THE FLATS – Georgia Tech baseball (1-0) got its 2025 season started off right, defeating Old Dominion (0-1) by a finals score of 3-2 on Friday afternoon inside Mac Nease Baseball Park at Russ Chandler Stadium. Senior pitcher Jaylen Paden worked the Jackets out of a two-on nobody out jam in the top of the eighth before sophomore Drew Burress scampered home on a groundball in the infield to put Tech in front in the bottom of the eighth, allowing Paden to slam the door with a 1-2-3 top of the ninth for the opening day victory.
In the top of the eighth inning, Old Dominion tied the score at 2-2, after its first three hitters reached base. With runners on second and third and nobody out, Tech turned to Paden, playing in his first game since 2023 after missing all of the 2024 season recovering from an injury. Paden proceeded to strike out the first batter he faced before Carson Kerce made a great defensive play to backhand a hard-hit grounder and fire home for the second out, before Paden powered a fastball past the ODU hitter, on a full-count, to get Tech out of the jam and maintain the tie headed into the bottom of the inning.
In the bottom of the inning, Burress and Kent Schmidt both drew walks and were bunted over to second and third on a sacrifice from Brosius. From there, a grounder up the middle from Nathan Waugh was all Burress needed to rush to the plate and dive head first to beat the tag and put GT back in front, 3-2. With the lead intact, Paden returned for the ninth, striking out the first two batters of the inning before inducing a game-ending flyout to Burress in center field.
QUICK HITS: TEAM
- Georgia Tech improves to 27-5 on opening day under Coach Danny Hall and have won 13 straight opening day games dating back to the 2012 season.
- Georgia Tech allowed only two runs today thanks to the pitching efforts of Tate McKee, Carson Ballard and It is the fewest runs GT has allowed in an opening game since shutting out St. Peters (6-0) to start the 2020 season.
- GT has hit a home run in four straight games dating back to last season after sophomore Kent Schmidt connected for a game-tying blast in the sixth inning.
- The Jackets offense utilized small ball to get the win, with three hitters combining for three sacrifice bunts, the most sac bunts in a game since May 18, 2017.
QUICK HITS: THE BATS
- Senior DH Nathan Waugh extended his on-base streak to 43 games with a walk today. He reached base in all 38 games last season, playing for Cornell. Waugh has successfully reached base in every game he’s played in since April 29, 2023.
- Sophomore first baseman Kent Schmidt got his GT career started in style with a game-tying home run in the bottom of the sixth. It was his first as a Yellow Jacket and the third of his career after transferring from Georgia Southern over the offseason.
- Sophomore third baseman Carson Kerce delivered his 26th career RBI and first of the year on a sacrifice bunt in the seventh inning to bring home freshman Alex Hernandez, who had reached base with a leadoff double off the wall – it was Hernandez’ first collegiate hit and first collegiate run scored.
- Waugh would get credit for the game-winning RBI after hitting a ground ball up the middle, allowing Drew Buress to score from third on a play at the plate. It was Waugh’s 1st career RBI as a Yellow Jacket and the 73rd of his college career.
QUICK HITS: THE ARMS
- Sophomore RHP Tate McKee made his ninth career start in White & Gold, pitching 5.0 innings, striking out three and allowing only one unearned run on two hits.
- It was McKee’s fourth career start going at least 5.0 innings and the first in which he has not allowed an earned run.
- R-Soph. RHP Carson Ballard was the first out of the bullpen, throwing 2.0+ innings and striking out the side in the top of the sixth.
- Graduate transfer Jaylen Paden made his GT debut today, earning the win after pitching the last two innings of scoreless baseball, striking out four in his first pitching appearance since 2023.
- This was Paden’s ninth career victory after leaving Georgia Southern with a career record of 8-4.
GT Baseball Opening Day 2025
UP NEXT
The Yellow Jackets continue their opening weekend series against Old Dominion tomorrow at 2 p.m. from Mac Nease Baseball Park. Junior transfer Brady Jones is slated to get the start, his first as a Yellow Jacket after transferring in from Georgia State. The game will be streamed on ACCNX.
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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