BASEBALL GT vs. Gardner-Webb midweek preview...

[Alex Farrer]

Going with the freshman phenom Alex Hernandez for his first start on the mound.

Full preview:

From GT Athletics...

GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS vs. GARDNER-WEBB RUNNIN’ BULLDOGS
MARCH 18, 2025 • 6 PM
Atlanta, Ga. (Mac Nease Baseball Park at Russ Chandler Stadium)
Ticket Information | Parking | Promotions
Probable Starting Pitchers
GT – RHP ALEX HERNANDEZ (0-1) vs. GWU – RHP Gavin Schmitt (0-1)
Tuesday – 6 PM
TV: ACC Network Extra | Watch Live
Play-by-Play: Jack Johnson
Analyst: Dusty Isaacs
Radio: GT Gameday App
Play-by-Play: Colin Lacy
Live Stats
SERIES STATS
Overall: GT leads, 9-0
Home: GT leads, 9-0
Last Game: The Yellow Jackets swept a three-game series, at home, over Gardner-Webb in 2023 the last time these two programs met, winning 15-5, 21-11 (7) and 13-8. The sweep clinching victory included a five home run inning for Tech off the bats of Angelo Dispigna, Drew Compton, Jack Rubenstein, Jake DeLeo and Stephen Reid.
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
Game Notes | Gameday Rosters
TOP STORYLINES

• The Yellow Jackets are 16-4 this season, the best 20-game start to a season in nine years (since 2016).
• Tech is outscoring their opponents 17-4 in the 7th, 8th and 9th innings over the last seven games.
• The Yellow Jackets are coming off a series victory over Pitt in which they outscored the Panthers 31-14.
• Saturday was head coach Danny Hall’s 1,427th victory as a college baseball coach, tying Cliff Gustafson (1,427) for the 10th most in NCAA Division I history. With his next win, Georgia Tech will replace Texas as the only program in Division I history to have two coaches in the Top-10 (Jim Morris – 1,594 – 5th)
• Coach Hall owns the 2nd most victories among active NCAA head coaches after South Carolina hired Paul Mainieri out of retirement this season.
• Tech is led by reigning National Freshman of the Year, Drew Burress, who was just named ACC Player of the Week for the first time in his career. He leads all of Division I with a .791 career slugging percentage.
• The Houston Co. product became the fastest Yellow Jacket in program history to reach 30 career home runs – doing so in just 73 games, a full 20 games faster than the previous record holder, Kevin Parada
• Burress has now hit eight home runs this season, bringing his career total to 33. This week, he surpasses Georgia Tech legends Joey Bart (2016-18), Jake Davies (2009-12), Pete Geist (1983-85), Matt Murton (2001-03) and Scott Byers (1993-96) on the all-time home run leaderboard as he creeps closer to the Top 20 in program history (36).
• His 11 doubles lead the ACC this season, tied with teammate Kyle Lodise, and stand 6th in Division I. He is 23rd in the nation and 2nd in the ACC with eight home runs and his career slugging percentage (.820) leads all of Division I by almost a full point (2nd place – .722). The gap between Burress and second place on the career slugging % list is equal to the distance between 2nd place and 41st (must have minimum of 200 ABs to qualify for the national career rankings).
• The emergence of the pitching staff has been the highlight of the season, boasting 10.3 strikeouts-per-game this season – over a full strikeout-per-game improvement over last season (9.2) – Tech has not averaged double-digit strikeouts from the pitching staff since the COVID shortened 2020 season (10.9) and hasn’t done it over a complete season this century.
• That early bullpen success has been spearheaded by Mason Patel who became the first Yellow Jacket pitcher this century to win each of his first six appearances in a season. He allowed his first run of the season after 22.2 innings of scoreless baseball – the best start to a season by any Yellow Jacket this century.
• Patel leads the nation with six victories. He is 3rd in Division I in WHIP (0.57), 5th in ERA (0.39) and 8th in hits allowed per nine innings (3.52).
• Tech leads the nation with 63 doubles this season, headlined by Kyle Lodise and Drew Burress, who lead the ACC with 11 each.
• GT is the only Power 4 program with multiple players at 10+ doubles and the only team in Division I with three in double digits – Kyle Lodise (11), Drew Burress (11) and Kent Schmidt (10)
• Freshman Alex Hernandez will be making his first-career start on the mound tomorrow. It will be the 6th position he has started in this season – second base (9 games), left field (7 games), designated hitter (two games), first base (1 game) and right field (1 game).
• Hernandez is second among Division I freshman with 7 home runs and 28 RBI. He is the only player in the Power 4 conferences and one of only two in Division I to record a save and hit at least six home runs this season.
• Should he get the win tomorrow, the Cumming, Ga. native will become the only player in Division I with a win, a save and six or more home runs.
• Last game, Hernandez recorded six RBI – tied with Drew Burress (May 3, 2024 at Clemson) and Derek Dietrich (March 7, 2008 vs. Virginia Tech) for the most RBI in a single ACC game by a GT freshman since Luke Murton (7 RBI vs. Clemson in the ACC Tournament – May 28, 2006). Those four, along with Matt Wieters (6 RBI March 6th, 2005 vs. Duke) are the only Yellow Jacket freshman to drive in six or more RBI in an ACC game this century.
• GT’s .331 batting average is third in the ACC and 12th in the country.
• Tech’s .567 team slugging percentage is 2nd in the conference and 12th in the nation.
• The Jackets lead the ACC and are third in the nation with 19 SAC flies this season, led by Alex Hernandez (4).
• Parker Brosius has stolen 12 out of 12 bags this season, the 5th-most among the Power 4 without being caught.
• The Jackets are third in the ACC and 20th in the nation with 221 hits this year

 

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