With a 24-17 record, the Georgia baseball team is “just kind of digging in,” coach David Perno said.
Georgia Tech, which holds an identical record, has no room for mistakes, coach Danny Hall said.
They meet Tuesday night at Turner Field for the 355th time, but under different circumstances than usual. Injuries have removed chunks from both rosters. Both teams have lingered well beneath their anticipated ceilings. And both the Yellow Jackets and Bulldogs could use some wins to build up their NCAA tournament resumes.
“We’re in a position [where] it’s not too much of an uphill climb to get in the mix,” Perno said. “We’ve just got to keep digging in and plugging along.”
Both teams were highly regarded at the season’s outset. In Baseball America's preseason rankings, Georgia was 11th, one spot ahead of Tech. In the rankings released Monday, neither was in the top 25.
Their RPI rankings – Georgia is 34th and Tech is 41st – should put them in range for an NCAA at-large berth if they can maintain their positions. It would be the 26th postseason appearance in 28 years for Tech and the seventh in Perno’s 11 seasons in Athens.
However, with both teams facing difficult closing schedules, nothing is certain. A win over their archrival carries a little more value this year than is normally the case. Georgia won the first of three meetings 7-1 on March 20 in Athens. They meet for the third time on May 9.
“I can’t speak for them, but it definitely is [important for NCAA tournament consideration] for where we are,” Hall said. “We’re in a different position than we’ve been in years past.”
The Yellow Jackets completed their biggest series of the season last weekend, taking two of three from then-No. 10 North Carolina in Chapel Hill. At 24-17 and 9-12 in the ACC, Tech is below the standard set Hall. At the 41-game mark of Hall’s first 18 seasons, Tech’s average record has been 30-11. The Jackets have stood at 24 wins only one other time.
An injury bug that Hall has called unprecedented has claimed, among others, No. 2 starter Matthew Grimes and closer Luke Bard indefinitely, and shrunk his options. Current No. 2 starter Dusty Isaacs was a reliever last season and No. 3 starter Cole Pitts is a true freshman. Josh Heddinger, another true freshman, will start for Tech Tuesday. Poor fielding has exacerbated the pitching shortage.
“I know we have no margin for error,” Hall said. “But if we can continue the way we looked last weekend, we have some great opportunities, because every team we play in the ACC is ahead of us either in the standings or in the RPI.”
Georgia closer Tyler Maloof, second in the NCAA last season with 18 saves, has been shelved with a lat muscle injury. Freshman outfielder Hunter Cole, a .316 hitter, has missed the past five games with a right-side muscle strain. Staff ace Michael Palazzone has not been able to match his performance from 2011. The Bulldogs' power numbers have also been down.
The Bulldogs have lost four of their past five SEC series. Against No. 5 Florida last weekend in Gainesville, Georgia lost the opener 3-2 in 16 innings and split the final two. Palazzone, though, has rallied in his past two starts and Perno believes things are looking up.
The injuries are “a part of it,” Perno said. “The part of it is we’ve had some guys that have had tough starts, but they’re starting to obviously turn it around and do some good things and get back to form.”
Georgia is 7-2 against Tech at Turner Field. The Bulldogs own the overall series, which began in 1898, at 198-154-2.
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