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 (7-3) going into the third week of the campaign:
Record: 7-3, 0-0 ACC
Streak: Lost 2
Last Week (1-2)
Tuesday: Beat Georgia State 10-0
Saturday: Lost to Georgia 3-1
Sunday: Lost to Georgia 11-9
This Week
Tuesday: vs. Northeastern, 4 p.m.
Friday: vs. Youngstown State, 4 p.m.
Saturday: vs. Youngstown State, 1 p.m. (DH)
Sunday: vs. Youngstown State, 1 p.m.
Week in review
Tech has now dropped 3 of 4 after a disastrous end to the week Sunday at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville.
The Jackets led rival Georgia 9-3 after six innings only to surrender five runs in the seventh and three more in the ninth to lose 11-9. Tech’s bullpen was touched up for nine earned runs on nine hits and five walks.
That defeat followed a 3-1 setback Saturday in Athens. Tech left 10 men on base and went 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position while the Tech bullpen gave up single runs in the seventh and eighth. Tech starter Aeden Finateri (2-0) shined again, however, by allowing just one earned run over six innings. The junior righty now has a 1.06 ERA with 21 strikeouts over 17 innings this season.
Tech very likely would have been swept in the three-game series if Friday’s game had not been called in the fifth inning due to inclement weather - it was trailing 9-3 in that one.
The Jackets had started the week with a 10-0 victory at home over Georgia State, a victory which included a program record four home runs by freshman centerfielder Drew Burress, a feat that garnered national headlines.
Week ahead
Northeastern (5-3) comes to town Tuesday for a 4 p.m. contest. The barnstorming Huskies, who don’t play a home game until March 12, took 2 of 3 at Mercer over the weekend. Northeastern, out of the Coastal Athletic Conference, went 44-16 a season ago and played in the Winston-Salem Regional where it went 0-2. The Huskies also made the Fayetteville Regional in 2021.
Youngstown State comes to Atlanta for a four-game weekend series starting Friday and which includes a doubleheader Saturday. The Penguins are 0-9 and play at Ohio on Tuesday before coming to Russ Chandler Stadium.
Youngstown is coming off a 19-36 season.
The big picture
While still early in a long season, the Jackets are not trending toward being an NCAA Regional team.
Tech has an unofficial RPI of 84 (according to warrennolan.com) and its four upcoming games against Youngstown (286) won’t boost the resume. Tech also travels to Mercer (119) on March 12 before beginning ACC play March 15.
The Jackets’ offense, traditionally a strength for the program, ranks toward the bottom among ACC teams in average (.298), hits (102) and runs (86). Burress has been a bright spot with his nation-leading nine home runs.
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