Georgia Tech baseball entered the final week of the regular season with a lot on the line.
The Yellow Jackets (37-15, 17-10 ACC) are in the thick of the ACC title race, can reach 40 wins for the first time since 2019 and can greatly increase their chances of hosting first-round games in the NCAA Tournament at the end of the month. Tech is a virtual lock to make the field of 64, but how it fares this weekend at Duke and the following week at the ACC tournament will set the tone heading into the postseason.
As of Wednesday, Tech has an RPI of 22, and teams inside the top 20 traditionally have a solid chance of being selected as one of 16 host institutions for the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament on May 30-June 2. So, it would behoove the Jackets to, at the very least, take this weekend’s series from Duke (RPI of 31) and then to go deep into the ACC tournament.
Recent regional projections tab Tech as a No. 2 seed in places like Athens (D1Baseball), Baton Rouge (On3) or Nashville (Baseball America).
As for the ACC title race, the Jackets are among a five-team logjam atop the standings that includes Florida State (16-8) in first, North Carolina State (16-9) in second, Tech in third, North Carolina (16-10) in fourth and Duke (16-11) in fifth. The top four teams in the standings after this weekend will advance to the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament, which begins Tuesday in Durham, North Carolina.
Coach Danny Hall’s squad remained in the championship hunt thanks to winning a doubleheader with Louisville on Sunday.
“It just keeps us above some other people in our league. Our league is so tight, with eight teams within a game of each other,” Hall said of the importance of taking two of three from the Cardinals. “Winning the series is huge for us. Louisville is a ranked team; they’re a great program. Just a great weekend for our team and keeps us moving forward in the ACC.”
Duke (35-16) has won three consecutive league series and is 11-2 since losing at Miami on April 13. The Blue Devils lead the nation in walks and lead the ACC in home runs and scoring.
Third baseman Ben Miller leads the ACC in home runs with 18 and left-handed pitcher Reid Easterly is 8-1 with a 2.78 ERA and has recorded four saves.
The series is slated to begin at 6 p.m. Thursday followed by a 6 p.m. start Friday and 3 p.m. finale Saturday.
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