Jackets use seven homers, strong pitching to win in ACC quarterfinals

Georgia Tech blasted an ACC Tournament record-tying seven homers and Tate McKee had a stellar outing to lead the way to a 10-3 Jackets' win over Cal on Thursday afternoon in the quarterfinals at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

No. 1 seed Tech (40-16) now moves on to the ACC Tournament semifinals on Saturday at 1 p.m. where it will take on the winner of Thursday night's NC State vs. Clemson matchup.

The Jackets' bats helped grab the momentum early with three homers in the bottom of the first inning and then added four more later in the game, including an inside-the-park homer by Vahn Lackey and two blasts from Drew Burress. Kyle Lodise, Caleb Daniel, Drew Rogers and Alex Hernandez also had one home run apiece.

"Our offense is as deep as I can remember," Burress said during an interview on ACC Network following Thursday's win. "Guys like Lodise and Hernandez and Kent (Schmidt) and everybody behind them too, they've done a great job taking some pressure off me and make me feel like I don't have to do everything."

McKee earned the win to move to 7-3 on the season thanks to 6 1-3 innings of solid work on the mound in which he gave up two runs on eight hits with 10 strikeouts, which tied a career high. He only allowed one walk.

"(Tate's) last two outings, he's kind of gotten back on track to where he's throwing the ball extremely well," Georgia Tech head coach Danny Hall said in an interview on ACC Network following Thursday's win. "But man, he was great today...Control in the strikezone, four pitches for strikes and pitched out of trouble when he had to, which we all know if you can pitch out of trouble, you can pitch a long time."

Tech used two pitchers after McKee, including Mason Patel who went 1 2/3 innings as he allowed no runs on just one hit with two strikeouts and one walk. Brett Barfield pitched the ninth and gave up one run on three hits with one strikeout.

Offensively, Burress led the way with his 2-for-4 day that included two homers, four RBIs and one walk as he continued his late-season surge.

"I think early in the year (Drew) was probably trying to hard, maybe chasing more pitches, and he'll take his walks, but maybe he was just over-trying, which gets you in trouble in baseball," said Hall. "Now I think he's relaxed and just playing his game again. The last two or three weeks he's been red hot and carrying us."

Schmidt and Daniel each had two hits as well with Daniel's being a solo homer. Lodise added a two-run homer in the first inning, and Lackey's inside-the-park homer came in the eighth.

The win continues to strengthen Georgia Tech's resume and chance of hosting an NCAA Regional next weekend, but the Jackets aren't done yet in Durham as they aim to battle for an ACC Tournament title to add to their regular-season crown in Hall's final year of his accomplished career.