THE FLATS – Georgia Tech baseball (10-2) collected win No. 10 in style as freshman Alex Hernandez launched a walk-off mercy-rule home run, his 5th HR of the season – tied for the most by any freshman in Division I – as the Yellow Jackets defeated Western Michigan (0-9) 13-3 in seven innings on Sunday afternoon inside Mac Nease Baseball Park at Russ Chandler Stadium. The Jackets earn their second sweep of the season in dominant fashion, outscoring WMU 43-8 over three games.
After WMU scored a run in the top of the first, its only lead of the weekend, the Tech bats struck for five runs in the bottom of the second off a bases loaded HBP, a wild pitch, a two-RBI double from Kyle Lodise and a double from Kent Schmidt. The Jackets would score at least one run in every inning after that, except for the 4th, capping off the weekend with a walk-off home run from Alex Hernandez to put Tech in front by 10 runs, invoking the mercy-rule.
The Tech hitters dominated WMU all weekend as all 10 GT hitters with multiple at-bats scored at least three runs. Today, eight of the nine starting hitters reached base at least twice with eight of nine scoring a run and seven earning RBI.
QUICK HITS: THE TEAM
- The Jackets improve to 10-2 on the year, the best record through 12 games since starting the 2016 season 12-0.
- The Jackets connected for seven doubles today – tied for the most in a game this year (also Wednesday vs. West Georgia) off the bats of Kyle Lodise (6th), Drew Burress (6th), Kent Schmidt (5th), Alex Hernandez (4th), Parker Brosius (3rd), Caleb Daniel (3rd) and Carson Kerce (8th). Tech has hit 42 doubles this season – the 2nd most in Division I and the most by a GT team through 11 games since at least the turn of the century.
- Georgia Tech pitching has posted a 4.06 ERA over the opening 11 games, its lowest in three seasons.
- The Yellow Jackets lead the all-time series with Western Michigan, 7-0, following today’s result.
- Tech swiped three bases today, courtesy of Kyle Lodise (4th), Parker Brosius (8th) and Caleb Daniel (1st). The Yellow Jackets entered the weekend leading the ACC in steals, bringing that number to 28 after today.
- All three Tech starting pitchers set career highs in strikeouts this weekend: Tate McKee (10 Ks on Friday), Brady Jones (9 Ks on Saturday) and Riley Stanford (6 Ks today).
Let 'em know @rileystanford15 😤
ACCNX – https://t.co/94AAVGNCpT#StingEm🐝 x #WreckHavoc pic.twitter.com/09CLaecVXO
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) March 2, 2025
QUICK HITS: THE BATS
- Freshman Alex Hernandez launched his team-leading 5th home run of the season to end the game in the seventh inning. He is tied with Tennessee’s Levi Clark for the NCAA lead in home runs by a freshman.
Tied for the most HRs by a freshman this season 😤@TateMckee1 called for the walk-off…@_AlexHernandez2 delivered it#StingEm🐝 x #WreckHavoc pic.twitter.com/yoEJ7WHNtL
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) March 3, 2025
- He has driven in 15 runs this season out of the cleanup spot, one shy of Drew Burress for the most on the team.
- Five different Yellow Jackets registered multi-hit days today: Kyle Lodise (2), Alex Hernandez (2), Vahn Lackey (2), Parker Brosius (2) and Caleb Daniel (2).
- For the second game in a row, Carson Kerce led the Jackets in RBI, driving in four today, tying the career-high he set last season against Youngstown St. (March 9, 2024)
- Junior shortstop Kyle Lodise drove in two for his third consecutive mutli-RBI day after driving in four yesterday. He led the team with nine RBI this weekend and has scored at least one run in nine straight games.
- He finished the week with a ridiculous 1.524 OPS over the five games played, going 9-for-19 with 10 runs scored and nine driven in along with four walks, two hit-by-pitches and two stolen bases to go along with his team-high 16 assists on 1.000 fielding %.
- The Brunswick, Ga. native has reached base in a career-best 24 straight games dating back to his time at Augusta University.
- Sophomore Kent Schmidt didn’t get many pitches to hit, going 1-for-2 with a double, an RBI, a run scored and two walks as well as a hit-by-pitch.
- He has scored a team-high 18 runs this season, the most runs by a Yellow Jacket through 11 games since Chandler Simpson scored 20 at the start of the 2022 season
- Schmidt has recorded at least one RBI in eight straight games – a career-long streak.
- Schmidt extends his career-best on-base streak to 20 games with his performance today and leads the team with a .561 on-base percentage this season.
- Sophomore Carson Kerce tied the career-high with four RBI today – he set it last year against Youngstown State (March 9).
- Junior Parker Brosius enjoyed his fourth-straight game with an RBI, doing so off a double in the third inning. He is one-game shy of tying his career-long for consecutive games with an RBI, set last season.
- Freshman Caleb Daniel was all over the score sheet, securing his first-career RBI and stolen base while coming around to score a season-high three times. He joins Lodise, Burress and Schmidt as the only Yellow Jackets to score three or more runs in a game this season.
- Sophomore catcher Vahn Lackey went off for another multi-hit performance, his sixth of the year, driving in one and scoring twice. It was his fourth-straight multi-hit day, the longest such streak of his career. He finishes the series with a team-high seven hits in just 12 at-bats.
QUICK HITS: THE ARMS
- Sophomore RHP Riley Stanford made his third-career start, pitching 4.0 innings, allowing three runs while striking out a career-high six batters.
- Freshman RHP Cooper McMullen was first out of the bullpen, striking out two in 2.1 innings of work and allowing only two base runners in a dominant display.
- McMullen has pitched 5.1 innings without allowing a run, one out shy of matching Friday night starter Tate McKee’s mark of 5.2 innings pitched before allowing an earned run as a freshman.
- He was credited with the win today, his first as a collegiate pitcher.
- The Bonaire, Ga. native joins Mason Patel (9.1 IP) and Jaylen Paden (4.0 IP) as the only Yellow Jacket pitchers to own a 0.00 ERA with three or more appearances.
- Junior LHP Kayden Campbell collected what would be the final two outs needed in the top of the 7th. He joins Caden Gaudette (5) and Sam Swygert (4) as the most called-upon pitchers out of the Tech bullpen so far in 2025.
UP NEXT
The Yellow Jackets look to finish off their season-long nine-game homestand strong when they host Kennesaw State (5-8) on Tuesday, March 4th. Tech is expected to start RHP Caden Spivey while KSU’s pitcher is still 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 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.
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.
