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Tech Delivers Gritty Comeback Win over Wake Forest

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THE FLATS – No. 3 Georgia Tech erased an early 4-1 deficit with four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, holding off Wake Forest for a 6-5 series opening victory in front of a sold-out crowd at Mac Nease Baseball Park at Russ Chandler Stadium. The Yellow Jackets (34-7, 17-5 ACC) were in danger of falling behind by even more, were it not for the outstanding defensive efforts of Drew Burress in center field, tracking down a fly ball in the gap with the bases loaded to end the 4th inning. Tech would go on to take the lead in the bottom of the fifth, before Mason Patel slammed the door with 3.0 innings out of the bullpen to secure the series opening win over the Demon Deacons (28-15, 11-11 ACC).

Once again, the first inning was not kind to the Jackets as WF scored three runs in the opening frame with a three-run home run after a pair of GT errors. The Jackets loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the first but could only manage one run on a SAC fly, a run the Demon Deacons would get back with a solo home run in the second, making it a 1-4 ball game. Tate McKee settled down from there, pitching scoreless innings in the third, fourth and fifth, racking up strikeouts and enjoying the benefits of Burress’ defense.

Burress would set the tone in the bottom of the fifth, smashing a leadoff single before strolling home when Jarren Advincula brought the sold-out crowd to its feet with a two-run home run. Vahn Lackey followed with a hard-hit single before Kent Schmidt worked a walk to chase the Wake Forest starter out of the game. A pair of wild pitches from the WF bullpen brought Lackey home for the game-tying run before Will Baker delivered a clutch, two-out double down the line in left to put the Jackets in front for the first time, 5-4. Lackey delivered what would become the game winning RBI in the very next inning, after Burress led off the inning with reaching base on an error. That would be all the Tech bullpen needed as Brett Barfield (1.0 innings) and Mason Patel (3.0) kept Wake at bay for the Jackets’ 34th win of the season.

QUICK HITS: TEAM

  • The Jackets improve to 34-7, matching the best 41-game start to a season in program history.
  • Tech is 17-5 in ACC play, the best start since 2011.
  • GT has won 17 ACC games in back-to-back season for the first time since 2011 & 2010.
  • Tech has won 34 of its first 41 games for only the 2nd time in the program’s 131 seasons: 2010 and now 2026.
  • GT has won 11 straight home games for the first time since 2022 and has won 12 straight games in the state of Georgia.
  • The Jackets are 23-2 at Mac Nease Baseball Park this season, the best 25-game record at home since starting 24-1 back in 2002.
  • GT has won its last 12 games in the state of Georgia dating back to March 10.
  • The Jackets secured their 10th series opening win of the season, improving to 10-1 in series openers. Tech has gone on to win each of the previous nine series this season after winning the first game.
  • Tech is outscoring opponents 111-39 in series openers this season and 69-26 in series openers in ACC play.
  • James Ramsey owns the best record by any GT head coach in his first season through 41 games (34-7).
  • The Jackets improve to 18-1 in night games this season.
  • Tech has scored 437 runs through their first 41 games. It’s the most runs Georgia Tech has recorded after 41 games in the program’s 131-year history and the most runs any Power 4 team has scored through 41 games in the BBCOR era (since 2011).
  • The Jackets scoring average now stands at 10.7 runs/game this season. The program record is 10.3, set back in 1984.
  • GT is outscoring its opponents 437-186, that +251 margin is the highest through 41 games in program history.
  • The bullpen saw its scoreless streak end at 10.1 consecutive innings when Wake Forest scored its fifth run of the day in the 7th It was the third double-digit scoreless inning streak of the season.
  • The Tech bullpen has now allowed two or fewer runs in 30 of the 41 games this season, lowering its season ERA to 3.68.

  QUICK HITS: THE BATS

  • Junior Jarren Advincula reached base three times, being hit by a pitch in each of his first two at bats before delivering a two-run home run in his third plate appearance.
  • He leads the ACC with 71 hits this season, averaging 1.73 hits per game and putting him on pace for 94 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).
  • He drove in his 50th RBI of the season, the second most on the team behind only Ryan Zuckerman (52). Advincula has produced his first career 50 RBI season after producing a combined 64 RBI in each of his previous two seasons.
  • He hit his seventh HR of the season, marking a new career high for a single season after hitting six last year.
  • He extends his hitting streak to a team-best nine games.

  • Junior Drew Burress extended his hitting streak to four with a 2-for-5 game tonight, hitting a pair of singles and reaching base on an error. He came around to score two runs, the first and last run of the night for Tech.
  • He has scored 55 runs this season, the most on the team. Burress has scored 205 runs over his career, tying Eric Patterson (2002-04) for the 10th most in program history.
  • Burress has now delivered 58 hits this season, the second most on the team behind only Advincula.
  • This was his 19th multi-hit game of the season, tied for the second most on the team, behind Advincula’s 25.
  • Sophomore Will Baker connected for a pair of doubles, going 2-for-3, including an RBI double in the fifth inning to give GT its first lead of the game. It was his second multi-double game of the year after also doing so at No. 8 Clemson earlier this season (March 14).
  • Baker has hit 17 doubles this season, the second most on the team aside from NCAA leader Carson Kerce.
  • Georgia Tech is 3-0 since Carson Kerce was moved into the leadoff spot prior to Sunday’s game at No. 3 North Carolina.

  • Junior Vahn Lackey produced his 16th multi-hit game of the season, connecting for a single in the Jackets’ four-run fifth inning before singling home Burress for what would become the game winning run in the sixth.
  • Lackey has driven in 48 RBI this season and scored 54 runs in just 41 games played.

QUICK HITS: THE ARMS

  • Junior Tate McKee made his 27th consecutive series opening start, overcoming four runs allowed in his first two innings to deliver 5.0 innings with a season high eight strikeouts.
  • Tech improves to 22-5 in series openers started by McKee (.815 win %) and have won 13 of the last 14 series openers dating back to last season.
  • He would earn the victory, improving to 7-1 for the season. McKee becomes the first Tech pitcher to deliver back-to-back 7-win seasons since future big leaguer Connor Thomas in 2018-19.
  • He becomes the first Tech pitcher to eclipse 50 innings pitched this year (51.0) and the first to record 50 strikeouts (56).
  • This was his sixth-career outing with at least eight strikeouts and first since striking out 10 in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals against Cal last year.
  • Senior Brett Barfield made his team-leading 17th appearance of the season in the sixth inning, delivering a scoreless inning of relief and recording a strikeout.
  • Barfield has not allowed a run in over a month (since March 17) and lowers his ERA to a team-best 1.20 over 15.0 innings.
  • This was his 11th straight scoreless appearance and 15th overall this year. Barfield has only allowed an earned run in two of his 17 games in 2026.
  • Barfield has enjoyed a breakout season thus far in 2026. He entered the season with a 7.90 career ERA over 35.1 innings and has pitched 15.0 innings with a 1.20 ERA as a senior.
  • He has recorded 18 strikeouts, matching his career high for a single season, set back in 2024.
  • Mason Patel got the ball to start the 7th inning, allowing his first run of the season before delivering scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth to secure the win for GT.
  • Since recovering from an injury that saw him miss 20 days, Patel has made seven appearances out of the bullpen, pitching 16.2 innings with only one earned run allowed, collecting a victory and five saves.
  • Over the last two seasons, Patel has made 30 appearances out of the bullpen, posting 12 wins and 10 saves.
  • He has secured back-to-back seasons with five saves, the first Yellow Jacket to accomplish that since Matt Wieters in 2006 & 2005.

Up Next

The Jackets will try to extend their winning streak at Mac Nease Baseball Park to 12 games tomorrow during game two of the series against Wake Forest. First pitch is scheduled for noon and will be broadcast on ACC Network. Limited tickets remain and can be purchased HERE

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.

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