ATLANTA – No. 29 Georgia Tech scored three times in the bottom of the ninth inning with Jadyn Jackson registering the walk-off hit that gave the Yellow Jackets the 4-3 win over Virginia Tech at Russ Chandler Stadium Friday night in the ACC baseball season opener for both sides.
Georgia Tech improved to 9-4 with the victory and ended the Hokies (8-4) seven-game winning streak. A win for the Hokies would have tied their longest win streak since the 2013 season.
They looked primed to tie that mark in eighth when the Hokies held a 3-1 advantage after Carson Taylor had driven in an insurance run on an RBI single that plated Nick Biddison.
Virginia Tech held a 2-0 lead after a pair of runs in the fourth. Tanner Thomas knocked in Taylor on a two-out RBI single and then helped Spencer Palmer score from third a batter later. Thomas took off for second and the throw down hit him and ricocheted into the outfield, allowing Palmer to trot home.
On the mound, Chris Gerard made one mistake to Stephen Reid, who homered in the home half of the fourth to cut the Yellow Jackets' deficit in half. Gerard struck out six over 5.2 frames, but allowed seven hits and walked two. Most of the night, VT pitchers were stranding runners, as Georgia Tech left two on base in the first, third, fourth, sixth and eighth. They also hit into two double plays, the second ended an eighth-inning jam that saw Nathan Starliper come into a bases-loaded situation with just one out. He threw one pitch to get the 463 GDP.
In the ninth, though, GT would break the trend, as Baron Radcliff singled two home that tied the game with nobody out, and with two gone and the bases load, Jackson became the hero with the base knock.
Quick notes:
- Tech is 18-36 all-time against Georgia Tech, including a 9-22 mark in Atlanta.
- This was the fourth time the Hokies have faced GT in an ACC season opener, the most common opponent in their 16 seasons in the league.
- The Hokies are now 6-10 in their season openers, 4-8 on the road.
- This was VT's first game against a ranked opponent in 2020.
- Coming into the night, VT had turned just three GDPs all season. They turned two in the series opener.
Inside the box score:
- Biddison extended his hitting streak to a career-long 10 straight, while he has reached base in 19 straight games (dating back to last season).
- Gerard has struck out at least five in all four of his starts this season, and has done it six times in his career.
Up Next:
The Hokies and No. 29 Georgia Tech continue the three-game set at Russ Chandler Stadium on Saturday at 2 p.m.