BOSTON COLLEGE VS. GEORGIA TECH PREVIEW

NEWTON, Mass. (Interstat) — Georgia Tech, riding a two-game winning streak against Boston College and holding the nation’s best record, visits Eddie Pellagrini Diamond at John Shea Field on Saturday for an Atlantic Coast Conference afternoon matchup.

The Yellow Jackets (42-9) have outscored the Eagles 23-1 in the first two games of this series, including a 14-1 rout Friday and a 9-0 shutout Thursday. Georgia Tech’s lineup has produced double-digit runs in six of its past nine games.

Boston College (36-19) has lost three straight and five of its last seven after opening the season with a 14-3 stretch.

Georgia Tech right-hander Carson Ballard is expected to start Saturday. The junior has pitched five consecutive winning decisions, including Friday’s victory over Boston College (6 innings, 0 hits, 1 earned run, 4 strikeouts). Over his past five outings, Ballard has a 1.78 ERA while averaging nearly five innings per start. He leads the Yellow Jackets in wins.

Boston College will counter with right-hander Tyler Mudd. The sophomore took the loss Friday (4.2 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 5 K). Mudd has shown inconsistency – he tossed four scoreless innings against Clemson on May 3 but allowed three earned runs in two innings against NJIT on May 10.

Saturday’s forecast calls for 56 degrees and cloudy skies.

Georgia Tech’s Carson Kerce (3-for-6, home run, two RBIs on Friday) and Ryan Zuckerman (2-for-5, four RBIs) have been key contributors in the series. For Boston College, Nick Wang homered Friday and John Kwiatkowski pitched a scoreless inning.

The Yellow Jackets have won 11 of their past 13 games, including a 14-4 win over Georgia on April 21 and a series sweep of Duke. Boston College, meanwhile, has lost four of its last six home games.

Interstat’s game simulator projects an 8-5 Georgia Tech victory, and the ELO system gives the Yellow Jackets a 66.2 percent probability of winning.

First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.