Georgia Tech put up a couple crooked numbers in the first few innings, and that was plenty of run support behind a stellar outing by starting pitcher Tate McKee as the Jackets opened a four-game series with a 12-1 win over Marshall in seven innings on Friday afternoon at Russ Chandler Stadium.
Georgia Tech (5-0) scored eight runs over the first two innings with three in the first and five in the second to set the tone, and McKee and the bullpen was able to shut down the Marshall bats from there. McKee got the win to move to 1-0 thanks to five innings of work in which he allowed one run on three hits with six strikeouts and two walks.
Georgia Tech head coach Danny Hall said overall it was a great day for his team with the hitting, pitching and defense doing their part.
"Right out of the gate the (Drew) Burress home run early kind of got us going, and we were able to add some runs. (Alex) Hernandez really good day...grand slam kind of put the game away," said Hall. "Good to see (Vahn) Lackey hit a homer. I thought Tate (McKee) was good. Sam Swygert threw the ball really well, and then (Kayden) Campbell at the win. So good day, and now we've just got to reset and keep trying to move it forward."
Georgia Tech quickly jumped on top with three runs in the bottom of the first thanks to a mammoth two-run homer by Burress and a sac fly by Hernandez.
The Jackets added five more in the second thanks to an RBI double by Burress followed by another long ball, this time a grand slam by Hernandez off the scoreboard in left-center, for the freshman's first career college home run.
"It was pretty awesome," said Hall of the grand slam by Hernandez. "I think he's a really good hitter, having good at-bats. But yeah, having your first career homer be a grand slam, that's pretty special."
"I watched a little bit of it. Tried not to showboat too much," added Hernandez with a smile following Friday's game as he showed off the grand slam ball he was able to retrieve and put in his back pocket. "It's very special. The guys really made sure and let me know they were really happy for me. The whole team was going nuts. It was a cool experience."
Georgia Tech added another run to its lead in the fourth on a sac fly by Vahn Lackey.
McKee ran into his only bit of trouble in the fifth as Marshall (0-5) scored its only run on an RBI single by Cam Harthan. But the Jackets' ace was able to work out of the first and second jam with no further damage to complete his outing.
The Jackets' offense put together its final rally of the game in the sixth as Lackey connected for a two-run homer and another run came home later in the frame on an error.
Georgia Tech's offense finished with 12 runs on 13 hits as a whole, and Hernandez said it was really good to have a breakout game as a team after the pitching staff had carried much of the load over the first four games this season.
"We definitely needed it. It was nice to finally play like a Georgia Tech offense does," siad Hernandez. "We're going to try to keep that rolling, and top to bottom, everyone had good at-bats today. The whole team was getting on base and able to do our jobs. I think we were 5-for-5 in 3-and-2 counts so you love to see that from the team."
Burress finished 3-for-3 with a homer, two doubles, three RBIs, two runs scored and two walks, and Hernandez was 2-for-3 with his grand slam, five RBIs and two runs scored. Lacket finished 2-for-3 with his homer and three RBIs, and Kent Schmidt added a pair of hits and scored two runs.
Parker Brosius had two hits as well, including a double, and Carson Kerce and Will Baker each had a double as well.
Following McKee's strong five-inning starting effort, Swygert came on to pitch an inning of scoreless, hitless relief in the sixth with one strikeout. Campbell pitched the seventh and allowed no runs on one hit with one strikeout in his one inning of work to close things out and force the run-rule.
Bryce Blevins took the loss for Marshall to move to 0-1 after a tough start in which he lasted just two innings while giving up eight runs on eight hits with two strikeouts and two walks. The Thundering Herd used three others out of the bullpen, including Charlie Krebs, Bauer Burkart and A.J. McAninch. McAninch was the only pitcher of the foursome not to allow a run.
Along with Harthan's RBI single, Elijah Vogelsong had a triple and Tyler Kamerer had a double. Eddie Leon had Marshall's only other hit.
Georgia Tech and Marshall get back at it on Saturday for another 2 p.m. first pitch before 1 p.m. starts on Sunday and Monday to wrap the four-game set.
Hernandez said the team is feeling confident after the 5-0 start but will continue coming to the field with the same hunger until everyone else starts to believe in the Jackets' abilities.
"We're rolling for sure," said Hernandez. "A lot of people are still sleeping on us and don't think we really have it quite yet because we're a young team. But I think we'll keep showing up every single day, and we'll eventually show them. They'll have to believe it if we keep on winning."
