Following a season where Tech tragically fell to u[sic]GA in the Athens Regional, fans were excited about what could be in store this season. Sophomore outfielder Drew Burress returned to school looking to better his outstanding freshman year, and associate head coach James Ramsey recruited a strong class both through the portal and from high school. The offseason anticipation culminated in opening day on Feb. 14 against the Old Dominion University Monarchs from the Sun Belt Conference.
The Jackets began their season with sophomore right-handed pitcher Tate McKee on the bump. After a rough first season, pitching to an over seven earned run average (ERA), McKee looks to take a step forward with the help of pitching coach Matt Taylor. McKee opened the game beautifully, pitching to contact and keeping the Monarchs off the base paths. McKee faced only 18 batters through five efficient innings of work and struck out three batters while allowing only one run.
While the bats were cold throughout the game, Tech still found ways to manufacture runs and get runners across the paths. With the eighth inning tied 2-2, redshirt sophomore pitcher Carson Ballard allowed multiple base runners to pass, putting Tech in a jam. Head coach Danny Hall turned to graduate pitcher Jaylen Paden to hold down the fort. Paden, not having pitched in college baseball for over a year, found his clutch gene and got out of the jam with no runs crossing. Paden’s emphatic strikeout to close the top of the eighth got the 1286 fans in Russ Chandler Stadium excited.
Heading to the bottom of the inning, both sophomore first basemen Kent Schmidt and Burress walked, and senior designated hitter Nathan Waugh scored Burress on a ground ball up the middle to make the score 3-2. Paden strutted back out for the ninth inning and struck out two more batters to earn the win for the Jackets.
The opening game for Tech proved indicative of the rest of the series. Coming off a season where the Jackets team ERA was 6.48 (third worst in the ACC), Tech made a pitching jump this season in order to complement their powerful bats.
In the second game, Tech struggled early out of the gates, and junior starting pitcher Brady Jones was knocked out of the game quickly. Needing for other guys to step up, the bullpen produced nine innings of shut-out ball highlighted by three innings from redshirt sophomore Caden Gaudette and two from junior Notre Dame transfer Caden Spivey.
Even with the bullpen keeping the game to a 3-0 deficit, the Jacket bats failed to create a spark. That was until the cardiac Jackets came alive in the bottom of the ninth. Needing a rally, Waugh walked, followed by a base hit from sophomore catcher Vahn Lackey and another walk from freshman utility infielder Alex Hernandez. With the bases loaded and nobody out, someone needed to step up and get the runs in. Sophomore outfielder Tyler Neises ripped a two- run single, and following an error on the following play, the bases were loaded again and the top of the order was due up to hit.
Junior shortstop Kyle Lodise drew a walk to square the ballgame at three. With the game on the line, Burress stepped up to the plate and delivered. He hit an opposite-field walk-off grand slam to clinch the game 7-3. While Burress was celebrated as the hero, the victory was a huge team performance highlighted by nine scoreless innings from the bullpen.
The Sunday matinee matchup continued the trend of good pitching from Tech. Redshirt sophomore Riley Stanford pitched four innings only allowing one run and striking out five, but once again the Jackets struggled to produce runs early. In the bottom of the fifth, Waugh stepped up to the plate and crushed a two-run home run to right field. The hit continued his 45 consecutive game on base streak dating back to 2023 when he played for Cornell University.
While it seemed the Jackets were going to run away with the victory, Old Dominion fought back, scoring three runs in the top of the seventh and tying the game at four. Heading to the bottom of the seventh, Tech jump-started another rally. Waugh singled up the middle to score Schmidt and put the Jackets ahead. Lackey doubled to center to score another and the Jackets regained the lead with time dwindling.
To close out the game, Hernandez got his first chance on the rubber and he maneuvered his way out of an eighth-inning jam and then struck out two batters in the top of the ninth. The Jackets won 7-4 and completed their fourth consecutive opening series sweep. While the hitting was streaky at best, the main takeaway from the weekend was the impressive Jackets pitching. The 40 strikeouts from the team tied for the most in a three-game stretch since 2000 and the 2.67 ERA was the lowest in a three-game period since the 2017 season.
The Jackets will use this momentum from the opening series when they travel to Statesboro, Ga. to face off against Georgia Southern on Feb. 18. The game reunites sophomore transfers Kent Schmidt, Porter Buursema and graduate student Paden with their previous school. Next weekend, the Jackets return to the Flats to square off against the Marshall Thundering Herd in a four-game series beginning on Friday at 4 p.m.
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