CHARLOTTE (Interstat) — Ryan Zuckerman homered twice to help Georgia Tech defeat Miami 9-3 on Saturday afternoon in the Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Championship at Truist Field.

Zuckerman, the Yellow Jackets’ designated hitter, went 3 for 4 with two home runs and four RBIs. His first homer came in the third inning, a two-run shot to center field that followed a Miami error. His second, another two-run blast to right-center in the fourth, gave Georgia Tech a 6-0 lead.

The top-seeded Yellow Jackets, now 45-9 overall, jumped ahead early. Vahn Lackey belted a two-run homer to left field in the first inning, scoring Jarren Advincula. Miami starter AJ Ciscar settled in briefly, but a fielding error by shortstop Vance Sheahan in the third allowed Lackey to reach base, and Zuckerman capitalized.

Georgia Tech added to its lead in the fifth when Alex Hernandez scored on a wild pitch. The Hurricanes, who entered the tournament as the seed with a 38-18 record, finally broke through in the sixth. Sheahan doubled down the left-field line to drive in Alonzo Alvarez, and Dylan Dubovik scored on a wild pitch to cut the deficit to 7-2. But Hernandez answered with a run-scoring single in the bottom half, and Parker Brosius’ triple and a wild pitch pushed the lead to 9-2 in the seventh.

Miami’s final run came in the eighth on a sacrifice fly by Gabriel Milano. The Hurricanes managed nine hits off four Georgia Tech pitchers, but left seven runners on base. Ryan Bilka, the third of five Miami pitchers, took the loss.

Kent Schmidt started at first base for Georgia Tech and contributed a groundout and a lineout, while Alex Hernandez had a single, a walk and an RBI. Will Baker walked twice and struck out twice. Carson Kerce tripled and singled, scoring once.

For Miami, Max Galvin singled, Alonzo Alvarez had two hits, and Dylan Dubovik added two singles. Jake Ogden made a costly error at second base that led to an unearned run.

The Yellow Jackets outhit the Hurricanes 11-9 and committed no errors. Jackson Blakely started for Georgia Tech and allowed two runs on five hits over 5 1/3 innings, striking out three. Caden Gaudette, Kayden Campbell and Dimitri Angelakos combined for 3 2/3 innings of relief.

The game’s pivotal moment came in the bottom of the third with the score 2-0. After Lackey reached on Sheahan’s error, Zuckerman drove a 1-1 pitch over the center-field fence, doubling the lead and shifting momentum entirely to Georgia Tech. Miami never got closer than five runs thereafter.

No betting line was available.