ATLANTA (Interstat) — In a wild, back-and-forth affair that defied its early blowout appearance, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets rallied from a five-run first-inning deficit to defeat the Georgia Southern Eagles 13-9 on Tuesday night at Russ Chandler Stadium.

The game turned on a dominant relief appearance and an historic individual performance. After Georgia Southern battered Georgia Tech starter Underwood for four runs without recording an out, reliever Carson Ballard entered and stabilized the game. Ballard delivered 3 1/3 critical innings, allowing five hits but no earned runs while striking out three. His effort halted the Eagles’ momentum and provided the Yellow Jackets’ potent offense time to mount its comeback.

That offense was spearheaded by third baseman Ryan Zuckerman, who delivered a perfect 5-for-5 performance with two home runs and four RBIs. His solo shot in the third inning began chipping away at the lead, and his second homer, a solo blast in the eighth, provided the final run. Zuckerman also had a two-run single in the first and two other singles, raising his average during a hot streak that has seen him hit safely in his last five games.

Georgia Southern struck immediately. The Eagles sent nine men to the plate in the first, scoring four runs before an out was recorded. A two-run double by Trammell and a two-run homer by second baseman Jack Myers staked the visitors to a commanding lead. Myers finished 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs.

The Yellow Jackets responded with two in the bottom of the first on Zuckerman’s single, then added another in the second on a bases-loaded walk by Alex Hernandez. After Zuckerman’s third-inning homer made it 9-4, Georgia Tech’s power surge continued in the fourth with back-to-back solo shots from Jarren Advincula and Hernandez to pull within 9-6.

Georgia Tech completed the comeback and took its first lead in the sixth. With two on and two out, right fielder Will Baker laced a two-run double to right-center, scoring two to give the Yellow Jackets a 10-9 advantage. Baker went 3-for-5 with two RBIs.

The Eagles threatened in the eighth, loading the bases with one out and scoring two runs to tie the game at 11 on an RBI walk by Myers and an RBI fielder’s choice by Nico Senese, who had two hits and two RBIs. Georgia Tech immediately answered in the bottom half, as pinch-hitter Caleb Daniel and Zuckerman hit consecutive solo homers to restore a two-run lead. Drew Rogers also homered for the Yellow Jackets, a solo shot in the seventh.

Georgia Tech reliever Gaudette recorded the final out of the eighth with the bases loaded to preserve the lead, and Angelakos pitched a scoreless ninth to seal the win. The Yellow Jackets used seven pitchers, while the Eagles employed eight.

Georgia Tech improved to 29-5, continuing one of the nation’s best starts. Georgia Southern fell to 12-24. The Yellow Jackets have won 12 of their last 13 games. The Eagles have lost three of four.

Georgia Tech opens a key Atlantic Coast Conference series at North Carolina on Friday. Georgia Southern travels to face Old Dominion for a Sun Belt Conference series beginning the same day.