BLACKSBURG, Va. โ Drew Burress became the fastest Yellow Jacket in program history to reach 30 career home runs but Georgia Tech baseball (12-3, 1-1 ACC) fell, 8-5 to Virginia Tech (11-4, 1-1 ACC) on Saturday afternoon at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park in Blacksburg, Va.
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฃ@drew_burress08 obliterates one for his 30th career HR!
Burress becomes the fastest Yellow Jacket to 30 HRs in program history – getting it done in 73 games ๐
ACCNX – https://t.co/kgHNrjWIKW#StingEm๐ x #WreckHavoc pic.twitter.com/ydTNshQnMa
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) March 8, 2025
Burress hit his 5th home run of the season and 30th of his career in the third inning. He reached 30 home runs in just 73 games played, beating the previous record by a full 20 games (Kevin Parada โ 93 games). His homer tied the game, 3-3, in the top of the third but Virginia Tech would respond with a home run of its own in the bottom of the inning, eventually taking an 8-3 lead. Junior shortstop Kyle Lodise recorded his 5th homer of the year in the 7th to make it a three-score game, but the Jackets couldnโt muster any more runs and suffer their first loss of the 2025 ACC season.
QUICK HITS: THE TEAM
- Tech falls to 12-3 on the year (.800 winning %). The Jackets have won at least 80 percent of their first 15 games in three of the last four seasons
- The Georgia Tech bullpen threw 0.2 innings before allowing a run today, bringing the scoreless streak to an end at 22.0 straight innings over the last six games.
- The Yellow Jackets lead the all-time series with Virginia Tech, 45-25, following todayโs result.
QUICK HITS: THE BATS
- Sophomore Drew Burress became the fastest Yellow Jacket ever to reach 30 career home runs after he crushed a 1-1 pitch 405 feet over the wall in left field. It took Burress only 73 games to hit 30 homers in White & Gold, beating the previous record (Kevin Parada โ 93) by an impressive 20 games.
- It was his fifth home run of the season, tying him for the most on the team, alongside freshman Alex Hernandez and junior Kyle Lodise.
- The two-run shot from Burress brings his season RBI total to 18 and his career number to an impressive 85 (1.16 RBI per game).
- Burress extended his career-long on-base streak to 33 games.
- Junior shortstop Kyle Lodise connected for his 5th home run of the season in the 7th inning, a two-run shot to score Tyler Neises who had walked the at-bat prior. Lodise has scored at least one run in 12 straight games.
- The Brunswick, Ga. native has reached base in a career-best 27 straight games dating back to his time at Augusta University and is in the midst of a 10-game hitting streak.
๐๐๐ ๐๐@KyleLodise launches his 5th HR of the season to cut the lead to three
ACCNX – https://t.co/kgHNrjXgAu#StingEm๐ x #WreckHavoc pic.twitter.com/7A62UZ3tWZ
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) March 8, 2025
- Both Lodise and Burress scored twice today, they have each scored multiple runs in six of the 15 games played this season (40 % of games).
- Sophomore Vahn Lackey extended his hitting streak to a career-best seven games and on-base streak to 20-games dating back to last season.
- Freshman Alex Hernandez drove in his team-leading 20th RBI of the season with a triple in the first inning.
- He has reached base safely in all 15 games he has played at the college level and is currently enjoying a seven-game hitting streak dating back to Feb. 26.
- Sophomore Kent Schmidt saw his RBI streak come to an end at 10 consecutive games. He did hit a double, his seventh of the year, placing him one behind Carson Kerce for the team lead.
- He extends his career-best on-base streak to 23 games with his performance today.
- Sophomore Tyler Neises entered the game as a pinch-hitter and stayed in at left field, going 1-for-1 with a double and a walk while scoring a run. He has now reached base safely in a career-best eight games in a row.
QUICK HITS: THE ARMS
- Junior RHP Brady Jones made his fourth-straight Saturday start, striking out two over 2.0 innings.
- Junior LHP Kayden Campbell pitched 1.1 scoreless innings in relief, striking out one and allowing only one hit. It was his second straight appearance without allowing a run. He has only allowed one run over 4.0 innings of work this season.
- R-Soph. RHP Caden Gaudette made his team-leading seventh appearance out of the bullpen, pitching the final 1.2 innings without surrendering a run.
- Gaudette has now thrown 4.2 consecutive scoreless innings and brings his season ERA below 3.00 with todayโs effort (2.89).
- The Alpharetta native joins Swygert and Mason Patel as the only three Tech pitchers out of the bullpen to throw over 9.0 innings this season.
UP NEXTยญยญ
The Jackets will play the rubber match of the series against Virginia Tech tomorrow at 1 p.m. from Blacksburg., Va. Georgia Tech is expected to start Riley Stanford (0-0) against Virginia Techโs TBA. The game will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athleticsโ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and OโKeefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visitย atfund.org/FullSteamAheadย for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech baseball team, follow us on Twitter (@GTBaseball), Facebook, Instagram (@gt_baseball) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.
