The national #3 team in the country and #1-seed in the ACC Championship Georgia Tech Baseball defeated #5-seed Miami 9-3 to advance to the ACC Championship final. Tech is now 47-9 on the season and remains undefeated in neutral site games (4-0). Tech will play the winner of #14-seed Pitt and #2-seed North Carolina. A win in the final would be Tech’s first ACC Championship since 2014.
Both of Tech’s games up to this point in the ACC Tournament have been 1pm starts moved up to 11am in order to avoid
rain. So keep an eye on start time. The currently scheduled first pitch is for 12pm.
Tech set another record today in the home run category. With three homers on the day (Vahn Lackey, Ryan Zuckerman x2), Tech is up to 124 home runs on the season, the most in program history.
Jackson Blakely threw another great game, going 5.2 innings and allowing only one run with three strikeouts and one walk. He moves to 7-1 on the season.
Every Jacket in the starting lineup reached base at least once.
How It Happened
After Jackson Blakely easily got through the first inning, Tech got things rolling on a Jarren Advincula double for his 101st hit of the season followed by a Vahn Lackey laser shot home run on a slider down in the zone to give Tech a 2-0 lead, both with two outs. Ryan Zuckerman hit a double down the right field line that ricocheted off the corner of the foul line wall but was stranded to end the inning.
In the third, Vahn Lackey reached on a fielding error by Miami’s shortstop, which Ryan Zuckerman took advantage of hitting a blast to center field for his 21st homer of the season and doubling the lead to 4-0. Tech loaded the bases with two outs on a Parker Brosiu hit by pitch, but Carson Kerce struck out.
In the 4th, Zuckerman hit his second homer of teh game, driving in Burress for a 6-0 lead.
In the 5th, a passed ball scored Alex Hernandez, giving Tech a 7-0 lead.
Jackson Blakely exited the game with 2 outs and 2 on in the 6th after a ground ball chopped over Ryan Zuckerman’s head at third base scored Miami’s first run of the game. He was replaced by Caden Gaudette. Miami scored another on a passed ball on a ball in the dirt that snuck under Lackey’s glove, making it 7-2 Tech.
In the bottom of the 6th, Lackey walked to start the inning. On a hit & run with Zuckerman at the plate, Zuckerman grounded out to the first baseman who then threw to second where Lackey’s foot was able to get in the way of the ball as the shortstop attempted to catch it. The ball rolled to the edge of the infield grass and Lackey immediately sprung up to take third base. The aware baserunning set up Alex Hernandez who hit a routine single to extend Tech’s lead to 8-2.
In the 7th, Kerce led off with a triple. After a Burress walk, a wild pitch scored Kerce and advanced Burress to third, making it 9-2 Tech. On a hard ground ball by Jarren Advicula to the right side, Miami threw home and easily tagged out Burress. Advincula initially had stolen second during Lackey’s at bat, but Miami successfully challenged that Advincula was tagged before reaching second, ending the 7th on that note.
Kayden Campbell came in to start the top of the 8th inning, lasting two pitches after a Miami infield single hit against a shift and a double down the right field line. Dimitri Angelakos came in to pitch, striking out the first batter, getting a flyout to the next (which drove in the runner at third to make it 9-3 Tech), and finishing with a fielder’s choice grounder to third. He pitched a clean 1-2-3 inning in the 9th to secure the win.
