The Clemson Tigers baseball team split their midweek games, with a loss to a good Coastal Carolina team on Tuesday and then beating Presbyterian on Wednesday night to go into the third ACC series with a win.
The Tigers will hit the road, although not a very long trip down I-85 to Atlanta to face the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
Friday’s game is at 6PM, Saturday at 4PM and concluding Sunday at 1PM. All games will take place at Mac Nease Baseball Park at Russ Chandler Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
Georgia Tech comes into the series at 21-4, 7-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference and is ranked 25th in multiple rankings.
Clemson and the Georgia Tech have played 242 times over the years, with the Tigers leading the series 122-117-3. Always a very hotly contested series when these two teams battle on the diamond.
Here is your preview of Clemson’s third ACC series with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
Clemson Briefly:
Clemson enters the weekend with 24 wins and 4 losses. 4-2 in the ACC.
The Tigers are hitting .287 as a team through 28 games (110th nationally).
As a team, the Tigers have 43 doubles, 5 triples and 25 home runs.
On the mound, the Tigers pitching staff touts a 3.91 ERA (31st nationally). The staff has struck out 295 batters and walked 108 through 26 games.
Opponents are hitting .206 against the Tigers pitching staff.
Here is a look at the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets:
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Head Coach – Danny Hall (32nd Season)
2025 Record: 21-4 (7-2 ACC)
Wins: Old Dominion (x3), Georgia Southern (x2), Marshall (x2), West Georgia, Western Michigan (x3), Kennesaw State (x2), Virginia Tech (x2), Pitt (x2), Gardner-Webb, Notre Dame (x3)
Losses: Marshall (x2), Virginia Tech, Pitt
Here are the probable starting lineup for Georgia Tech and their 2025 stats:
Position Players:
| Name (#) | Year | Position | 2024 Stats |
| Kyle Lodise (2) | Jr | SS | .380; 13 2B, 3B, 9 HR, 28 RBI; 5-7 SB |
| Drew Burress (8) | Soph. | CF | .337; 13 2B, 8 HR, 31 RBI; 8-9 SB |
| Caleb Daniel (6) | Fr. | LF | .343; 6 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 12 RBI |
| Alex Hernandez (4) | Fr. | 1B | .351; 5 2B, 2 3B, 8 HR, 37 RBI |
| Tyler Neises (39) | Soph. | DH | .262; 4 2B, 3B, HR, 12 RBI |
| Vahn Lackey (25) | Soph. | C | .351; 5 2B, HR, 18 RBI; 8-9 SB |
| Carson Kerce (3) | Soph. | 3B | .400; 10 2B, 19 RBI; 5-7 SB |
| Will Baker (7) | Fr. | 2B | .240; 2 2B, HR, 6 RBI |
| Parker Brosius (1) | Jr. | RF | .270; 5 2B, 3B, 16 RBI; 13-13 SB |
Offensively, the Jackets are led by an All-American Drew Burress. Off to a slower start than his fantastic freshman campaign and still hitting .337 with 8 home runs and 31 runs batted in.
Leadoff hitter, Junior, Kyle Lodise is hitting .380 with 9 home runs and 28 runs batted in. He’s also a perfect 7 for 7 in stolen bases.
Freshman 1st Baseman Alex Hernandez leads the team with 37 runs batted in, and like Burress, also has 8 home runs.
The Jackets are hitting .335 as a team (4th nationally). They have hit 76 doubles, 6 triple and 37 home runs as a team.
Announced Starters for Georgia Tech:
| NAME (#) | Year | Hand | 2025 Stats |
| Tate McKee (22) | Soph. | RHP | 4-0; 2.97 ERA, 6 App., 30.1 IP, 39 K, 11 BB; OppBA: .211 |
| Brady Jones (99) | Jr. | RHP | 2-0; 4.42 ERA, 6 App., 18.1 IP, 26 K, 17 BB; OppBA: .217 |
| ***Riley Stanford (15) | RS Soph. | RHP | 0-0; 5.48 ERA, 6 App., 21.1 IP, 24 K, 15 BB; OppBA: .278 |
***Georgia Tech has not announced a Sunday starter. The Jackets have used Riley Stanford the last two Sunday’s and therefore why he’s in the graphic above***
The Georgia Tech pitching staff owns a 4.06 staff ERA (38th nationally), have struck out 255 opponent hitters while walking 94. They have given up 21 home runs as a staff through those 25 games.
Clemson has announced Aidan Knaak on Friday night. The ace has been electric the last two outings and will need to be again against yet another hot hitting ACC foe. Ethan Darden gets the ball on Saturday afternoon, and then Sunday is also TBA for the Tigers as it is for the Jackets.
SUMMARY
For me, this is the second biggest series of the season. I know Florida State is how most other fans would view it, but Georgia Tech and Clemson is always a really good series. The teams have been playing baseball against each other since 1902, and yet the Tigers only lead the overall record by 5 games. That’s how even these teams usually are.
Georgia Tech legendary coach Danny Hall has announced this week that this season will be his last as the head coach of Georgia Tech.
This is the first true road series for the Tigers, and they will definitely be tested.
It should be a lot of fun, with a lot of ups and downs. And here’s to hoping the Tigers can take this series on the road against the Yellow Jackets.
As always…
Go Tigers!
