March 7, 2026

Jackets Mash Six Home Runs to Pull Away Late

THE FLATS – No. 3/5 Georgia Tech baseball rattled off back-to-back-to-back home runs in an eight run seventh inning, turning a 5-5 ballgame into eventually a 14-5 blowout victory in front of a sold-out crowd inside Mac Nease Baseball Park at Russ Chandler Stadium, on Saturday. The Yellow Jackets (14-1, 2-0 ACC) scored nine unanswered runs across the seventh and eighth innings to take down Virginia Tech (7-7, 0-2 ACC), clinching the first series of Atlantic Coast Conference play.

After winning Fridays series opener 16-1 with only two extra base hits, the Jackets brought the power bats today, going off for nine extra base hits, including a season high six home runs to power past the VT pitching staff and secure the series victory for the 12^th time in the last 13 series against the Hokies. Alex Hernandez, Vahn Lackey, Ryan Zuckerman, Will Baker and Caleb Daniel (2) each blasted home runs, including the back-to-back-to-back homers from Zuckerman, Baker and Daniel in the seventh inning alone.

Virginia Tech used a five-run fifth inning to take a 5-2 lead, only for the Jackets to score 12 unanswered runs from that point on, tying the game at 5-5 with a three-run bottom of the fifth before hitting four home runs for eight runs in the seventh and adding a run in the eighth on yet another homer.

Coach Ramsey and Vahn Lackey after a 14-5 series clinching victory #StingEm🐝 x #WreckHavoc pic.twitter.com/nLZSwz8aGq
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) March 7, 2026

QUICK HITS: TEAM

Tech improves to 14-1, the best start to a season since 2013 and tied for the best start since 2006.
Tech has scored 208 runs through their first 15 games. It’s the most runs Georgia Tech has ever recorded after 15 games in the program’s 131-year history and the most runs any Power 4 team has scored through 15 games in the BBCOR era (since 2011).
GT has now scored 200 runs in its first 15 games for the first time in program history, breaking the program record that had stood for 39 years, when Tech scored 200 runs in 17 games back in 1987.
The Jackets scoring average now stands at 13.86 runs/game this season. The program record is 10.3, set back in 1984.
GT is outscoring its opponents 208-58 through 15 games, that +150 margin is the highest through 15 games in program history.
Tech has scored 10 or more runs in 12 of the 15 total games played this season (80% of games). It’s the most double-digit run efforts through the first 15 games in program history.
James Ramsey holds the best record by any first-year head coach in GT Baseball history through 15 games, 14-1.
The Jackets have recorded 223 hits, a new Power 4 record for the BBCOR era (since 2011) through 15 games.
The Jackets have hit a Division I best leading 48 doubles this season after Carson Kerce, Baker and Lackey added to the total today. The Jackets are hitting doubles at a 3.2/game rate, which would put them on pace for 173 doubles this season. The program record is 164, set back in 1994.
GT hit a season high six home runs today, the most since hitting an ACC Tournament record seven homers in the quarterfinals vs. Cal, last season.
Tech leads the all-time series with Virginia Tech 48-25, including a dominant 30-11 record in Atlanta and have won 12 of the last 13 series against the Hokies.
GT pitching allowed only one earned run for the third game in a row, lowering the team ERA to 3.41, the lowest through 15 games since 2016.

QUICK HITS: THE BATS

Junior Vahn Lackey came in clutch while the game was still in doubt, delivering a two-run double to cut Virginia Tech’s lead to 5-4 in the fifth inning before putting the Jackets in front in the bottom of the seventh with a two-run blast before adding in an RBI single later in the seventh for his career-high 5^th RBI of the day.
He finished his day going 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, two runs and five RBI along with a walk.
His go-ahead homer was his 5^th of the year, already only one shy of the career high he set last season.
He has driven in 25 runs this year, tied with Ryan Zuckerman for the most on the team.
Lackey extends his team-leading on-base streak to 25 games, just two shy of his career long set last season.
Zuckerman continued his torrid pace, going 1-for-4 with a home run and a SAC fly for three RBI. He has posted a 10-for-18 (.556 avg.) over his last five games, hitting five home runs and two doubles while driving in 11 RBI and scoring eight runs.
He hit his team-leading sixth HR of the season as a part of the eight run seventh inning. He has now hit 28 home runs over his college career, hitting .21 HR/game over his two years and Pitt and now hitting .4 HR/game as a Yellow Jacket.
Zuckerman brings his RBI total to 25 for the season, tied with Lackey for the team lead.
Sophomore Caleb Daniel recorded his second career multi-HR game, hitting a HR in the seventh inning and another in the eighth to put the game to bed.
It marked his first ever game of hitting two home runs out of the ballpark after he delivered a conventional HR and an inside-the-park home run on Opening Day of this year, vs. Bowling Green.
He has now hit five home runs this season, just two shy of the seven homers he launched in his freshman year.
Junior Carson Kerce hit his 10th double of the season, the most on the team and tied for the most in Division I.
Sophomore Will Baker drove in another run today with his first home run of the season. He has recorded 12 RBI over his last six games to bring his season total to 19, just seven shy of his total season output last season.
It was his first HR of the season and the seventh of his career.
Baker hit his ninth double of the season, tied for the 2^nd most in the nation, behind Kerce’s 10.
Sophomore Alex Hernandez launched his third HR of the season, going 2-for-4 with a solo home run and three runs scored. He leads the team with 24 runs scored this season.

QUICK HITS: THE ARMS

Junior Dylan Loy made his third start of the season and second consecutive Saturday start, pitching 4.2 innings and retiring eight straight across the 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th innings before running into trouble in the fifth.
He recorded three strikeouts on the day, bringing his season total to a team-high 21.
Loy has now pitched 17.2 innings, the most on the team.
Sophomore Jackson Blakely was the first out of the bullpen, entering the game with a 4-2 deficit and getting the Jackets out of the fifth after he would allow an inherited runner to score. He would settle in from there, getting through the next 1.2 innings of a tie ballgame before handing the ball over to Caden Gaudette for the final out of the seventh inning.
Blakely maintained his 0.00 ERA for the season while bringing his total innings pitched to 9.0 with a ridiculously impressive 16 strikeouts.
R-junior Gaudette would get the final out of the seventh and the first out of the eighth, giving him his first career victory after Tech’s eight-run seventh inning offensively.
He has now delivered scoreless outings in each of his last four appearances (4.2 IP).
Senior Brett Barfield closed out the eighth inning for a scoreless 0.2 innings, recording his sixth K of the season in the process.
Freshman Jamie Vicens delivered a pair of strikeouts in his scoreless ninth inning, bringing his season total to 7 Ks in just 3.2 innings of work.

Up Next

Georgia Tech will go for its fourth weekend series sweep in a row, tomorrow at 1 p.m. The Jackets will start freshman LHP Cooper Underwood (1-0) against Virginia Tech’s Griffin Stieg (0-1). The game will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra. Standing room only tickets are available at ramblinwreck.com/tickets.

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.