Tech Mercy-Rules No. 5 Florida State for 12th Straight Win

THE FLATS – No. 2 Georgia Tech scored 15 unanswered runs in the fifth and sixth innings to earn an emphatic sweep over No. 5 Florida State on Saturday afternoon inside Mac Nease Baseball Park at Russ Chandler Stadium. The Yellow Jackets (30-5, 15-3 ACC) took game three of the series in mercy-rule fashion, defeating FSU (24-11, 9-6 ACC) by a final score of 17-3 (7). After falling behind, 3-2, after the top of the fifth, the Tech offense flexed its muscles to the tune of 13 hits, three home runs and three doubles across the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings to secure its 12^th straight win and third straight series sweep.

The Jackets secured the sweep in front of a crowd of 4,326 fans, the largest home crowd since setting the all-time attendance record back in 2009 (4,609). Tech sold out all three games of this weekend’s series for the first time in program history, resulting in a combined attendance of 12,585, the largest in program history for a single weekend.

For the third game of the series, Florida State struck first, this time scoring one run off a solo home run in the first inning. The Jackets responded with a run in the bottom of the inning off an RBI single from Jarren Advincula. FSU hit another solo home run in the second inning only for Carson Kerce to respond with a solo shot in the bottom half. When FSU took their third lead of the day with a run in the top of the fifth, the Jackets responded with five runs in the bottom half of the inning, going in front, 7-2 and eventually scoring 10 runs in the sixth to put the game away.

The Jackets continued to do damage with two outs, driving in 11 runs after two outs were already on the board. For the series, Tech drove in 19 runs with two outs, more runs than they allowed in total (9) over the three games.

QUICK HITS: TEAM

• The Jackets have tied the best 35-game start to a season in program history, starting 30-5.
• Tech is 30-5 for only the 5th time in the program’s 131 seasons: 2010, 2002, 1997, 1971 and now 2026.
• GT is on a 12-game winning streak, its longest in a decade (since 2016). Seven of the wins in this streak have come against Top 15 opponents (three vs. No. 14 NC State, one vs. No. 11 Auburn and three vs. No. 5 Florida State).
• The Jackets’ 12-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 85 runs (117-32). An average of 9.75 to 2.67
• Tech pitching has held opponents under five runs for 12 consecutive games, the longest streak since 1921 (105 years).
• The pitching staff has delivered a 2.70 ERA over its last 12 games, the lowest among Power 4 teams and the second lowest in the NCAA.
• Georgia Tech has swept three straight ACC series for the first time since 2011.
• It’s Georgia Tech’s first sweep of the Seminoles since 2006, which was also the last time the Jackets swept a top 5 team (No. 5 FSU April 21-23, 2006).
• GT is 15-3 in ACC play for the first time since 2010, tied for the best start to an ACC season since 2005.
• The Jackets have won 10 straight ACC games for the first time since 2011.
• Tech is now 9-2 against Top 15 teams for the first time since 2006.
• James Ramsey owns the best record by any GT head coach in his first season through 35 games (30-5).
• GT is now 21-2 at home for only the third time this century (also 2010 and 2002).
• GT is 6-0 when playing in front of a sold-out crowd at home, winning by a combined score of 69-20 over those six games. The Jackets have won four of the games via run-rule, including today.
• Tech has scored 393 runs through their first 35 games. It’s the most runs Georgia Tech has recorded after 35 games in the program’s 131-year history and the most runs any Power 4 team has scored through 35 games in the BBCOR era (since 2011).
• The Jackets scoring average now stands at 11.2 runs/game this season. The program record is 10.3, set back in 1984.
• GT is outscoring its opponents 393-147, that +246 margin is the highest through 35 games in program history.
• The 17-run outburst today was the second-most runs GT has ever scored against FSU and the most since scoring 18 against them back in 2005.
• Tech scored 10 runs in the sixth inning, marking the second 10+ run inning of the season after scoring 11 runs on opening weekend against Bowling Green.
• It was the first 10-run inning in an ACC game since scoring 10 against No. 3 Clemson last season – tied for the most in a single inning of an ACC game since hanging 12 runs on Duke back on May 18, 2018.

  QUICK HITS: THE BATS

• Junior Drew Burress produced his fourth career 4-for-4 day, collecting a home run, three singles and a walk. He came around to score four times, one shy of the career high he set his freshman season at Virginia.
• He extended his hitting streak to a team-high 10 games dating back to March 28.
• He has scored 49 runs this season, tied with Vahn Lackey for the most on the team. Burress has scored 199 runs over his career, the 12th most in Georgia Tech history.
• He now holds the BBCOR era record for runs in a single season, passing Wade Bailey (196 runs – 2015-18).
• He hit his 51^st career home run in the 10-run sixth inning. Burress already holds the GT BBCOR era record for career home runs and moves one step closer to Andy Bruce (52) for the 4^th-most home runs in Georgia Tech history.
• Burress is now only six home runs away from tying Jason Varitek for the Georgia Tech home run record (57) set back in 1994.
• Over the current 12-game winning streak, Burress is slashing .417 avg / .517 OBP / .646 slugging and leads the team with 21 runs scored. He is second on the team in average, hits and on-base percentage – behind only Jarren Advincula (.552).
• Junior Jarren Advincula finished with three hits, going 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored. It was his team-leading 22^nd multi-hit game of the season, giving him multiple hits in 62.9 % of his games played as a Yellow Jacket.
• He leads the team with 26 hits over the current 12-game winning streak and 36 hits in conference play.
• In the 12-game winning streak, Advincula is slashing .500 avg. /.552 OBP /.750 slugging, all team highs.
• He leads the ACC with 62 hits this season, averaging 1.8 hits per game and putting him on pace for 95 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).
• Advincula has driven in 42 RBI this season, the third most on the team behind only Lackey and Zuckerman.
• Junior Carson Kerce also produced three hits, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a career high five RBI. It was his 17^th multi-hit game of the season, the second most behind
• He hit his fourth home run of the season in the second inning, tying the game 2-2 at the time. He has now matched his career high for home runs in a single season and is two away from matching his career total from his first two years combined (6).
• Kerce did not hit a double today but is still on pace for 31 doubles in the regular season, 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.
• He leads the team with 25 extra base hits this season, breaking his previous career high (24) set last season.
• Junior Vahn Lackey went 1-for-3 with a pair of walks and a solo home run, going back-to-back with Burress in the 10-run sixth inning.
• It was his 12^th home run of the season, tying him with Ryan Zuckerman for the most on the team.
• So far, Lackey leads the team in runs (tied with Burress – 49), RBI (45), total bases (101), slugging percentage (.789), on-base percentage (.519) and stolen bases (7-for-7).
• Junior Ryan Zuckerman extended his on-base streak to a team-high 17 games, going 1-for-4 with a two RBI double in the sixth inning.
• This was his 13^th game with multiple RBI, tied with Advincula for the most on the team.
• For the season, Zuckerman has posted 44 RBI, already only four behind his previous career high (48).
• Sophomore Caleb Daniel smashed a leadoff solo home run on the first pitch of the sixth inning to begin the onslaught. It was his eighth of the season, a new career best.
• Sophomore Alex Hernandez went 1-for-5 with an RBI single, giving him 101 career RBI as a Yellow Jacket in just 93 games played.

QUICK HITS: THE ARMS

• Sophomore Jackson Blakely made his fifth consecutive weekend start, pitching 5.0 innings with three earned runs allowed and five strikeouts to just one walk.
• He has only allowed runs in only two of his six starts this season (29.2 innings) but saw his scoreless innings streak halted at 17.0 consecutive innings dating back to March 14.
• Blakely has only allowed runs in two of his eight appearances this year, including two games out of the bullpen against Georgia Southern and Virginia Tech.
• His ERA stands at 2.34, the lowest among all starting pitchers on the roster.
• He would earn the win, bringing his record to 5-1 with 34.2 innings of work.
• R-sophomore Jake Lankie made his 10^th appearance of the season, pitching a scoreless sixth inning.
• He lowers his ERA to 4.40 for the season with this marking his third straight appearance without allowing an earned run and his eighth this season.
• Senior Brett Barfield put the final nail in the coffin in the top of the seventh inning, working around an error to deliver a scoreless inning with two strikeouts.
• This was his 13th appearance of the season, tying Caden Gaudette for the most on the team.
• It was his seventh straight scoreless appearance and 11th overall this year as he lowered his ERA to a team-best 1.59.
• 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 11.1 innings with a 1.59 ERA as a senior.
• He has recorded 14 strikeouts in his 11.1 innings of work, four away from his career high for a single season, set back in 2024.

Up Next

The Jackets close out their five-game homestand this Tuesday (April 14) with a midweek matchup against Georgia Southern (12-22, 5-9 Sun Belt). This is the second half of a home-and-home between GT and the Eagles, with Tech winning the first game, 25-1 earlier this season, in Statesboro, Ga.

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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