#25 Tech falls in series opener vs. #3 Clemson
RUSS CHANDLER STADIUM — Yesterday, March 27th, head coach for Georgia Tech Baseball, Danny Hall, announced that he would be retiring at the end of the 2025 season, his 32nd at Tech and 38th overall.
“I have made a decision to step away from coaching at the end of this season. My family and I have been blessed beyond belief for 32 wonderful years of wearing the White and Gold,” he said in a press release.
The announcement came the day before the most anticipated series in recent memory for Tech baseball, who entered the D1 Baseball rankings this week at #25 and are hosting #3 Clemson this weekend. A group of at least 20 former players joined Hall on the field for a photo where Hall was also recognized for becoming the 10th most winningnest coach in D1 history.
For Hall, getting his decision out there is what mattered.
“I’ve thought long and hard about it. I didn’t want whether I was coming back or not lingering and I didn’t want any chatter behind the scenes that I thought might affect my team. That was the biggest thing that went into my decision,” Hall said after Friday’s game, a 9-7 loss to Clemson.
Of note, Hall’s announcement did not use the word “retirement” but instead the term “step away,” a critical note as Hall looks to the future.
“J [Batt] has said, ‘hey, would you want to stick around and be a special assistant,’ and I think that’s definitely something I’ll think about,” said Hall. “I could see myself staying in baseball in some capacity.”
Hall went on to note that ever since he was eight years old, he’s been part of a baseball team in some form or fashion, a 62 year run. Over half of those years have been at Georgia Tech.
As to who might take over for Hall in 2026, he has a guy in mind, and he’s told J Batt.
“I’ve given him my opinion and his comment was ‘I really value your opinion.’ I don’t think he’s [made a decision] yet,” said Hall.
Reading between the lines, it would be no surprise if the man Hall is referring to is associate head coach James Ramsey, who was elevated to the role in 2021.
Coming into the weekend, Hall sits at 1,432 wins and counting. Tech was not able to get the job done tonight against Clemson to get win 1,433.
Tate McKee and Mason Patel combined to throw all nine innings, allowing nine runs (seven earned). Patel received his first loss of the season, moving to a 7-1 record. The loss is Tech’s first on a Friday all season.
Kyle Lodise hit his 10th home run of the season in the bottom of the 1st after Clemson went out to a 2-0 in the top of the inning. Clemson next scored in the 4th inning on a Jacob Jarrell home run and an RBI single by Dominic Listi to take a 4-1 lead.
Carson Kerce earned one back in the bottom of the fourth on his 11th double of the season, driving in Caleb Daniel.
In the bottom of the 5th inning, Daniel drove in two on his second double of the game to make it 5-4. With one out, Alex Hernandez in the next at bat hit a warning track fly ball out to right, but Clemson’s right fielder Tryston McCladdie mistook how many outs there were and didn’t throw the ball in for a couple of seconds, which allowed Daniel to score all the way from second base on the fly ball, tying the game at 5-5.
The tie game prompted Hall to put Mason Patel (who this week was named the #1 reliever in the country per D1 Baseball) in the game in the 6th inning over Caden Gaudette, who had been warming up when Tech was down.
Patel had his stuff, but a couple mistakes gave Clemson the wiggle room they needed in the late innings. Collin Priest hit a solo home run in the 7th inning. After a sacrifice fly to score one, Andrew Ciufo landed a squeeze bunt that resulted in a throwing error by Patel in the 8th. In the 9th, Jarrell hit his second home run of the game, giving Clemson a 9-6 lead going into the final frame.
Drew Burress reached base to lead off the 9th for Tech, eventually scoring on a Tyler Neises single. Vahn Lackey with two outs hit a towering fly ball to left field, but at 87 miles per hour off the bat didn’t have the legs to get out, ending the game when Listi secured the catch.
Tech will continue the final season of Danny Hall’s managerial career with two more games against #3 Clemson this weekend. Brady Jones is slated to start game two.