In a thrilling extra-inning showdown that kept fans on the edge of their seats, #3 Georgia Tech Baseball edged out Duke 10-9 on Friday night, inching one step closer to the ACC Regular Season title. The win brings the Yellow Jackets to 40-8 overall and 20-5 in conference play, putting their magic number at just 4 to clinch the crown.
The game came down to the wire in the bottom of the 10th inning, when Carson Kerce ignited the rally with a leadoff triple. Drew Burress followed with a clutch sacrifice fly, driving in Kerce for the walk-off win. It was the second straight tight Friday night contest for Tech, following a heartbreaking extra-inning loss to Xavier last week.
Tech jumped ahead early when Burress crushed a solo home run in the first inning—his 55th career round-tripper. Duke answered quickly with a solo shot from Matthew Strand, setting the stage for a back-and-forth battle.
The Yellow Jackets exploded in the fourth inning, scoring four runs. Ryan Zuckerman launched a two-run homer, Kent Schmidt scored on a Duke fielding error, and Kerce added a solo blast to give Tech a 5-1 lead.
But the Blue Devils refused to back down. Collin Anderson homered in the fifth, and a Zuckerman error allowed another run to cross, cutting the lead to 5-3. Tech responded with two more runs in the bottom half—a solo homer from Vahn Lackey and an RBI from Schmidt—making it 7-3.
A curious moment came later in that inning when Caleb Daniel was pinch-hit for by Parker Brosius with a 2-2 count. Brosius drew a walk to load the bases, but Kerce and Burress couldn't capitalize, leaving the bases loaded.
That missed opportunity loomed large when Duke stormed back in the sixth. Two soft singles set the table for Kaden Smith, who crushed a three-run homer to make it 7-6. Caden Gaudette entered to stop the bleeding, but the drama was far from over.
Georgia Tech's offense showed resilience, and the defense made key plays when it mattered most. The win also marked a milestone for Alex Advincula, whose first-inning single extended his career-best hitting streak to 16 games.
With the magic number down to 4, the Yellow Jackets are in prime position to capture the ACC Regular Season title—and they've already surpassed last year's conference win total, which was enough to win the crown in 2025. For fans looking to gear up for the postseason push, now's the time to show your support in style.