Hitting behind him in the batting order, Georgia Tech shortstop Mott Hyde has had a pretty good perspective on freshman second baseman Matt Gonzalez’ practically seamless transition to college baseball.
“I definitely knew he was going to be a great asset to our lineup,” Hyde said. “I didn’t know if he was going to be this good, but he’s doing awesome.”
After the first nine games of his career, Gonzalez, from Harrison High in Cobb County, leads the ACC in RBIs with 17 and is hitting an even .400 for the Yellow Jackets. Tech, which is 8-1 and ranked No. 16 in the country by Baseball America magazine, plays a three-game series against Rutgers starting Friday at Russ Chandler Stadium. No one should be surprised to see Gonzalez continue to perform.
“I try not to think about it, because the second I think about that, I’ll start going bad,” Gonzalez said. Still, “It’s kind of a cool feeling to come in here and kind of do my part, do whatever I can to help the team win.”
Hitting seventh, Gonzalez has gotten at least one hit and one RBI in eight of Tech’s nine games thus far. The only freshman in Tech’s starting lineup, Gonzalez has added considerable kick to the bottom of the order.
“I love hitting with runners on,” Gonzalez said. “I like to be a clutch hitter and try to do whatever I can to get the run in.”
To Hyde, Gonzalez’ performance at the start of his career is remarkable.
Having also started as a freshman, Hyde said, “I definitely felt pressure. He seems to be handling it a lot better.”
Gonzalez' confidence has its reasons. Coach Danny Hall pegged him as the best hitter in the state coming out of high school, an evaluation backed up by the Oakland Athletics, who selected him in the 11th round of the major league draft last June. His performance in fall practice and in the preseason made it imperative for Hall to get him on the field. With Hyde at short and Sam Dove at third, Hall moved Gonzalez to second, where he had never played prior to this season.
“The thing that I’ve seen, he hits the ball where it’s pitched,” Hall said. “I just think he has a pretty good sense of where his swing needs to go depending on how they pitch him.”
Gonzalez learned it from his father Alex, who played college baseball at West Florida and through countless batting-practice sessions ingrained in his son an understanding of his compact, aggressive swing.
“He’s been my hitting coach since I was five, I guess,” Gonzalez said. “I never went to anybody else.”
His only home run casts some light on the depth of his hitting acumen. With a runner on second against Georgia State, Gonzalez intended to hit to right to move the runner over. But after taking the first two pitches inside, he decided to change his strategy and pull the ball to left center.
“I just kind of got the barrel there and it lifted,” he said.
Gonzalez’ reward after the Jackets’ 16-5 win over the Panthers Feb. 19 was having ice water dumped on him in the shower after the game, the team’s initiation for freshmen after their first home runs.
At least through nine games, little else about him has been cold.
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