After losing consecutive ACC series to three of the top offenses in the country, Georgia Tech gets to try something new this weekend. The Yellow Jackets will try to reverse their slide against No. 13 Florida State, which merely is armed with one of the better pitching staffs in the country. The series at Russ Chandler Stadium begins at 6 p.m. Friday.
“We’ve had a tough stretch,” coach Danny Hall told media after the Jackets’ 27-4 blowout of South Carolina Upstate on Tuesday at Russ Chandler Stadium. “Our league is really good, and we’ve played two really good teams on the road and haven’t fared so well. Now we get a chance to come home and play another really good team with outstanding pitching.”
Picked to finish first in the Coastal Division and harboring hopes of earning a top-16 seed for the NCAA Tournament, the Jackets are sliding as their pitching has been frequently clubbed. Tech is 19-11 and in sixth place in the Coastal Division (though they’re a game out of a tie for third).
Ranked as high as sixth nationally after sweeping Virginia Tech at home March 11 and 13, Tech is out of the top 25 of the major polls.
A pitching staff that ranks second to last in the ACC in ERA (6.07), opponents batting average (.277) and walks per nine (4.88) has precipitated the drop. Occasionally loose defense hasn’t helped, either.
Tech fans looking for hope might consider this: In losing consecutive series to Wake Forest, N.C. State and No. 2 Virginia (which followed a sweep of Virginia Tech), the Jackets’ staff has been raked by some of the more potent lineups in the country.
Through Wednesday’s games, Virginia ranked No. 1 in Division I in runs per game (11.0), and Wake Forest was sixth (9.8), Virginia Tech was 12th (9.1) and N.C. State was 30th (7.9). Not surprisingly, Tech’s strength of schedule after Wednesday, as measured by the NCAA, ranked second nationally.
At least from the perspective of opposing lineups, the schedule lightens measurably. The Jackets’ next three ACC opponents, Florida State, North Carolina and Duke, all average six runs or fewer.
It could be an opportune stretch, as the Jackets offense has had few equals this spring. After Wednesday’s games, Tech ranked third in Division I in batting average (.327), sixth in slugging percentage (.547), 10th in on-base percentage (.427) and eighth in runs per game (9.8).
Catcher Kevin Parada is in the top five in the ACC in hits, runs, home runs, RBIs and total bases.
Even in losing two of three to Virginia last weekend, the Jackets scored more runs (24) in the three games than any ACC opponent had scored on the Cavaliers in a series this season. (The problem was that the Jackets allowed 35 runs.)
Further, leadoff man and shortstop Chandler Simpson has returned after missing 13 games with an injury, an absence that was felt in the lineup and in the field.
With six ACC series remaining before the conference tournament, time remains for the Jackets to change course and climb back into the rankings. But, even as Tech’s run production continues, the pitching will have to raise its bar.
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