DURHAM, N.C. – Midnight came at 3:11 in the afternoon for the California Golden Bears, the mostly unheralded 16th seed in the Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament who won two games in the single-elimination tournament to earn a quarterfinal matchup with the top seeded Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
Georgia Tech launched seven homers in the game, scoring all of their runs in the 10-3 win via the long ball, with six different players homering at least once as the Yellow Jackets rambled into Saturday’s semifinals.
When Georgia Tech came to bat in the bottom of the first, Drew Burress launched the second pitch he saw from Cal starter J.J. Hollis over the blue monster in left field for his 16th homer of the year and a 1-0 Yellow Jacket lead.
After a single by Kent Schmidt, Alex Lodise homered to center, his fly ball carrying past the outstretched glove of XX French, who could only watch as the ball caromed off the top of the wall and into the batter’s eye for a two-run homer that made it 3-0. Three batters later, Caleb Daniel launched a 426-foot solo homer over the right field bleachers and onto the right field party deck, making it 4-0.
The Golden Bears battled back, putting Cole Tremain on the mound for the second inning, and he responded by allowing just one hit and one walk with five strikeouts over five scoreless innings.
“We came in and, you know, hit a bunch of homers in the first inning to get out to the lead,” Georgia Tech head coach Danny Hall said following the game. “And then, you know, Cole Tremain had a different idea after that. He kind of came in, settled the game for them, and then we finally got him out and then hit a few more homers.”
Cal got a run in the fifth on an RBI single by Jarren Advincula that scored Alex Birge, and then loaded the bases when Dominic Smaldino drew a walk and Jacob French singled. But Georgia Tech starter Tate McKee remained poised and struck out Carl Schmidt looking to end the threat.
Two innings later, Cal cut the lead to 4-2 when Smaldino’s single drove in Advincula from second, but that was all the offense the Golden Bears could muster.
Drew Rogers’ lead-off homer in the seventh made it 5-2, and then Cal’s offense exploded in the eighth. Alex Hernandez led off the eight with a homer to make it 6-2, and then Lackey hit a fly ball to the left center field gap that Cal center fielder Ethan Kodama chased to the warning track. Kodama dove and the ball eluded his glove, bouncing off the wall and towards center field while Kodama lay prone on the dirt. By the time the ball was retrieved, Lackey was rounding third and was sent home, evading the tag of Bears’ catcher Alex Birge for an inside-the-park homer. It was a dazzling display of athleticism and speed from a player who’s position seldom provides those two qualities to a lineup.
“I’ll get in trouble for saying this but probably the best athlete that we have had back there I tell this story because you know he’s caught most of our games particularly in conference but he’s also played some at third,” Hall said. “Other than pitcher, he can play any position on the field.”
Drew Burress punctuated the eighth inning and the win with a three run homer to left field that flew over the famous “Hit Bull Win Steak” sign in left field at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, giving Georgia Tech a 10-2 lead.
The loss sends Cal back to Berkeley, their season ended. Holding an RPI of 93 after yesterday’s games, they’d likely have had make it to the championship game to have had an outside chance of making the NCAA tournament via an at-large bid, but Golden Bears head coach Mike Neu is pleased nonetheless.
“These guys work hard and obviously we’re probably one of the more inexperienced teams when it comes to just playing this level of baseball and playing in the ACC where the competition is outstanding every week you play,” Neu said. “Coming out here and playing two outstanding games... And then really giving ourselves a chance to have a fighting chance to win this game, even late in the game. I was really hoping that we could keep it tight enough to where we could have some really meaningful at bats in that ninth inning and just get our guys in that position one more time. But it was still an outstanding job.”
Notebook – Georgia Tech head coach Danny Hall was honored before the game. The veteran head coach is in his 32nd season at Georgia Tech, where he is 1,243-673-1. Hall, a four-time ACC coach of the year, announced in March that he’d step away from coaching after this season.
2025 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament Schedule
Durham Bulls Athletic Park, Durham, N.C.
All times Eastern Daylight Time
Tuesday, May 20 – Games Broadcast on ACC Network
No. 16 California 12, No. 9 Miami 2
No. 12 Virginia Tech 7, No. 13 Stanford 4
No. 15 Pitt 13, No. 10 Louisville 11
No. 14 Boston College 5, No. 11 Notre Dame 4
Wednesday, May 20 – Games Broadcast on ACC Network
No. 16 California 14, No. 8 Wake Forest 12
No. 5 Clemson 6, No. 12 Virginia Tech 1
No. 7 Duke 4, No. 15 Pitt 3
No. 14 Boston College 12, No. 6 Virginia 8
Thursday, May 21 – Games Broadcast on ACC Network
No. 1 Georgia Tech 10, No. 16 California 2
7 p.m. – No. 4 N.C. State vs. No. 5 Clemson – Game 10
Friday, May 22 – Games Broadcast on ACC Network
3 p.m. – No. 2 Florida State vs. No. 7 Duke – Game 11
7 p.m. – No. 3 North Carolina vs. No. 14 Boston College – Game 12
Saturday, May 23 – Games Broadcast on ACC Network
1 p.m. – No. 1 Georgia Tech vs. Game 10 winner – Game 13
5 p.m. – Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner – Game 14
Sunday, May 24 – Game Broadcast on ESPN2
Noon – Championship Game
Photo: Georgia Tech’s Vahn Lackey evades the tag of Cal catcher Alex Birge for an inside-the-park-homer in Georgia Tech’s 10-3 win over Cal in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals. (Photo Courtesy of the ACC)
