Advancing to 21-5 on the season and 8-3 in the ACC, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets have secured their seventh straight series win to start the 2026 season behind a 6-4 victory over the NC State Wolfpack. The Jackets are now working on a three-game win streak as they will go for their first conference series sweep over NC State on Sunday afternoon.
The Georgia Tech offense was better on Saturday than it was in Friday’s game in which they plated just three runs, but their win on Saturday could be attributed to the pitching staff yet again. It was a much different path to success for the pitching than it was on Friday however. Rather than getting 7+ innings from your starter as did Tate McKee on Friday, it was more of an “all hands on deck” effort on Saturday as four different pitchers came together to limit the Wolfpack to four runs while no pitcher threw more than 3.1 innings.
Porter Buursema got the start for Georgia Tech, his first as a member of the Yellow Jackets, and his first since his freshman year at Georgia Southern. He came in to Saturday’s game with three earned runs in eight innings of work across six appearances out of the bullpen. Aside from a walk, Buursema threw a clean first inning with some help from Vahn Lackey who back-picked NC State’s Rett Johnson at first base to eliminate the walk. The Wolfpack ended up tagging him for two runs in the second on another leadoff walk followed by a Ty Head double and a Brayden Fraasman single. One more earned run on a walk and two singles in the third ended Buursema’s night at 66 pitches with three earned runs on five hits, four walks, and two strikeouts.
Dylan Loy, Caden Gaudette, and Brett Barfield managed to piece together the rest of the game, combining to allow just one run across 6.2 innings of work. It was Loy’s first appearance out of the bullpen since February 21st against Stony Brook, and it was his best outing since considering his starts have been a bit erratic. In 2.1 innings, Loy gave up just three base runners via hit while striking out two and holding NC State scoreless. Caden Gaudette got the bulk of the work, covering 3.1 innings and allowing just one run on one hit, two walks, and three strikeouts. The one run was a big one as it was a game-tying pinch-hit home run off the bat of NC State’s Andrew Wiggins in the eighth, his fourth of the season. The Jackets managed to re-gain the lead in the bottom half of the eighth, setting up a save opportunity for Brett Barfield who cashed in with a perfect frame to record his first save of the season and the second of his career.
For the second night in a row, the Jackets got the scoring started in the first inning. Drew Burress and Jarren Advincula both singled while Vahn Lackey walked, loading the bases with nobody out. NC State’s Jacob Dudan then walked Alex Hernandez on four pitches to bring in the first run of the game before Kent Schmidt added another with a single. As was the case with Ryan Marohn a night prior, Dudan managed to settle in for the Wolfpack, pitching deep into the game. He allowed two more runs in the fifth inning, but made it through six, allowing four earned runs on nine hits, three walks, and ten strikeouts, making him just the second pitcher this season to punch out ten Georgia Tech hitters in one game.
In a tie game in the bottom of the eighth inning, it was none other than the captain Drew Burress who came through to give the Jackets a lead they would ride to victory. After Will Baker led off the inning with a walk and Parker Brosius advanced him to second via sacrifice bunt, Burress split the left-center gap and advanced all the way to third for his second triple of the season. Vahn Lackey immediately followed with an insurance run, hitting a single to drive in Burress and give the Jackets a 6-4 lead.
Burress, Jarren Advincula, and Kent Schmidt all came through with three-hit performances, while Lackey had two hits of his own. It was Advincula’s 16th multi-hit game which comfortably leads the team. Will Baker also reached base multiple times, logging a hit and a walk.
At 8-3 in the ACC at the moment, the Jackets are in a three-way, second place tie in the conference with North Carolina and Boston College, trailing only Florida State who they will see in a few weeks. NC State falls to 18-9 on the season and 3-5 in the ACC, extending their losing streak to five games. Check back here tomorrow for a series final recap, and subscribe below to be notified of of new posts!
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