Patel’s Prowess Powers Tech Past Georgia SouthernPatel’s Prowess Powers Tech Past Georgia Southern
Baseball

Patel’s Prowess Powers Tech Past Georgia Southern

Mason Patel pitched 5.1 perfect innings to help Tech improve to 4-0

Box Score

STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Tech baseball (4-0) continued its tremendous pitching run in 2025, silencing the Georgia Southern (3-1) bats from the third inning on, and coming out of J.I. Clements Stadium with a 5-3 win on Tuesday night. Senior RHP Mason Patel pitched a perfect 5.1 innings, retiring 16-straight, while the Jackets offense delivered back-to-back home runs in the third to extend the winning streak over Georgia Southern to six games.

Patel entered the game to start the third inning with Tech in front, 4-3. After inducing a groundout, Patel rattled off six straight strikeouts, including striking out the side in the fourth. He didn’t allow a baserunner in 5.1 innings of work, 16-straight batters retired. His outing ended in the eighth inning when he gave up a groundball single up the middle, giving way to Caden Gaudette, who sat down the only two GASO hitters he faced before Georgia Southern transfer Jaylen Paden slammed the door shut with a scoreless ninth, securing all three outs via strikeout.

Just before Patel began his work, the Jacket bats delivered a three-run in the top of the third, thanks to back-to-back solo home runs from Kyle Lodise and Drew Burress. That tied the game, 3-3, before freshman Alex Hernandez secured his first collegiate RBI with a go-ahead groundout to drive home Kent Schmidt.

 

QUICK HITS: THE TEAM

  • Georgia Tech improves to 4-0 for the third year in a row and the 14th time under head coach Danny Hall.
  • The Yellow Jackets lead the all-time series with Georgia Southern 110-32 and have won the last six meetings dating back to 2022
  • GT has hit a home run in six-straight games dating back to last season, thanks to a pair of back-to-back home runs from Kyle Lodise and Drew Burress.
  • The Jacket pitchers struck out 12 more batters today, bringing the season total to 52 after four games – the most strikeouts through four-games by a Yellow Jacket staff this century (since at least 2000).
  • The Bullpen pitched 7.0 scoreless innings, allowing only two hits and a walk to extend its season numbers to 25.0 IP, 1.44 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 2025.
  • Through four games the Georgia Tech pitching staff has a combined 2.75 ERA, the lowest since the 2017 season (2.50).

QUICK HITS: THE BATS

  • Junior Kyle Lodise and sophomore Drew Burress launched back-to-back home runs in the third inning. It was the first time Tech has hit multiple home runs in a game this year and the first case of back-to-back Tech jacks since May 12th of last season when Payton Green and Cam Jones did so against Duke.
  • It was the first Division I home run for Lodise, who transferred into GT from Augusta University over the offseason.
  • He would come around to score twice for his first multi-run game in White & Gold.
  • For Burress he launched his second of the year and 27th as a Yellow Jacket. He leads all active players in the NCAA (all divisions with 200+ ABs) with an .807 career slugging percentage. He is the only active player in Division I to slug over .750 for his career.
  • Senior DH Nathan Waugh extended his on-base streak to 46 games with a walk today. He has reached base in all four games this season after doing so 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 Georgia Southern transfer Kent Schmidt made a triumphant return to Statesboro, hitting a pair of doubles, including an RBI double to drive in Lodise for the insurance run in the 7th.
  • It was his second multi-double game of his college career. Schmidt has now hit doubles in consecutive games for the fifth time in his career.
  • Similarly, sophomore Carson Kerce has now doubled in consecutive games for this first time in his career after lacing one to left field tonight.
  • Two freshman bats secured their first-career RBI tonight: Drew Rogers opened the GT scoring with an RBI single – his first college hit and RBI. While Alex Hernandez drove in the eventual game-winning run in the top of the third with an RBI groundout.

QUICK HITS: THE ARMS

  • Freshman RHP Connor Chicoli made his first collegiate start, pitching 2.0 innings in a no-decision.
  • Senior Mason Patel took over to start the third, retiring the next 16 Georgia Southern batters he faced before leaving the game in the eighth inning after giving up his only hit of the day.
  • Patel set a new career high with nine strikeouts.
  • This was Patel’s longest outing as a Jacket and longest since pitching 6.0 innings in a start against Brown for Georgia State in 2023.
  • Patel becomes the fourth Yellow Jacket pitcher to maintain a 0.00 ERA through 3+ innings, joining Tate McKee (5.0 IP), Caden Spivey (3.0 IP) and Jaylen Paden (3.0 IP).
  • Redshirt sophomore Caden Gaudette got the Jackets into the ninth with a solid 0.2 innings out of the pen. He became the first GT pitcher to make his second appearance of the season.
  • Senior Jaylen Paden joined Gaudette on the two-timers list, entering the game for the bottom of the ninth against his former team. Paden had to work around a pair of baserunners but struck out the side for his first save as a Yellow Jacket and second as a college pitcher.

UP NEXT­­
The Yellow Jackets return to Mac Nease Baseball Park at Russ Chandler Stadium this weekend for a four-game series against Marshall (0-4). The series will take place from Friday, Feb. 21 to Monday, Feb. 24 with games played at 2 p.m. (Friday and Saturday)  and 1 p.m. (Sunday and Monday).

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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