Tech Demolishes Ga. Southern, 25-1

STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Tech baseball (4-0) delivered one of its most complete efforts in program history on Tuesday night, defeating Georgia Southern 25-1 inside J.I. Clements Stadium in Statesboro, Ga. The Yellow Jackets scored 25 runs while tying the program record with 19 strikeouts to hand Georgia Southern its largest loss in program history.

The manual scoreboard in right field ran out of numbers to put up as the Yellow Jackets scored 25 unanswered runs in the first seven innings of play. In total, all 18 Tech batters came up to the plate with 16 recording hits, 15 scoring at least one run and nine delivering at least one RBI.  The offense was led by junior third baseman Ryan Zuckerman who finished a home run shy of the cycle, going 3-for-5 with a double, a triple, five RBI and two runs scored. Junior catcher Vahn Lackey went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run to make it a 13-0 game in the third inning. He finished with four RBI and three runs scored as the Jackets delivered an all-around offensive masterclass.

On the pitching side, the Jackets used six different pitchers for a combined 19 strikeouts, tied for the most in program history and the most since 1989. The staff allowed only six hits and one walk for a 19:1. Junior Dylan Loy set the tone by recording all six of his outs via strikeout in his first start in White & Gold. R-Junior Carson Ballard continued the pitching clinic, recording three strikeouts of his own before sophomore Jackson Blakely delivered 3.0 scoreless innings, striking out five while allowing only two base hits. Sophomore Adam McKelvey (2), senior Brett Barfield (2) and r-sophomore Jake Lankie (1) pitched each of the last three innings, combining for five strikeouts and allowing only one hit, one walk and one unearned run in a dominant performance.

Following his teams 25-1 win over Ga Southern, I caught up with @GTBaseball head coach James Ramsey for his post-game thoughts pic.twitter.com/U2ZzFsTMsU

— Monty Taylor (@Monty2740) February 18, 2026

I was able to pull Ryan Zuckerman off the bus to get his postgame thoughts following an electric day. He finished a homer shy of the cycle and drove in 5 runs in @GTBaseball’s 25-1 win. pic.twitter.com/QSR8Fixtkp

— Monty Taylor (@Monty2740) February 18, 2026

QUICK HITS: TEAM

• Georgia Tech improves to 4-0 for the fourth year in a row.
• The Yellow Jackets lead the all-time series with Georgia Southern 112-32 and have won the last eight meetings dating back to 2022.
• Georgia Tech has scored 75 runs through its first four games of the regular season, the 2^nd most in the program’s 131-year history and the most since 1975, which included a 41-0 victory over Earlham College, still the Division I record for largest margin of victory in a game.
• Tech has scored those 75 runs while only allowing 12. That 63-run margin is the second most through four games in program history, behind only the +73 margin (88-15) of the 1975 season.
• The Jackets have now scored double-digit runs in each of their first four games of the season for the third time in program history and the first time since 1987.
• Tech has scored 20+ runs in two of its first four games for only the second time in program history and first time since 1975 (41 and 22 runs scored, both against Earlham College).
• The 24-run victory was the largest margin of victory in the BBCOR era (since 2011) and the largest since defeating Virginia Tech by 25 runs on May 14, 2005 (27-2). It was the largest margin Georgia Southern has ever lost by in its 83 years of baseball.
• James Ramsey becomes the fifth Tech head coach to begin his tenure 4-0, joining Danny Hall, John Heisman, Kid Clay and Joe Pittard.
• Tech matched a program record with 19 strikeouts, the most since 1989 and only the third time it has been accomplished in 131 years of Tech baseball.

QUICK HITS: THE BATS

• Junior Ryan Zuckerman delivered his second three-hit performance of the season, going 3-for-5 with five RBI, a double and a triple. He matched his career high in both hits and RBI and is now hitting .500 over four games in 2026.
• Sophomore Will Baker went 3-for-4 with a walk, ending his on-base streak at 12 consecutive plate appearances and lowering his batting average from .778 to .769 for the season.
• He has now reached base safely in 16 of 19 plate appearances this season and has the same number of extra base hits as outs recorded, three.
• While Baker did not drive in a run today, he crossed the plate twice, bringing his season total to eight runs scored, tied for the most on the team.
• Junior Vahn Lackey returned to his catching duties, going 2-for-4 with his first home run of the season and four RBI.
• It was his 11^th career home run brought his career RBI total to 65.
• His home run made it a 13-0 game in the top of the third inning, while Georgia Southern had yet to hit the ball out of the infield on offense.

𝐕𝐀𝐇𝐍 𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐘 💣@LackeyVahn completely DESTROYS a baseball for his first HR of the season!

105 mph / 32.4 degrees / 419 feet

📺 ESPN+#StingEm🐝 x #WreckHavoc pic.twitter.com/qDm0qHQNmc

— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) February 18, 2026

• Lackey extends his hitting streak to six games dating back to last season and his on-base streak to 14 games.
• Junior Kent Schmidt recorded three hits, going 3-for-4 with three RBI for his first multi-hit game of the season. He has now recorded multi-hit games in 10 of his last 14 games dating back to last season.
• He extends his on-base streak to a team-high 21 games dating back to last season, just one game shy of his career long.
• Junior Drew Burress delivered two RBI while going 3-for-4. That brings his career RBI mark to 155 as he continues his quest to become just the ninth Yellow Jacket to ever reach the 200 RBI mark.
• He posted yet another double, his third of the season, giving him 41 for his career, just nine away of breaking into the all-time Top 20 in Tech history.
• Senior Parker Brosius recorded his fourth-career home run in the 7^th He finished the night with three RBI, giving him seven for the season and 56 over his career.
• Brosius’ seven RBI are the fourth most on the team despite only having four at bats.

BROSIUS GOES YAYA!!@BrosiusParker comes off the bench and sends one into the night sky! That's 2⃣3⃣ runs!!

📺 ESPN+#StingEm🐝 x #WreckHavoc pic.twitter.com/oImUGcOO6e

— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) February 18, 2026

• Sophomore Alex Hernandez went 2-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBI. Hernandez, who set the Georgia Tech freshman RBI record last season (69) leads the team with 10 RBI so far this season and keeps himself on pace to become the fastest Yellow Jacket ever to reach 100 career RBI. He has recorded 79 RBI in just 63 games (1.25 RBI per game).
• Hernandez extends his hitting streak to seven games, dating back to last season, the longest active streak on the team.
• Junior Jarren Advincula delivered his second multi-RBI game of the season, driving in a pair to bring his total to five. He extends his hitting streak to five games and his on-base streak to 10, both dating back to his time at California.
• Freshman Judson Hartwell delivered his first-career RBI tonight, collecting his second career hit in his second career at bat. His RBI single drove in Zuckerman for the 25^th run of the game.

QUICK HITS: THE ARMS

• Junior Dylan Loy made his 7^th career start and his first as a Yellow Jacket. He pitched 2.0 innings, allowing an infield single while setting a new career high with six strikeouts, recording all six of his outs via strikeout.
• He has now pitched 3.1 innings this season with eight strikeouts.
• R-Junior Carson Ballard was first out of the bullpen, recording all three of his outs via strikeout and working himself out of a runners at 2^nd and 3^rd, one out, jam by striking out the next two batters he faced, turning in a clean third inning.
• Sophomore Jackson Blakely came out for the start of the fourth inning, setting career bests in innings pitched (3.0) and strikeouts (five) to record his first win as a collegiate pitcher. He allowed only two baserunners while throwing a career-most 41 pitches.
• Sophomore Adam McKelvey made his second appearance of the season, tossing 1.0 innings and striking out two of the four batters he faced. He has now recorded five strikeouts in 2.0 innings this season, striking out five of the eight batters he’s faced.
• Senior Brett Barfield made his first appearance of the season, tossing a flawless eighth inning with two strikeouts and only 12 pitches.
• R-sophomore Jake Lankie recorded the record-tying 19^th strikeout in the ninth inning. He made his 2026 debut with 1.0 innings of work, allowing an unearned run to score on a SAC fly before inducing a game-ending flyout to center field.

Up Next

Georgia Tech returns home to Mac Nease Baseball Park at Russ Chandler Stadium for a four-game series against Stony Brook, beginning Friday, Feb. 20 at 4 p.m. All four games will be streamed on ACC Network Extra. 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 X (@GTBaseball), Facebook, Instagram (@gt_baseball) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.