Open search form
calendar shop tickets
Open mobile menu

Kent Schmidt Walks Off GT’s 30th Win of the Year

Share

Box Score Season Stats ACC Stats Series Stats

THE FLATS – No. 21 Georgia Tech baseball (30-14, 15-9 ACC) got back into the win column in dramatic fashion as Drew Burress hit a game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth, setting up a walk-off solo shot from Kent Schmidt to defeat Virginia (24-16, 11-10 ACC) 7-6, in 10 innings on Sunday afternoon at Mac Nease Baseball Park at Russ Chandler Stadium.

 

After falling behind, 6-3 in the top of the seventh, the #CardiacJackets started the comeback. Freshman Will Baker launched a pinch-hit solo home run to cut the lead to two in the bottom of the seventh, followed by a two-run game-tying blast from Burress in the bottom of the ninth. After Mason Patel pitched his third scoreless inning in the top of the 10th, it was Schmidt, who had missed the previous 20 games before the series with an injury, coming through with an opposite field blast in the bottom of the 10th to snap GT’s seven-game losing skid with the second walk-off home run of the season.

QUICK HITS: THE TEAM

  • Tech is now 30-14, securing the sixth straight 30-win season and tying the best start to a season in 14 years (since 2011).
  • This was Tech’s first extra-inning game of the season and second true walk-off home run – also Burress ODU (Feb. 16).
  • It was GT’s fourth walk-off hit of the season after Hernandez and Burress secured run-rule wins on March 2nd and April 12th
  • GT has now won two games this season when trailing after eight innings, both coming in ACC play – other at Virginia Tech on March 9.
  • Tech is 4-4 in one-run games this year.
  • The Jackets connected for two doubles today, bringing the season total to 117, the most in the nation.
  • Georgia Tech is averaging 2.66 doubles per game this season (117 in 44 games) – the program record for doubles/game is 2.51, set in 1987.
  • The pitching staff struck out 10 Virginia batters today, marking the 21st double-digit K performance of the season and first since April 8 vs. Auburn.
  • With this win, Tech is tied with North Carolina for the 3rd-best record in the ACC, holding firm to one of the four coveted double-bye positions in the ACC Tournament in Durham, N.C. at the end of the year.
  • GT’s 15 conference wins is tied with NC State and North Carolina for the most in the conference.

QUICK HITS: THE BATS

  • Sophomore Kent Schmidt hit his first collegiate walk-off home run and 3rd HR of the year in the 10th inning, a solo shot to left field.
  • It was his second RBI of the game and 4th of the series after a two-out RBI single in the sixth inning cut the deficit to 3-4.
  • He has recorded RBI in all three games since returning from injury and eight straight appearances overall, dating back to March 11.
  • This was his third game-winning RBI of the year, tied for the second most on the team behind five from Burress.
  • Speaking of Burress, he launched his 13th HR of the season in the bottom of the ninth inning, driving in Kyle Lodise and tying the game, 6-6.
  • It was his 38th career home run in White & Gold, giving him sole possession of 17th on the program’s career home run leaderboard. He is four home runs shy of the Top 10 and 19 away from the program record (Jason Varitek – 57).
  • Freshman Will Baker delivered his fourth home run of the year in the seventh inning, the first of four unanswered GT runs. It was a solo shot to right center.
  • It was and his third home run of the month, tied with Vahn Lackey for the second-most on the team behind Burress (4).
  • Baker finishes April with a team-high .625 slugging percentage, going off for three HR and 13 RBI – both 2nd on the team behind Burress (4 HR and 14 RBI).
  • The Australian has delivered a team-high three-extra base hits when coming off the bench this season.
  • Tech freshmen have accounted for 25 HRs this season – led by 10 from Alex Hernandez. GT had 32 homers from freshman last year, headlined by a freshman record 25 off the bat of Drew Burress.

  • Freshman Caleb Daniel extended his on-base streak to 10 games with a 2-for-4 performance, scoring a run and drawing a walk as well. It was his 13th multi-hit game of the season, tied with Schmidt for the 6th most on the team.
  • Sophomore Vahn Lackey delivered his 20th multi-hit game of the season (tied with Alex Hernandez for the most on the team), going 2-for-5 in the 5-hole.
  • Freshman Alex Hernandez maintained pace, going 2-for-5 for his 20th multi-hit game of the year. He would drive in a run as well for his 48th RBI of the season – tied with Burress for the most on the team.
  • Junior Kyle Lodise came around to score twice, including one of the two runs driven in on Burress’ game tying blast in the ninth. It was his 16th multi-run game of the season.
  • Freshman Connor Shouse made his sixth start of the season, and third in the field, making an impact defensively with a diving catch in right to help ignite the GT comeback.

QUICK HITS: THE ARMS

  • Senior Jaylen Paden made his 2nd start of the season and first weekend start in White & Gold. He pitched well, going 5.0 innings and allowing only three earned runs on three hits while striking out four.
  • It was his longest outing of the season and longest since recovering from surgery that forced him to miss half of the 2023 and all of the 2024 seasons.
  • The Jackets improve to 1-1 in games started by Payden this year and have won in eight of his 10 appearances.
  • Junior Caden Spivey was first out of the pen. He pitched 2.0 innings, striking out three and allowing two runs off a two-run homer in the seventh.
  • Those were his first runs allowed out of the bullpen all season, going scoreless for his first 11.2 innings as a reliver.
  • Senior Mason Patel added another win to his tally, pitching the final three innings scoreless to earn his 9th win of the year – the most in Division I.
  • He recorded nine outs while facing only eight batters, thanks to a double-play in the eighth inning, while striking out three, the second-most he has had in an outing this month.
  • This was his fifth outing of at least three innings in which he hasn’t allowed more than one base hit this season as he proves why he was one of only nine relievers in the nation listed on both the National Pitcher of the Year and Stopper of the Year midseason watch lists.

 

Head Coach Danny Hall

UP NEXT­­
The Jackets will get the week off to focus on final exams before hosting Western Carolina (22-21, 6-9 SoCon) next weekend, May 2-4. 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 Twitter (@GTBaseball), Facebook, Instagram (@gt_baseball) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.

RELATED HEADLINES
Baseball 9th inning Comeback Falls Short vs. UVA

Tech drops its second series in ACC play

9th inning Comeback Falls Short vs. UVA
Baseball Jackets Come up Short in Series Opener vs. UVA

Three home runs not enough on Friday night

Jackets Come up Short in Series Opener vs. UVA
Baseball No. 21 GT Hosts UVA for Weekend Series

Georgia Tech (29-12, 14-7 ACC) vs. Virginia (22-15, 9-9 ACC) Friday-Sunday (TV:ACCNX)

No. 21 GT Hosts UVA for Weekend Series
Partner of Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Legends Partner of Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Partner of Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Partner of Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets