Coming into the team's season-opening series against the Old Dominion Monarchs, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets outfielder Drew Burress was slated to have a monster series after being named the No.1 rated sophomore by Perfect Game in the offseason.
If you look at his 2-11 batting mark, you might think that Burress just had a terrible series, but that could not be further from the truth, as he would come up in big ways in crucial moments for the Yellow Jackets throughout the series.
In game one, Burress would go 0-3 with a groundout and two flyouts, but what you would not know by looking at the box score is that Burress was walked to begin the bottom of the eighth inning, then advanced to second after Monarchs pitcher Nick Sulpizio walked the next batter.
A groundout would send Burress to third, the a fielders choice would send Burress home, to give the Yellow Jackets a 3-2 lead over the Monarchs, and would ultimately be the deciding run in the game.
In game two, Burress would again start the game 0-3, and with the Yellow Jackets down 3-0 in the bottom of the ninth, they needed an offensive spark. After a series of events that would go the Yellow Jackets way in the inning, the team would tie the game 3-3 with Burress coming to the plate with the bases loaded. On just the second pitch of the at-bat, Burress would hit his first home run of the season, resulting in a walk-off grand slam, and a 7-3 Yellow Jackets victory.
In game three, Burress would start the game 0-2, but a flyout to center field would be deep enough to send Yellow Jackets third baseman Caden Kerce home from third base to score the first run for the Yellow Jackets in the contest.
Later in game three, Burress would hit a single to end the day 1-4.
So, all in all, it may not have looked like a great series for Burress, but he still went 2-11 with five RBI and the game-winning run in two of the three games.