Four years ago, Georgia Tech traveled to Gainesville, Fla., for an NCAA baseball regional, the same drive the Yellow Jackets have made this weekend. In 2012, Tech was hammered by the Gators – then, as now, the top overall seed in the tournament and loaded with future draft picks.
For Tech coach Danny Hall, whose team had secured its NCAA tournament berth only by making a stunning run to the ACC championship, the 2012 regional was a clear message that the Jackets needed to raise their standards to compete with the likes of the Gators.
“When I say ‘we,’ I mean me, too,” Hall said after the tournament. “We’ve got to recruit better, we’ve got to stay healthy, we’ve got to put a team together like Florida had for us to get to Omaha (Neb., site of the College World Series.)”
Hall made the difficult decision to fire pitching coach Tom Kinkelaar, who had been a college teammate and roommate of Hall’s, replacing him with Jason Howell. Later, to buttress Hall’s efforts, the athletic department provided a $4.5 million renovation and expansion of the team’s locker room and facilities. Recruiting, particularly the last two classes, has brought in difference-making players.
How much Tech has progressed from that point is open for debate. Four years later, the on-field results would not suggest that Tech is much closer to the Gators’ standard. The Jackets are 36-23 with a 13-16 ACC record. Going into the 2012 regional, Tech was 36-24 and 12-18 in the conference. The No. 2 seed in the double-elimination regional, the Jackets will open with a Friday 1 p.m. game against No. 3 seed Connecticut.
Hall contends that the team, whose pitching staff was harpooned by injuries this season, is close to a breakthrough and a return to the prominent status it enjoyed not too long ago.
“I think we’re really close,” Hall said. “But we’ve got to push the rock over the hill, so to speak, and we haven’t done that. I think the big thing is, we continue to get opportunities. We’ve got to take advantage of it.”
Hall is at the end of a five-year extension he received in 2012 from then-athletic director Dan Radakovich, paying him $385,000 this year. While Hall said this week that conversations with athletic director Mike Bobinski have been minimal, it’s expected that an extension will be negotiated after the season.
“I’m hoping to get another (extension), let’s put it that way,” Hall said. “(The contract) is (up) at the end of the year. I’m hopeful I’ve got another one here. I still want to coach and I still want to coach at Georgia Tech.”
Costly injuries
In his first 13 seasons, through 2006, Hall directed a powerhouse. The Jackets went to the College World Series three times, won the ACC regular-season title four times and the conference tournament three times. However, the Jackets have not made it past the regional round since the 2006 trip to Omaha. Further, starting in 2012, they have not hosted a regional, a perk given the top 16 teams.
This season, with freshman All-America slugger Kel Johnson returning – his prolonged ankle injury last year likely helped cost Tech an NCAA bid – and highly-touted freshmen Jonathan Hughes and Tristin English expected to take spots in the starting rotation, the Jackets appeared that they could far exceed middling expectations.
But elbow injuries limited Hughes (elbow), English (elbow) and returning starting pitcher Jonathan King (shoulder) to 30 2/3 innings this season. With strong contributions from pitchers Brandon Gold and Matthew Gorst and offensive production from outfielders Gonzalez and Johnson, shortstop Connor Justus and third baseman Trevor Craport, Tech pulled out its 20th NCAA bid in Hall’s 23 seasons.
It’s hardly a stretch to think that, had even two out of the injured trio of Hughes, English and King had remained healthy, the Jackets would have won enough games to be a regional host, significantly improving its probability to advance to the super-regional round.
“If those three guys were in our rotation, I think we’d be right where we envisioned (four) years ago that we wanted to be,” Hall said. “I think we’ve got a good mix of older guys that have played a lot. I think our freshmen have contributed greatly this year, so I think it’s great that they’re going to go experience an NCAA regional and what goes into that. So the plan is still in place, let’s put it that way.”
Tougher conference
Hall is well aware of some fans’ frustration. The ACC has developed into a behemoth – the league tied an NCAA record this year with 10 teams receiving tournament bids – but the Jackets have struggled to keep up with the top.
The Jackets shared the 2011 ACC regular-season title and won the 2012 and 2014 league tournaments as the Nos. 8 and 9 seeds, respectively, but also have finished under .500 in conference play four of the past five seasons. They hadn’t had a single sub-.500 league record in Hall’s first 18 seasons.
The league has become increasingly competitive, starting with the rise of Virginia and the swap of non-competitive Maryland for Louisville, which reached the College World Series in 2013 and 2014.
Hall pointed out that, in the face of the challenges, Tech has continued to reach the tournament to give itself chances to return to the College World Series. Going back to a run started by former coach Jim Morris, the Jackets have made 28 NCAA tournaments in the past 31 years. Only Florida State and Miami, both with 31, have made more appearances.
“I think there’s probably fans at Georgia Tech that probably don’t understand what goes into this, how hard it is, how much harder it is in the ACC now than maybe it used to be, but, that being said, that doesn’t change my expectation or the players’ expectation,” Hall said. “We want to be one of those teams that’s playing in Omaha. And that will always be the case as long as I’m here. So getting to the NCAA tournament, for me, that’s the first step in the process, but in saying that, you can’t minimize how great that is to get into the NCAA tournament.”
