Georgia Tech Baseball sends clear message to rest of ACC before tournament play

Drew Burress went 4-for-4 with two doubles, a home run, two RBIs and three runs scored as Georgia Tech clinched its first outright ACC regular-season championship in 20 years with an 8-2 win at No. 20 Duke on Saturday. 

Burress launched his 16th home run of the season in the eighth inning, putting him in a four-way tie for 12th place on the all-time GT home run leaderboard: tied with Daniel Palka (2011-13), Derek Dietrich (2008-10) and Tommy Thompson (1978-81).

Freshman Alex Hernandez connected for his 13th home run of the season in the ninth inning, driving in two. It brings his season RBI total to 60, just eight away from the GT freshman record (68 RBI from Matt Wieters in 2005). 

The victory marks Tech’s fifth regular-season championship under coach Danny Hall (1997, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2011), who announced eariler this year this is his final season with the Yellow Jackets.  

Georgia Tech (39-16, 19-11 ACC) came out on top in a tight six-team race for the ACC crown. They'll also be a top-seed in the conference tournament next week with a double-bye. The Jackets open postseason play on Thursday at 3 p.m. ET against No. 8-seeded Wake Forest, No. 9-seeded Miami (Fla.) or No. 16-seeded California. The single-elimination tournament will be held at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, N.C., according to Georgia Tech athletics.