THE FLATS โ True freshman Drew Burress (Houston Co., Ga./Houston Co. H.S.) made Georgia Tech baseball history on Tuesday afternoon with a school-record four home runs in the Yellow Jacketsโ 10-0 win over Georgia State at Mac Nease Baseball Park.
Burress hit a leadoff home run to left-center field in the bottom of the first inning, another solo shot to left in the third, a two-run opposite-field blast in the sixth and two-run bomb off the scoreboard in left-center for the record in the seventh. He was also walked on four pitches with first base open in the fourth inning and finished the day 4-for-4 with four homers, four runs scored and six RBI.
๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐@drew_burress08 HITS HIS ๐๐ข๐จ๐ฅ๐ง๐ HOME RUN OF THE GAME!!#WreckHavoc x #StingEm pic.twitter.com/qzZfFdp8en
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) February 27, 2024
THREE HOME RUNS IN ONE GAME!! CAPTAIN HAVOC IS INHUMAN ๐ซก@drew_burress08 | #WreckHavoc pic.twitter.com/MAcljaoA4b
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) February 27, 2024
CAPTAIN HAVOC ๐ซก@drew_burress08 hits his SECOND ๐ of the day!#WreckHavoc x #StingEm pic.twitter.com/5xw2uCchBJ
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) February 27, 2024
452 FT HOME RUN!! Another leadoff ๐ฃ for @Drew_burress08! pic.twitter.com/rchleBkMEU
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) February 27, 2024
Following the historic performance, Burress leads the nation with nine home runs in his first eight collegiate games. He leads the Yellow Jackets in hitting (.441), runs (12) and RBI (20). Fourteen of his 15 hits as a Jacket have gone for extra bases (nine HR, five doubles).
His four home runs on Tuesday broke the previous Georgia Tech single-game record of three, which was accomplished 14 times previously, most recently by Stephen Reid on May 7 of last season against Pitt at Mac Nease Baseball Park.
I wonder who the ๐ฆ is tonight ๐
โก๏ธ @drew_burress08#WreckHavoc x #StingEm pic.twitter.com/tJ927MieLA
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) February 28, 2024
Burressโ record-breaking performance headlined Tuesdayโs sterling all-around performance by Georgia Tech, which moved to 7-1 on the season with the shutout win over Georgia State (2-6).
In addition to Burressโ four HR and six RBI, Mike Becchetti (Eastchester, N.Y./Archbishop Stepinac H.S./Fairfield) drove in a pair of runs with an RBI single in the third and a mammoth home run over the batterโs eye in straightaway center in the fifth. Payton Green (Cary, N.C./Green Hope H.S./NC State) added an RBI on a sacrifice fly in the fourth and Tyler Minnick (Marietta, Ga./Mt. Paran Christian School) came home on a wild pitch in the eighth to round out the scoring.
OVER THE BATTERS EYE!! 420 FEET!@BecchettiMike | #WreckHavoc pic.twitter.com/HtxceDTeOH
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) February 27, 2024
Overshadowed by the offensive fireworks was the pitching performance turned in by four Tech pitchers, highlighted by starter Carson Ballard (Alpharetta, Ga./Wesleyan School). Making his first collegiate start, Ballard limited GSU to three hits and struck out six over five scoreless innings. Three relievers combined for four scoreless innings to finish off the Yellow Jacketsโ first shutout since a 12-0 blanking of Akron on May 16, 2022.
SIX strikeouts for @CarsonBallard02 in his first career start ๐ค pic.twitter.com/DJs8arKXBj
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) February 27, 2024
Georgia Tech returns to action on Friday when it opens its annual three-game series versus archrival Georgia with a 6 p.m. tilt at Mac Nease Baseball Park. A limited number of tickets are still available and can be purchased online by clicking HERE.
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Techโs 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of the development of Yellow Jackets that thrive academically at the Institute and compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
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