Jackets Drop Slugfest with Murray State – Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

OXFORD, Miss. – Georgia Tech (41-18) was unable to pull off the comeback on Saturday night, dropping a 13-11 final score to Murray State (41-13) at Swayze Field on the campus of Ole Miss. The Jackets clawed back from a 3-10 deficit with a seven-run fifth inning but ultimately came up short and will play Ole Miss tomorrow at 3 p.m. ET in an elimination game.

With a win in the elimination game tomorrow, the Jackets will take on Murray State once again, at approximately 7 p.m. ET.

QUICK HITS: THE TEAM

• The Jackets fall to 1-1 in regional play for the 20^th time in program history. They will attempt to win three-straight games and win the regional for the first time in program history, beginning against Ole Miss, tomorrow at 3 p.m.
• Tech is now 41-18, the best record since 2019.
• Tech pitching struck out eight batters today – The Jacket arms have accounted for at least one strikeout per inning pitched in 39 of 59 games this season (66.1 %)
• Tech hit four doubles today – thanks to three pinch-hit doubles from Connor Shouse (2) and John Giesler.
• The Jackets have now hit 146 doubles this season, the most of any team still in the NCAA Tournament field.

QUICK HITS: THE BATS

• Freshman Alex Hernandez posted two RBI, breaking Matt Wieters Georgia Tech freshman RBI record from 2005. Hernandez now has 69 doubles – the most by any freshman in program history.
• He leads the team with 8 RBI this regional, the most of any player in the regional.
• Sophomore Vahn Lackey matched his career-best with 4 RBI tonight, connecting for an RBI single in the Jackets’ three-run first inning before hitting a three-run homer in the seven run fifth inning.
• He brings his total to 42 RBI for the year, nearly triple his output from his freshman season (15).
• Lackey also stole his team-leading 18^th base of the season. He has stolen 18 bases while also catching 14 runners attempting to steal against him this season.
• Junior Kyle Lodise delivered his 21^st multi-hit game of the year, going 2-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored.
• It was his team-leading 21^st multi-RBI game of the year, driving in one in the fifth inning before adding another in the eighth.
• Lodise becomes the third Yellow Jacket to breach 60 RBI for the season – marking the first time in three seasons that Tech has had three players at 60+ RBI: Lodise (60), Burress (61) and Hernandez (67).
• Senior, and two-time Tech graduate, John Giesler came off the bench to pinch hit in the fifth inning, connecting for a two-RBI double that tied the game at 10-10. It was his fourth multi-RBI game of the season and first RBU since May 2^nd against Western Carolina.
• Giesler has recorded at least one RBI in three of his last four NCAA Tournament games dating back to last season.
• Freshman Connor Shouse had a phenomenal day at the plate, taking over in the seven hole when Giesler was pinch-ran for, and hitting two doubles. It was his second-career multi-XBH day as a Yellow Jacket after hitting a double and a home run against Virginia on April 26.
• Freshman Drew Rogers delivered his third-career multi-hit performance, hitting a leadoff double in the seven-run fifth before connecting for a single in the 8^th inning, eventually being stranded at third.

QUICK HITS: THE ARMS

• Junior Brady Jones made his 16^th start of the season but was unable to get out of the first inning, being saddled with five earned runs.
• Junior Kayden Campbell made one of his best appearances of the season, entering the game with runners at first and second and escaping the fifth inning without allowing a run and delivering the Jackets one, and only, 1-2-3 inning in the sixth. He would finish with a season high five strikeouts, allowing one run on a solo home run in the seventh to be saddled with the tough-luck loss.
• Junior Caden Spivey returned to the mound after missing the last 10 games due to injury. He recorded the final five outs of the game on 22 pitches.

UP NEXT­­
The Jackets will play No. 1 seed Ole Miss in an elimination game, tomorrow at 3 p.m. ET. With a win, they will take on Murray State at approx. 7 p.m. for a chance at forcing a championship Monday against the Racers. Both games tomorrow will be streamed live on ESPN+.  The Jackets are expected to start Jaylen Paden in the elimination game tomorrow, he leads the team with a 1.88 ERA.

Full Steam Ahead

Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.

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