Drew Burress Smashes School Record Four Home Runs as Georgia Tech Dominates Georgia State 10-0
The series might have ended with a dud on Sunday, but it did not change the fact that Georgia Tech has started the season 6-`1 and has been playing fairly well.
Today, the Yellow Jackets squared off with their in-state opponent, the Georgia State Panthers. Georgia State has not gotten off to a great start in their 2024 campaign. They were 2-5 coming into the game vs the Yellow Jackets, with series losses to Seton Hall and New Orleans, as well as a 15-0 loss to Georgia last week. Georgia Tech was the better team on paper coming into today's game and looked to produce a convincing victory.
They did that and Drew Burress is the reason why.
Buress smashed four home runs today and is having one of the best starts to a career for any Yellow Jacket in any sport ever. He has been unbelievable so far this season and he showcased his ability in the biggest way today.
Not only that, but the pitching was outstanding. Carson Ballard had a great day on the mound and then Tate McKee and Riley Stanford were tremendous in relief.
Let's recap the day.
Ballard was the starting pitcher today for Georgia Tech and here was how they lined up:
1. CF Drew Burress
2. 1B Cam Jones
3. SS Payton Green
4. DH Matthew Ellis
5. 2B Mike Becchetti
6. LF Bobby Zmarzlak
7. C Vahn Lackey
8. 3B Demitri Diamant
9. RF Parker Brosius
It was a good start for Ballard in this game. He allowed only one hit, but was never in danger at any time of giving up any runs. Georgia Tech went to the bottom of the first inning with a chance to strike first.
That is what they did and it was none other than freshman phenom Drew Burress who led another game off with a solo home run to give the Yellow Jackets a 1-0 lead.
It was the only hit of the inning for the Yellow Jackets, but they were now in position to allow Ballard to pitch with a lead.
After allowing only one hit at the top of the 2nd, Georgia Tech's offense went back to work. After a double from Diamant, the Yellow Jackets had runners on second and third and a chance to add to the lead, but Brosius grounded out to end the inning and it resulted in a missed opportunity.
Ballard continued to impress with a strong third inning. He struck out two batters and did not allow a hit. For a player in his first career start, that was an impressive first three innings.
Going to the bottom of the third, the Yellow Jackets were back to the top of the lineup and that meant it was another chance for Drew Burress to hit a home run.
And that is what he did.
Burress, in his second plate appearance of the day, launched another ball over the fences and gave Georgia Tech a 2-0 lead. It was the seventh home run of the season and it continued the most impressive start to a season from a Georgia Tech baseball player in some time.
Georgia Tech was not done though.
After Jones popped up for the first out, Green hit a single and then got to second on a wild pitch. Then, Ellis was walked, and Georgia Tech had two runners on base with only one out. Another wild pitch would then get Green to third, making things really tough for Georgia State.
The first non-Burress run for Georgia Tech was brought in courtesy of an RBI single from Becchetti. That was all the damage Georgia Tech could muster though. Zmarzlak had an infield fly and then Lackey grounded out to end the inning. It was time for Ballard to come back out for another inning.
Ballard continued to just ease through the Panthers lineup and after five innings, was up to six strikeouts.
The offense was not done though. Green hit a sacrifice fly to make it a 4-0 lead and then Bechetti hit a leadoff home run to start the bottom of the 5th and make it 5-0.
The rest of the day belonged to Burress.
He hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the 6th and then another one in the bottom of the seventh to continue his historic day. A wild pitch scored another run in the 8th, but the game was well in hand.
Georgia Tech won 10-0 and improved their record to 7-1. It was a dominating victory and now the Yellow Jackets will get their biggest test of the year this weekend when they face the Georgia Bulldogs. Georgia is also off to a great start, especially on offense. They will be a nice barometer for this Georgia Tech pitching staff. First game vs Georgia will be at 6:00 on Friday in Atlanta.