Another series win; Clemson up next

At the start of each week throughout the regular season, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will take a closer look at the Georgia Tech baseball team. Here’s a breakdown going into the week:

Record: 27-15, 11-10 ACC. Streak: Won 2. RPI: 53. Last week (3-1): Tuesday, beat Kennesaw State 13-2 (seven innings); Friday, lost to Miami 6-4; Saturday, beat Miami 9-4; Sunday, beat Miami 17-1 (seven innings).

This week: Friday, at Clemson, 6 p.m.; Saturday, at Clemson, 2 p.m.; Sunday, at Clemson, 1 p.m.

Week in review: Another series win in ACC play, Tech’s fourth straight, was punctuated Sunday by Tech’s 17-1, seven-inning beatdown of visiting Miami. Tate McKee tied his career high with nine strikeouts and gave up just one hit in five innings. John Giesler went 3-for-4 with five RBIs and two homers for the Jackets, and Drew Burress tied the program record for freshman home runs by belting his 18th of the season.

The Jackets bounced back from Friday’s 6-4 loss, in which they gave up two runs in the eighth and another in the ninth, to win 9-4 on Saturday. Cam Jones threw an 111-pitch complete game and also had four hits at the plate in the victory.

Tech started the week Tuesday with a win over visiting Kennesaw State. Camron Hill struck out a career-high eight batters in five innings.

Week ahead

The Jackets have the week off before heading up I-85 to face rival Clemson. The Tigers (34-9, 15-6 ACC) took two of three at Louisville over the weekend but are just 6-6 in the their past 12.

Clemson has an RPI of 4 going into this week (the Tigers also are off until Friday)

and are ranked inside the top five in most major college baseball polls. The Tigers have the ACC’s best pitching staff in terms of ERA and rank second in hits and walks allowed per nine innings.

Tech begins the week with a solid RPI of 53, with nine games remaining against opponents inside the top 20 and 10 remaining against opponents inside the top 50. Coach Danny Hall’s team leads the ACC in walks and on-base percentage, and Burress’ 18 home runs also leads the league.

With nine ACC games left, the Jackets are still in fourth place in the league’s Coastal Division, trailing four teams in the standings.

Tech is 41/2 games back of first-place North Carolina.

GA TECH ATHLETICS 2024 Tech slugger Drew Burress tied the program record for freshman home runs by belting his 18th of the season during a 17-1 beatdown of Miami on Sunday.