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Jackets Grind Out Win at No. 20 Duke

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DURHAM, N.C. – Georgia Tech baseball (38-15, 18-10 ACC) escaped a runners-at-the-corners nobody out jam in the bottom of the ninth to collect its ninth win in the last 10 games, 7-6, over No. 20 Duke (35-17, 16-12 ACC) on Thursday night at Jack Coombs Field. Drew Burress went 4-for-4 and Kent Schmidt delivered a three-run RBI in the Yellow Jackets’ five-run seventh inning before Mason Patel slammed the door in the ninth to give GT its 12th road win of the season, the most since 2000.

Sophomore Tate McKee was forced to battle, working to fins the strike zone but hanging on for 5.0 innings, keeping the Jackets in the game (2-4) before a five-run seventh inning put Tech in front, 7-4. Duke would manage to close the gap to just one run headed into the ninth, when Patel leaned on the defense for three outs, giving Tech its second straight one-run victory and third straight win over a ranked opponent. There was a moment when it appeared Duke had tied the score in the ninth, when a would-be SAC bunt brought a runner across only for the ball to trickle foul down the first-base line before the batter flew out in foul territory.

QUICK HITS: THE TEAM

  • Tech is now 38-15, tied for the best record in 15 years (tied with 2019 for best since 2010).
  • This was the Yellow Jackets’ 12th road win of the season (12-5), the most in 25 years (since 2000 (14-7)).
  • GT has won 18 ACC games for the first time since 2021 and picked up its ninth ACC road win, the most since 2021 (11).
  • The Jackets are now 7-4 in one-run games this season and 3-0 in such games in the month of May.
  • Tech has won three straight games against ranked opponents (two vs. No. 20 Louisville and one vs. No. 20 Duke) for the first time this season. GT won three straight over ranked teams twice last season and have not won four on a row since winning six straight in 2016.
  • Tech connected for two doubles today, off the bats of Burress and Schmidt, bringing the season total to 135, the 3rd most in Division I.
  • Georgia Tech is averaging 2.55 doubles per game this season (135 in 53 games) – the program record for doubles/game is 2.51, set in 1987.
  • With today’s results, Georgia Tech, once again, leads the ACC in conference wins, with 18. The Jackets are 2nd in the standings, trailing NC State (17-9) on win percentage. The Jackets need to win the next two games, have NC State lose once and have Florida State (16-9) lose one more time to win the regular season ACC title.
  • The Jackets are one win away from clinching the all-important double bye in next week’s ACC Tournament as one of the top four seeds.

QUICK HITS: THE BATS

  • Freshman Alex Hernandez wasted no time extending his career-best hitting streak to 10 games, launching a two-run home run in the top of the first inning.
  • It was his 12th homer of the season, the third most on the team behind Burress (15) and Lodise (14).
  • He finished the game with three RBI to bring his season total to 58, the most of any Power 4 freshman and just 10 shy of the Georgia Tech freshman record (68 RBI from Matt Wieters in 2005)
  • The freshman from Cumming, Ga. is tied with Drew Burress for the team lead in hits this year, both with 68.
  • Tech freshmen have accounted for 31 HRs this season – led by 12 from Hernandez – one shy of last year’s total (32), headlined by a freshman record 25 off the bat of Burress.

 

  • Sophomore Drew Burress hit in the leadoff spot for the third straight game, going 4-for-4 with a double and an RBI hit-by-pitch in the seventh inning.
  • It was his 22nd multi-hit game of the season and 53rd multi-hit game in White & Gold – the most on the team.
  • This was his fourth career four-hit game and first of the 2025 season.
  • He hit his team-leading 21st double of the season, the 2nd-most by any Power 4 player this season and the most in the ACC.
  • He leads the ACC with 37 extra-base-hits this year (21 doubles, 1 triple, 15 home runs).
  • Burress is just the 27th Yellow Jacket in program history to surpass 20 doubles in a single season and is in a 10-way tie for 17th on the program leaderboard.
  • Burress leads the team with 67 runs scored this year moving him one step closer to 70, a Jacket hasn’t scored 70+ in consecutive seasons since Richard Lewis in 2000 and 2001 – Burress scored 73 runs in 2024.
  • Sophomore Kent Schmidt extended his hitting streak to seven games with a 2-for-5 performance. He came through with a bases clearing double in the seventh inning to give GT a 6-4 lead with Hernandez driving him home for the all-important seventh run of the evening.
  • Schmidt now has 18 multi-hit games in just 32 games with multiple ABs (56.25 percent of opportunities).
  • He hit his 15th double of the year, putting him at a 24 double pace had he not missed 20 games due to injury. That number would lead all of Power 4.

  • Sophomore Carson Kerce extended his on-base streak to a team-high 13 games with a 1-for-4 showing.

  • Freshman Will Baker set a career high with seven infield assists as the second baseman.

QUICK HITS: THE ARMS

  • Sophomore Tate McKee made his 14th straight series opening start, battling through a difficult strike zone to deliver 5.0 innings of work.
  • He kept the Jackets in the game, stranding nine Duke runners on base over his five innings and exiting the game with just a 2-4 deficit.

  • Junior LHP Brett Barfield accomplished his assignment, entering the game to start the sixth, recording a groundout against the lefty he came in for, and exiting after two pitches.
  • Senior RHP Mason Patel added another chapter to his storybook season, tying his season high with 73 pitches over the final 3.2 innings and striking out five on his way to his 11th win of the season.
  • This was his 13th appearance of at least 3.0 innings this season, tied with Tate McKee for the most on the team despite not starting a single game.
  • Patel and UNC’s Jake Knapp lead all Power 4 pitchers with 11 wins this season.
  • Patel becomes the first Yellow Jacket since Mark Pope and Buck Farmer in 2011 to record 11 wins in a single season. He is now tied for the 13th most wins in a single season in GT history, the most since Kyle Bakker posted 13 wins in 2002.

 

UP NEXT­­
The Jackets will look to secure a double bye in the ACC Tournament tomorrow during the second game of the series, beginning at 6 p.m. Tech will start freshman Connor Chicoli (1-0 / 4.05 ERA) against Duke’s Andrew Healy (3-3 / 7.29 ERA). The ACC Tournament will be played in Durham, at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. For more information on the 2025 ACC Baseball Championship, including tickets and schedule, click 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.

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

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