Jackets Fall in Series Opener at No. 3 UNC

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – No. 2 Georgia Tech wasn’t able to get the hits it needed on Friday night, dropping game one of the series to No. 3 North Carolina (32-6-1, 14-5 ACC) by a final score of 5-2 from Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Yellow Jackets (31-7, 15-4 ACC) fell behind, 5-0, after the first three innings and despite getting runners on base, couldn’t get enough runs across, bringing their 13-game win streak to an end.

The Jackets threatened a comeback in the eighth inning. Vahn Lackey led off with a walk and would advance to third on productive outs before Kent Schmidt fouled off six pitches to work an 11-pitch walk, putting runners at the corners for Ryan Zuckerman, who powered a 1-2 pitch through the infield for an RBI to make it a 5-2 game. Tech would put the tying run on first when Will Baker worked a walk but would ultimately leave the bases loaded after Carson Kerce just missed a 3-2 pitch for a loud flyout to center.

The Tech bullpen delivered 5.2 scoreless innings in relief as the combination of Justin Shadek, Brett Barfield, Caden Gaudette, Jamie Vicens and Dylan Loy held the Tar Heels to just four hits and two walks with eight strikeouts. It was the bullpen’s 14^th scoreless outing of the season

QUICK HITS: TEAM

• The Jackets fall to 31-6, the best start to a season since 2010.
• GT is now 15-4 in ACC play, the best start since 2011.
• Tech has won 31 of its first 37 games for only the 5th time in the program’s 131 seasons: 2010, 2002, 1997, 1971 and now 2026.
• GT’s 13-game winning streak was snapped, finishing as its longest winning streak since 2011.
• Tech’s winning streak against Top 15 opponents was ended at a program record eight games. GT falls to 9-3 against Top 15 opponents this season.
• Georgia Tech lost its first series opener of the season after setting a program record with nine series opening wins.
• This was the 7^th time the Jackets have been held to five runs or fewer this season, matching the total number of games in which they have scored 15 or more.
• Tech is outscoring opponents 105-34 in series openers this season and 63-21 in series openers in ACC play.
• This was the Jackets’ first loss on a start from Tate McKee since May 9, 2025 – 343 days ago.
• James Ramsey still owns the best record by any GT head coach in his first season through 37 games (31-6).
• Tech has scored 408 runs through their first 37 games. It’s the most runs Georgia Tech has recorded after 37 games in the program’s 131-year history and the most runs any Power 4 team has scored through 37 games in the BBCOR era (since 2011).
• The Jackets scoring average now stands at 11 runs/game this season. The program record is 10.3, set back in 1984.
• GT is outscoring its opponents 408-161, that +247 margin is the highest through 37 games in program history.
• GT pitching recorded 11 strikeouts, marking the 15^th double-digit K performance of the season and the sixth in the last eight games dating back to April 3.
• The Jackets lost their first night game of the season, falling to 17-1 in games started at 6 pm or later.
• The Tech bullpen delivered 5.2 scoreless innings, marking the 14^th scoreless outing of the season and extending the bullpen’s scoreless streak to 7.0 innings.

  QUICK HITS: THE BATS

• Sophomore Caleb Daniel led the team with two hits, going 2-for-4 with a double. He hit a single on the second pitch of his first at-bat, which gave him three-straight games with an extra-base hit for the first time in his career.
• Junior Ryan Zuckerman extended his on-base streak to a team-high 19 games, hitting a two-strike RBI single in the eighth inning.
• It was his 49^th RBI of the season, a new career high. He has recorded 49 RBI in 37 games this season, breaking his previous career high (48) accomplished over 55 games last season.
• Zuckerman has now recorded at least one hit in six straight games.
• Junior Jarren Advincula recorded his ACC leading 65^th hit of the season, going 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.
• He leads the ACC with 65 hits this season, averaging 1.8 hits per game and putting him on pace for 95 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 scored his 42^nd run of the season, putting him six shy of his career high (48) set last season at Cal.
• Junior Kent Schmidt went 1-for-1 with a double, two walks and an RBI off a SAC fly.
• He leads the team with 24 RBI in ACC play.
• Schmidt has now hit five doubles this season, giving all nine of Tech’s starters at least five doubles this year.

QUICK HITS: THE ARMS

• Junior Tate McKee made his 26th consecutive series opening start.
• Tech falls to 21-5 in series openers started by McKee (.808 win %) and have won 12 of the last 13 series openers dating back to last season.
• He falls to 6-1 on the season.
• R-Sophomore Justin Shadek made his best appearance of the season, pitching 2.2 innings out of the bullpen with only two hits and one walk allowed while striking out three.
• This was his 11^th appearance of the season and 10^th out of the bullpen. This was his second longest outing of the season and the longest scoreless outing of his career in White & Gold.
• Shadek lowers his ERA to 4.34 over 17.0 innings of work this season with 26 strikeouts.
• He threw 100 mph in the fourth inning, the fastest pitch thrown by a Yellow Jacket this season.
• Senior Brett Barfield entered the game in the sixth inning, delivering a scoreless inning with a strikeout and a fortuitous 9-6-5 double play on a lineout to right field.
• This was his 15th appearance of the season, tied Caden Gaudette for the most on the team.
• It was his ninth straight scoreless appearance and 13th overall this year as he lowered his ERA to a team-best 1.38.
• 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 13.0 innings with a 1.38 ERA as a senior.
• He has recorded 16 strikeouts in his 13.0 innings of work, two away from his career high for a single season, set back in 2024.
• R-junior Caden Gaudette made his 15^th appearance of the season in the seventh inning, working around a walk to strike out the side on 18 pitches.
• He has thrown 19.2 innings out of the bullpen this year, the most on the team and holds a 3.20 ERA.
• He has been one of Tech’s most effective pitchers in conference play, throwing 13.2 innings with a 2.63 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP and a .130 opponent’s batting average against ACC competition.
• Freshman Jamie Vicens recorded a strikeout in his 0.1 innings of work in the eighth inning. He has recorded 16 outs over his college career (5.1 innings) and 12 of them are strikeouts.
• Junior Dylan Loy came out for the final two outs of the eighth, throwing seven pitches to keep the deficit at three runs.
• This was his 12^thappearance of the season and his seventh out of the bullpen. He has only allowed one run in his seven bullpen appearances this year, leading to a 0.57 ERA over 15.2 innings of relief.

Up Next

The Jackets will look to start a new winning streak tomorrow. Game two of the series at No. 3 North Carolina is set for a noon first pitch and will be broadcast live on ACC Network.

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 X (@GTBaseball), Facebook, Instagram (@gt_baseball) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.