At the start of each week throughout the regular season, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will take a closer look at the Georgia Tech baseball team. Here’s a breakdown of the Yellow Jackets (24-14, 9-9 ACC) going into the week:
Record: 24-14, 9-9 ACC
Streak: Won one
RPI: 61
Last Week (2-2)
Tuesday: lost to Auburn 12-8
Friday: beat Virginia 13-2 (eight innings)
Saturday: lost to Virginia 8-7 (11 innings)
Sunday: beat Virginia 17-12
This Week
Tuesday: vs. Kennesaw State, 6 p.m.
Friday: vs. Miami, 6 p.m.
Saturday: vs. Miami, 4 p.m.
Sunday: vs. Miami, 1 p.m.
Week in review
A four-game stretch last week that started with a missed opportunity ended with an emphatic exclamation point in Virginia.
The Jackets completed a series win against No. 10 Virginia with a 17-12 victory Sunday, a result that had UVA coach Brian O’Connor remark to reporters after the game, “the bottom line is, they beat the hell out of us.” Tech piled up 25 hits in Sunday’s victory and that, coupled with a 13-2 triumph in eight innings Friday, gave the team its third straight series win in ACC play.
“I thought top to bottom guys just had great at-bats,” Tech coach Danny Hall said after Sunday’s win. “Just proud of the way they hung in there. We got behind and here we come again. Proud of them.”
Tech had begun the week with a 12-8 loss at Auburn, a game that saw the Tigers jump out to an 8-0 lead in the bottom of the first. The Jackets came back to get within 8-7 but couldn’t rally for the win.
Week ahead
The next four games won’t do much for Tech’s NCAA Tournament resume, but perhaps more importantly they could help in Tech’s endeavor to inch toward the 30-win mark.
Kennesaw State (22-16) makes the short drive down I-75 for a 6 p.m. Tuesday game at Russ Chandler Stadium. The Owls have an RPI of 52. Tech and Kennesaw were previously scheduled to meet March 26 in Kennesaw but that affair was canceled due to inclement weather.
On Friday, the Jackets open a three-game series with visiting Miami. The Hurricanes (17-22, 7-14 ACC) are just 2-10 away from home this season and begin the week with an RPI of 88.
Tech sits in fourth place in the ACC’s Coastal Division and 4-1/2 games back of first-place North Carolina. The Jackets have played 18 conference games compared to the 21 the rest of the division has completed.
Heading into the end of April, Hall’s team is sitting on the bubble when it comes to being selected as an at-large team for an NCAA regional.
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