Georgia Tech head coach Danny Hall’s final season got a little bit more special and historic on Saturday afternoon as the Jackets’ 8-2 win over Duke, along with some help elsewhere, resulted in the program’s first outright ACC regular-season title since 2005.
The Jackets used strong pitching and timely offense to dispatch of the Devils while NC State lost 6-3 to Stanford and North Carolina lost 5-4 to Florida State to put Georgia Tech on top of the ACC standings at the end of an eventful final day of the regular season.
The Jackets (39-16, 19-11 ACC) will now carry the No. 1 seed into next week’s ACC Tournament at Durham Bulls Athletic Park and receive a double-bye before their first game on Thursday at 3 p.m. against an opponent to-be-determined.
Brady Jones earned the win for Georgia Tech to improve to 7-2 on the season after five strong innings as he allowed two runs on four hits with three strikeouts and two walks. Jaylen Paden came on to throw the final four innings and earn his second save with impressive work on the mound to the tune of no runs on two hits with four walks and three strikeouts.
Offensively for the Jackets, Drew Burress had another huge day, going 4-for-4 with two doubles, a homer, two RBIs and three runs scored. Alex Hernandez added a pair of hits as well, including a two-run homer in the ninth.
Kent Schmidt, Vahn Lackey and Will Baker all added two hits apiece while Carson Kerce had a double and two RBIs.
The Jackets further bolstered their NCAA Tournament resume as they appear in a good position to host a regional after consecutive series wins over ranked opponents to wrap up the regular season.
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