No. 2 Georgia Tech overwhelms Florida State for 12th straight win

ATLANTA — No. 2 Georgia Tech didn’t just beat No. 5 Florida State this weekend.

The Yellow Jackets overwhelmed them.

Georgia Tech erupted for 15 unanswered runs across the fifth and sixth innings Saturday, rolling to a 17-3 run-rule victory in seven innings to complete a three-game sweep at Russ Chandler Stadium.

The win pushed the Jackets to 30-5 overall and 15-3 in ACC play, extending their winning streak to 12 games — their longest in a decade — while continuing one of the most dominant stretches in the country.

After falling behind 3-2 in the fifth inning, Georgia Tech flipped the game in an instant.

The Jackets answered with five runs in the bottom of the fifth to take control, then delivered a knockout blow in the sixth with 10 more runs, turning a tight game into a rout.

In all, Georgia Tech pounded out 13 hits during the two-inning surge, including three home runs and three doubles, showcasing an offense that has been nearly impossible to contain.

The damage came when it mattered most.

The Jackets drove in 11 runs with two outs Saturday and finished the series with 19 two-out RBIs — more runs than they allowed over the entire weekend.

Drew Burress led the offensive explosion with a perfect 4-for-4 performance, including a home run, four runs scored and a walk. The junior extended his hitting streak to 10 games and continued his climb up the program’s record books.

Jarren Advincula added three hits and two RBIs, continuing his torrid stretch at the plate, while Carson Kerce drove in a career-high five runs as part of his three-hit day.

Vahn Lackey added a home run during the sixth-inning barrage, and Caleb Daniel ignited the rally with a leadoff homer on the first pitch of the inning.

On the mound, Jackson Blakely provided another steady start, working five innings while allowing three runs and striking out five to earn the win.

Relievers Jake Lankie and Brett Barfield closed it out with two scoreless innings, continuing a dominant run for a pitching staff that has now held opponents under five runs in 12 straight games — the program’s longest such stretch in more than a century.

The sweep marked Georgia Tech’s first over Florida State since 2006 and its third straight ACC series sweep — further cementing the Jackets as one of the nation’s top teams.

It also came in front of another sellout crowd, as more than 4,300 fans packed Russ Chandler Stadium. The Jackets sold out all three games of the series for the first time in program history, drawing a record weekend attendance of more than 12,500.

Under first-year head coach James Ramsey, Georgia Tech is off to one of the best starts in program history, tying the program’s best 35-game mark at 30-5.

And with a powerful combination of timely hitting, dominant pitching and growing confidence, the Jackets are beginning to look like a team built for much more than a strong start.

They’re starting to look like a team built for June.