Georgia Tech pounded Clemson pitching to the tune of 18 hits, including six home runs, as the No. 25 Yellow Jackets evened up the weekend series with an 18-2 run-rule win over the No. 6 Tigers at Mac Nease Baseball Park in Atlanta on Saturday in the first game of a doubleheader.

Clemson managed just four base hits, going 1-for-11 with runners on base and 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position. The Tigers stranded seven base runners in the seven-inning contest, including four in the first two innings.

The Yellow Jackets (22-5, 8-3 ACC) tagged starter Ethan Darden for nine runs on 10 hits, with three of those being home runs, as the lefty suffered his second loss (3-2) of the season.

The Yellow Jackets got a three-run homer from Kyle Lodise with two outs in the bottom of the second to take an early 3-0 lead.

Georgia Tech then exploded for 10 runs in the fourth, with all but three runs coming with two outs. Lodise added a second three-run homer that went over the batter’s eye in centerfield, giving the Jackets a comfortable 6-0 lead. It was Lodise’s third long ball of the series. Alex Hernandez added a solo shot later in the inning, and Tech then got an RBI single from Vahn Lackey, putting the Jackets up 8-0.

After Luke Brown came on in relief of Darden, he immediately allowed an infield single, followed by back-to-back homers by John Giesler and Parker Brosius. Drew Burris added an RBI double, making it 13-0. Brown would allow four runs on five hits without recording an out.

Clemson finally got on the board with an RBI single from Andrew Ciufo in the top of the fifth.

The Jackets would tack on another insurance run in the bottom of the fifth, making it 14-1.

Tryston McCladdie hit his fourth homer of the season in the top of the sixth, a solo shot. McCladdie finished with two of the Tigers’ four hits.

Conner Shouse hit a two-run pinch-hit homer in the bottom of the sixth, the first hit of his collegiate career, giving Tech a 16-2 lead.

Outfielder Tristan Bissetta pitched an inning of relief in his first-ever college appearance as a pitcher. Bissetta allowed one hit and struck out a batter.

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The two will face off in a rubber game later this evening. First pitch is scheduled for 40 minutes after the conclusion of this game.