On a day where you could not have drawn up a better day for college baseball, the backdrop for Georgia Tech and Western Kentucky in the opening game of the 2025 Oxford Regional was just about as good as it comes.

With a chance to take the first game of the Oxford Regional on the line and position yourself nicely for the weekend, Georgia Tech and Western Kentucky alike would throw their traditional aces in Drew Whalen for the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and Tate McKee for the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech, Friday would be a star-studded matchup between two standout pitchers, and two offensives that have the potential to score a lot of runs. Whalen delivered Western Kentucky with five complete innings, giving up seven hits, five runs, and only two strikeouts. Tate gave Georgia Tech seven complete innings, giving up seven hits and one run while striking out six Western Kentucky batters. Western Kentucky put together a few hits but could only plate one run while he was on the mound.

Georgia Tech jumped out to an early 3-0 lead over Western Kentucky in the bottom of the 1st inning with a three-run shot to right field off the bat of Alex Hernandez. Georgia Tech would add another run in the bottom of the second inning off a sacrifice fly to left field to extend the lead to 4-0 over the Hilltoppers. Georgia Tech would add another two runs in the 6th and 7th to make it 6-1 due to a one-run inning for the Hilltoppers in the 6th. Western Kentucky added another run to the board with a sacrifice fly in the top half of the 8th to cut the Georgia Tech lead to 6-2.

With the win, Georgia Tech advances to the winner’s bracket, where it will await the winner of the Ole Miss and Murray State game at 5:00 on Saturday. Western Kentucky will play the loser of Murray State and Ole Miss in the first game of the day at 1:00 in an elimination game.

Cover photo credits- GT Baseball on X