No. 2 Tech Takes the Series vs. No. 5 Florida State

THE FLATS – Another excellent pitching performance and a pair of four-run two-out rallies propelled No. 2 Georgia Tech (29-5, 14-3 ACC) to its 11^th straight victory, an 8-3 win over No. 5 Florida State (24-10, 9-5 ACC) in front of another sold-out crowd inside Mac Nease Baseball Park at Russ Chandler Stadium on Friday night.

The Jackets win the series over No. 5 Florida State, marking the first time in program history GT has won its first nine series to begin a season. The Jackets secured the series in front of a crowd of 4,214 fans, the largest home crowd since setting the all-time attendance record back in 2009 (4,609).

Tech rode the arms of three pitchers: Porter Buursema (4.0 innings), Caden Gaudette (3.0 innings) and Dylan Loy (2.0 innings). All three pitchers surrendered only one run each, off solo homers, while the Yellow Jacket offense struck for four runs in the 3^rd and the 8^th innings with a pair of two out rallies.

QUICK HITS: TEAM

• Georgia Tech has won its first nine series of the season for the first time in program history and its first six ACC series for the first time since 2005.
• This is the first series victory over a Top-5 ranked opponent since 2022 and the third series victory over a Top 15 team this season, matching the season total from 2024.
• Tech pitching has held opponents under five runs for 11 consecutive games, the longest streak since 1992 and tied for the longest streak since 1921-22 when the team allowed four or fewer over 13 straight games.
• The Jackets are 29-5 for the first time since 2010, tied for the best start to a season in 24 years (30-4 in 2002).
• Tech has won at least 29 of its first 34 games for only the 5th time in the program’s 131 seasons: 2010, 2002, 1997, 1971 and now 2026.
• GT is 14-3 in ACC play for the first time since 2010, tied for the best start to an ACC season since 2005.
• The Jackets have won nine straight ACC games for the first time since 2011, when they won 10 in a row.
• Tech is now 8-2 against Top 15 teams for the first time since 2006.
• GT is on an 11-game winning streak, its longest in a decade (since 2016). Six of the wins in this streak came against Top 15 opponents (three vs. No. 14 NC State, one vs. No. 11 Auburn and two vs. No. 5 Florida State).
• The Jackets’ 11-game winning streak is the 2^nd longest active streak in Division I, behind only No. 1 UCLA.
• Over the current win streak, Tech is outscoring its opponents by 71 runs (100-29). Tech owns a 2.61 team ERA over that stretch while scoring an average of 9.1 runs per game.
• With this win, head coach James Ramsey now own the best record by any GT head coach in his first season through 34 games (29-5).
• GT is now 20-2 at home for only the fourth time this century (also 2010, 2008 and 2002).
• The Jackets are 16-0 in night games (games started at 6 pm or later) and 7-0 on national television.
• GT is 5-0 when playing in front of a sold-out crowd at home, winning by a combined score of 52-17 over those five games.
• Tech has scored 376 runs through their first 34 games. It’s the most runs Georgia Tech has recorded after 34 games in the program’s 131-year history and the most runs any Power 4 team has scored through 34 games in the BBCOR era (since 2011).
• The Jackets scoring average now stands at 11.1 runs/game this season. The program record is 10.3, set back in 1984.
• GT is outscoring its opponents 376-144, that +232 margin is the highest through 34 games in program history.
• Tech pitching struck out 13 Seminoles tonight, marking the 13^th time GT has delivered 10+ strikeouts in a game this season and the fourth time in the last five outings.
• Over the 11-game win streak, GT has struck out 99 batters (9.6 K/9) with only 35 walks (3.4 BB/9) for a K/BB ratio of 2.82.

  QUICK HITS: THE BATS

• Junior Jarren Advincula finished with three hits, tied with Carson Kerce for the most on the team, going 3-for-5. It was his team-leading 21^st multi-hit game of the season, giving him multiple hits in 61.8 % of his games played as a Yellow Jacket.
• He leads the team with 23 hits over the current 10-game winning streak and 33 hits in conference play.
• In the 11-game winning streak, Advincula is slashing .489 avg. /.547 OBP /.745 slugging, all team highs.
• He leads the ACC with 59 hits this season, averaging 1.7 hits per game and putting him on pace for 93 hits over the course of the regular season. With potential postseason games, that would put him in striking distance of being the first 100-hit player at GT since 2005 (Wes Hodges & Tyler Greene).
• Junior Carson Kerce also produced three hits, going 3-for-4 with a run scored and two doubles. It was his 16^th multi-hit game of the season, the second most behind Advincula, and his 5^th game with multiple doubles.
• He becomes the first player in the nation to reach 20 doubles this season, averaging an NCAA-best .59 doubles per game.
• Kerce is on pace for 31 doubles in the regular season alone, which would break the program record (27) set by Jay Payton in 1994. His next double will put him in an 11-way tie for the 18^th most in a single season in program history.
• Junior Drew Burress continues to swing a hot bat, extending his hitting streak to a team-best nine games by going 1-for-3 with two walks and two runs scored.
• His single in the third inning came with no runners on and two-outs, sparking the two-out rally that would give the Jackets a 4-1 lead.
• He has scored 45 runs this season, the second most on the team behind Vahn Lackey (47). Burress has scored 195 runs over his career, 15th most in Georgia Tech history.
• He is now one run away from tying the BBCOR era program record for career runs, currently held by Wade Bailey (196 runs – 2015-18).
• Over the current 11-game winning streak, Burress leads the team with 17 runs scored and is second on the team with a .472 OBP – behind only Advincula (.547).
• Lackey delivered a two-RBI single in the eighth inning to give the Jackets some insurance (6-2). He leads the team with 44 RBI this season, a new career high.
• So far, Lackey leads the team in runs (47), RBI (44), total bases (97), slugging percentage (.776), on-base percentage (.516) and stolen bases (7-for-7).
• Junior Ryan Zuckerman extended his on-base streak to a team-high 16 games, going 2-for-5 with a two RBI double off the wall in the 3^rd
• This was his 12^th game with multiple RBI, tied with Advincula for the most on the team.
• For the season, Zuckerman has posted 42 RBI, already only six behind his previous career high (48).
• Sophomore Alex Hernandez bounced back after losing his 34-game on-base streak in the series opener, going 2-for-4 with a two-RBI single to give the Jackets the lead in the four-run third inning.
• That two-run single gave him 100 career RBI as a Yellow Jacket in just 92 games played.

QUICK HITS: THE ARMS

• Junior Porter Buursema delivered yet another incredibly strong showing in his third start as a Yellow Jacket, matching his career high with 4.0 innings and setting a new career high with seven strikeouts.
• Buursema allowed only three hits and one walk over his 4.0 innings of work tonight, giving him seven baserunners allowed and 13 strikeouts over 8.0 innings in his last two combined starts.
• He has pitched a career-high 18.1 innings this season and set a new career high with 27 strikeouts and a .190 batting average against, the lowest of any Tech pitcher who has started a game this season.
• He lowers his ERA to 3.44 for the year and while he did not stay in the game long enough to secure the win, the Jackets have won all three of his starts this season by a combined score of 21-9.
• R-junior Caden Gaudette made his team-leading 13^th appearance of the season, tied for the most in his career, when he emerged from the bullpen to start the fifth inning. He would throw 3.0 innings with only one run allowed, two strikeouts and no walks.
• This was his second longest outing of the season after tossing 3.1 innings vs. No. 14 NC State two weeks ago.
• Gaudette has now thrown 18.0 innings this season with a 3.50 ERA and 16 strikeouts.
• He would get credit for the win, taking his record to 3-0 this year after not recording a win in either of his first two seasons.
• Junior Dylan Loy entered the game to start the 8^th inning with a 4-2 lead. He would pitch the final 2.0 innings with four strikeouts, earning himself the save.
• This was his 11^th appearance of the season and his sixth out of the bullpen. Loy allowed a solo home run in the ninth inning, leading the to 8-3 final score. It was the first run he has allowed in any of his six bullpen appearances this season, giving him a 0.60 ERA out of the bullpen.
• This was his first save of the season and the third of his career.
• Loy has struck out 32 batters this season, the third-most on the team behind only Tate McKee and Jackson Blakely.

Up Next

Tech will go for the series sweep over No. 5 Florida State tomorrow at 3 pm. Gates open at 1:30 and the game will be streamed live 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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