecutive batters at one point to lead UNC to an 8-0 victory.
“That’s the best he’s thrown his slider (for extended innings),” Coach Mike Fox said.
Bukauskas was the only starting pitcher who found success against the Yellow Jackets this weekend.
Both junior Zac Gallen and sophomore Jason Morgan were credited with a loss as they struggled to contain Georgia Tech on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
“They just battle out there,” Gallen said. “There’s no easy outs. I had trouble putting guys away.”
Save a three-run fifth inning, Gallen held the Yellow Jackets scoreless in Thursday’s 3-2 loss. But he was unable to come up with 1-2-3 innings early on, driving up his pitch count and keeping him from going deeper into the game.
“They were patient,” said Gallen, who ended his outing after five innings. “They got what they were looking for. Put good swings on the bat and hits just kind of fell in.”