ATLANTA – No. 3 Georgia Tech made a statement on Tuesday night, defeating No. 5 Georgia in seven innings, 14-4, at Truist Park. The Yellow Jackets (33-7, 16-5 ACC) dominated the Bulldogs (32-10, 13-5 SEC) in a clash of power conference leaders, earning the first run-rule victory in the highest ranked matchup in the series’ 391 game history.
All nine hitters in the lineup either recorded a hit or an RBI, led by a 4-for-4 performance by Drew Burress, two doubles off the bat of Alex Hernandez, three RBI from Jarren Advincula and home runs from Will Baker and Ryan Zuckerman. The Jackets scored multiple runs in all but one inning including a five-run fifth inning, breaking the game open (12-4) after UGA had cut the lead to three in the top half of the frame.
On the mound, the Jackets were carried by 4.1 innings from starter Carson Ballard before Jake Lankie (1.2 innings) and Brett Barfield (1.0 innings) slammed the door shut. As a staff, the Jackets allowed four runs on three homers, finishing with nine strikeouts to just two walks. The bullpen, consisting of Lankie and Barfield delivered 2.2 scoreless innings with two hits, four strikeouts and no walks allowed, helping secure the Yellow Jackets’ second straight run-rule win over an SEC opponent.
QUICK HITS: TEAM
- Georgia Tech has defeated Georgia in the first Top 5 matchup in the series recorded history.
- The Jackets improve to 33-7, matching the best 40-game start to a season in program history.
- Tech has won 33 of its first 40 games for only the 3rd time in the program’s 131 seasons: 2010, 1997, and now 2026.
- James Ramsey owns the best record by any GT head coach in his first season through 40 games (33-7) and becomes just the second coach in program history to start a season 33-7 (joining Danny Hall from 2010 and 1997).
- Tech has now won 11 games over Top 15 opponents for the first time this century and five games over Top 5 opponents for the first time since 2022.
- Seven of Tech’s last eight games have come against teams ranked in the Top 5. GT has gone 5-2 in those games with two run-rule victories (three wins over No. 5 Florida State, one win at No. 3 North Carolina and one win vs. No. 5 Georgia).
- The Yellow Jackets are now 2-3 against the Bulldogs at Truist Park and have won two of the last three meetings between the two schools on the Braves home field.
- GT has secured a winning regular season record against the SEC (2-1) for the first time since 2022 when Tech won a three-game series over Georgia (2-1).
- The Jackets are outscoring SEC opponents 29-17, this season and have run-ruled back-to-back games against the SEC after defeating No. 11 Auburn 13-3 (8) back on March 31st.
- Tech is now 2-0 in program history vs. the SEC in games decided by a run-rule.
- The 14 runs scored tonight were the most Tech has scored against Georgia since hanging 15 runs on them back in 2011 (March 22nd in Athens).
- GT has won its last 11 games in the state of Georgia dating back to March 10.
- Tech has scored 431 runs through their first 40 games. It’s the most runs Georgia Tech has recorded after 40 games in the program’s 131-year history and the most runs any Power 4 team has scored through 40 games in the BBCOR era (since 2011).
- The Jackets scoring average now stands at 10.8 runs/game this season. The program record is 10.3, set back in 1984.
- GT is outscoring its opponents 431-181, that +250 margin is the highest through 40 games in program history.
- The bullpen delivered 2.2 scoreless innings, marking the 16th scoreless outing of the season and fifth in the last eight games.
- The bullpen has not allowed a run in 9.0 consecutive innings, the third stretch of at least nine scoreless innings this season and 3.1 shy of the season long (12.1).
QUICK HITS: THE BATS
- Junior Drew Burress produced his fifth career 4-for-4 day and second in the last six games. He hit four singles, finishing with three RBI, two runs scored and a walk.
- He has scored 53 runs this season, tied with Vahn Lackey for the most on the team. Burress has scored 203 runs over his career, the 11th most in Georgia Tech history.
- His three RBI matched a season high and his two-RBI single in the sixth inning gave the Jackets the 14-runs they needed to secure the run-rule win.
- It was his 23rd career game with at least three RBI and his 16th game with multiple runs scored this season.
- Burress has now delivered 56 hits this season, the second most on the team behind only Jarren Advincula.
- Junior Jarren Advincula recorded his 25th multi-hit game of the season, going 2-for-4 with three RBI.
- He leads the ACC with 70 hits this season, averaging 1.75 hits per game and putting him on pace for 94 hits over the course of the regular season. With potential postseason games, that would put him in striking distance of being the first 100-hit player at GT since 2005 (Wes Hodges & Tyler Greene).
- He drove in his 48th RBI of the season, the second most on the team behind only Ryan Zuckerman.
- Junior Ryan Zuckerman brought his RBI total to a team-high 52 with a two-run home run into the waterfall in center field to begin what would become a five-run fifth inning.
- It was his team-leading 15th home run of the season and his 26th extra-base hit, only one behind Carson Kerce for the most on the team.
- Junior Carson Kerce went 2-for-3 in the leadoff spot, recording his NCAA leading 22nd double of the season and scoring a team-high three runs.
- His three runs matched the season high he set in Tech’s last run-rule win over an SEC opponent (March 31 vs. No. 11 Auburn).
- He is hitting doubles on a 0.55 per-game pace, putting him on track to break the program record (27) set by Jay Payton in 1994.
- Georgia Tech is 2-0 since Kerce was moved into the leadoff spot prior to Sunday’s game at No. 3 North Carolina.
- Sophomore Will Baker launched his sixth home run of the season and second in as many games at Truist Park in the second inning, giving Tech the lead for the first time in the game.
- He matched his season total for home runs as a freshman, still with 14 games left in the regular season.
- Sophomore Alex Hernandez went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles, two runs scored and an RBI.
- It was his first-career multi-double game and his sixth-career game with multiple extra base hits.
QUICK HITS: THE ARMS
- R-junior Carson Ballard made his first start of the season and eighth career start – first since May 6, 2025.
- He pitched a season-high 4.1 innings and allowed four runs on three home runs, two solo shots and a two-run HR in the first inning, while striking out a season high five batters.
- His 4.1 innings pitched were the most in his career since going for 4.2 innings against Georgia last season.
- He would get credit for the win, improving his record to 5-0 this year, tied with Jackson Blakely for the second-most wins on the team (Tate McKee – 6).
- R-sophomore Jake Lankie entered the game in the fifth inning with one out after the Bulldogs hit back-to-back solo home runs. He would get a strikeout and induce an inning ending flyout before coming back out for a scoreless sixth inning.
- Lankie finished with 1.2 innings pitched and two hits allowed while striking out three and not allowing a walk.
- He has thrown 17.0 innings this season over 12 appearances out of the bullpen with a 3.71 ERA and 22 strikeouts, the most on the team among pitchers who have not started a game.
- Senior Brett Barfield slammed the door shut in the seventh inning, retiring the Bulldogs in order with a groundout, a strikeout and a game-ending popout to third base.
- Barfield has not allowed a run in over a month (since March 17) and lowers his ERA to a team-best 1.29 over 14.0 innings and 16 appearances – tied with Caden Gaudette for the most on the team.
- This was his 10th straight scoreless appearance and 14th overall this year. Barfield has only allowed an earned run in two of his 16 games in 2026.
- Barfield has enjoyed a breakout season thus far in 2026. He entered the season with a 7.90 career ERA over 35.1 innings and has pitched 14.0 innings with a 1.29 ERA as a senior.
- He has recorded 17 strikeouts in his 14.0 innings of work, one away from his career high for a single season, set back in 2024.
Up Next
The Jackets return to Mac Nease Baseball Park at Russ Chandler Stadium for a three-game weekend series against Wake Forest (April 24-26). Game one is scheduled for Friday, April 24 at 7 pm and will be streamed live on ACCNX. Limited tickets remain and can be purchased HERE
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ 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 O’Keefe 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 visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
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