Georgia Tech sweeps Cal to win 8th straight

Staff Reports

BERKELEY, Calif. — No. 3 Georgia Tech didn’t just take care of business on the West Coast.

The Yellow Jackets overwhelmed it.

Georgia Tech completed a three-game sweep of California with a 9-3 victory Sunday at Stu Gordon Stadium, extending its winning streak to eight games and continuing what has become one of the most explosive offensive stretches in program history.

The Jackets (26-5, 12-3 ACC) jumped out early for the third straight game in the series and never looked back, improving to 10-0 all-time against Cal since the Golden Bears joined the ACC.

Georgia Tech set the tone immediately when junior Drew Burress led off the game with a home run — his 50th career blast — putting him among elite company in program history.

From there, the Jackets methodically built the lead.

After stretching the advantage to 4-0 through three innings, Georgia Tech delivered the knockout punch in the sixth, scoring five runs with two outs behind a flurry of hits and disciplined at-bats to push the lead to 9-0.

California (14-16, 1-11 ACC) broke up the shutout with three runs in the eighth, but the outcome was never in doubt.

Georgia Tech’s offense continues to operate at a historic pace.

The Jackets have now scored 353 runs through their first 31 games — the most in program history at that point and the highest total by any Power 4 team in the BBCOR era.

They are averaging 11.4 runs per game, well above the program’s previous record of 10.3 set in 1984.

Burress led the way Sunday, going 3-for-5 with a home run and three runs scored, extending his hitting streak to six games.

Jarren Advincula added another strong performance, going 3-for-5 with a double and a triple, while driving in three runs and extending his hitting streak to 15 games.

Sophomore Alex Hernandez also stayed hot at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs while extending his on-base streak to 33 consecutive games.

On the mound, sophomore Jackson Blakely continued his breakout season, tossing 5.1 scoreless innings while allowing just two hits and striking out six.

Blakely has now allowed runs in just one of his appearances this season and lowered his ERA to a team-best 1.82.

Georgia Tech’s pitching staff has held opponents under five runs in eight straight games, its longest such streak in more than a decade.

The sweep marked the Jackets’ second consecutive ACC series sweep — following a sweep of No. 14 NC State — and the first time since 2010-11 Georgia Tech has accomplished that feat in back-to-back seasons.

First-year head coach James Ramsey is now tied with former coach Danny Hall for the best record through 31 games in program history.

Georgia Tech returns home Tuesday to face Kennesaw State before continuing ACC play.