March 1, 2011
ATLANTA – After taking two out of three against nationally-ranked St. John’s over the weekend, the 23rd-ranked Georgia Tech baseball team turns focus to Georgia State for midweek play at 4 p.m. on Wednesday at Russ Chandler Stadium.
Pitching Matchup (Georgia Tech vs. Georgia State)
RHP Matthew Grimes (1-0, 2.84, 6.1 IP, 4 SO) vs. LHP Aiden Francis (0-0, 7.71, 4.2 IP, 8 SO)
BROADCAST INFORMATION
The GT radio broadcast can be heard over the air on WREK (91.1), the flagship station of Georgia Tech baseball, and online at RamblinWreck.com.
LIVE STATS
Live stats for all home games and most road games will be available on RamblinWreck.com to both media and fans. Click the GameTracker logo on the website to see play-by-play, player/team stats and much more.
SERIES PREVIEW
Georgia Tech (5-3) enters the series ranked as high as No. 23by the USA Today/ ESPN Coaches’ Poll.
The Jackets won two of three against then-No. 23 St. John’s overthe weekend, scoring 18 straight runs in the first two games beforethe Red Storm got on board and won the rubber match.
Wednesday’s game will mark the 65th all-time meeting between thetwo schools.
Georgia State returns 22 letterwinners and nine starters (sevenposition players and two pitchers) from a 2010 team that went34-23-1 and finished second in the Colonial Athletic AssociationConference.
The Panthers (7-1) are off to their second best start in schoolhistory after winning three of four against Western Illinois overthe weekend … Georgia State is currently receiving votes in thelatest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Poll(NCBWA).
SERIES HISTORY
Georgia Tech leads the all-time series with a 56-8 record after sweeping the two-game series in 2010. The Jackets are 32-3 against the Panthers in the confines of Russ Chandler Stadium, and 24-5 on Georgia State’s diamond. Head coach Danny Hall is 32-4 against the Panthers in since arriving on the Flats in 1994.
Last Meeting: Tony Plagman belted two of Georgia Tech’s four home runs and Brandon Cumpton scattered four hits over six scoreless innings to lead the sixth-ranked Yellow Jackets to a 9-3 win over Georgia State on May 18, 2010.
QUICK HITS
Georgia Tech ranks fourth in the Atlantic Coast Conference inbatting average (.312), and third in ERA (.201). The pitching staffleads the ACC in strikeouts with 76.
Freshman Kyle Wren, currently on an eight-game hitting streak to openthe season, leads the conference in hits with 15.
Junior pitcher Jed Bradley has allowed just four hits all season, holdingopponents to a .098 batting average. Bradley and junior Mark Pope each hold a 0.71 ERA (12.2 IP).
The Georgia Tech pitching staff tossed 21-straight shutout inningsfrom the seventh inning of the series finale against GeorgiaSouthern (Feb. 23) to the first inning of the finale against St.John’s (Feb. 27) … The 21 consecutive shutout innings were sevenshy of breaking the school record of 27.
All 17 of Tech’s freshmen have made appearances in the first eightgames of the season, while nine have made at least one start …Seven newcomers have started on one occasions so far in 2011, a 7-4win against Georgia Southern on Feb. 23.
GEORGIA TECH vs. IN-STATE OPPONENTS
In 2010, the Jackets claimed victor to the “State Championship” of Georgia college baseball, going 12-1 against in-state opponents.
The Jackets won four against Georgia Southern, two against Mercer, three against Georgia, two against Georgia State, and one against Kennesaw State. Tech’s only loss came at Kennesaw State on March 31, 2010.
Tech has a total of 13 regular season games on the schedule against schools from Georgia this season.
Since 1999, the Yellow Jackets own a 111-35 (.760) record against its in-state foes. In 18 years under head coach Danny Hall, Tech is 155-52 (.749) against teams from Georgia.
NOTEBOOK
Georgia Tech returns 17 letterwinners and four starters (twoposition players and two pitchers) from a 2010 team that went 47-15(21-6 ACC) and finished 2nd in the ACC Coastal Division whilereaching the finals of the NCAA Atlanta Regional.
Georgia Tech entered the season in the top-25 by three differentmajor polls — No. 19 by Collegiate Baseball, No. 21 in theNational Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Poll, and No. 19by the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll … Head coach Danny Hall has had a team ranked in a major preseason top-25poll in each of his 18 years on the Flats.
In 2010, the Jackets were one of the biggest power-hitting teams inthe country. The group belted a school-record 122 home runs – thesecond most in the nation – and won 28 games by five runs or more.Junior Matt Skole, a 2011 Louisville Slugger preseason All-Americanbecame just the 12th player in school history to belt at least 20home runs in a season when he did so in 2010.
Weekend starters Mark Pope and Jed Bradley have gained early preseason national attention,each being named to Preseason All-America teams, as well as top-100college prospects by Baseball America … Bradley was named to theUSA Baseball Golden Spikes National Player of the Year watch liston Feb. 17.
After tying a school-record with 10 selections in June’s MLBfirst-year player draft, the Jackets lost seven underclassmen toprofessional contracts. Included in that group were 2010All-Americans Deck McGuire and Derek Dietrich.
Tech’s freshman class, consisting of 17 newcomers, six of whom werealso selected in the 2010 MLB draft, is ranked as high the No. 6recruiting class in the nation. Six newcomers started on openingday.
TECH CAMPUS HOSTS NEGRO BASEBALL LEAGUES MUSEUM EXHIBIT
As a part of the 50th anniversary of the matriculation of black students at Georgia Tech, the steering committee along with the GT Athletic Association are bringing the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum exhibition entitled “Shades of Greatness – Art Inspired by Negro Leagues Baseball” to the GT library on campus. The exhibit, which contains about 35 works in the show featuring various themes and stories from Negro league history, is here from Feb. 11 to March 20. It is located in the library’s Neely Gallery room, and is open to the public.
THREE JACKETS GARNER PRESEASON NATIONAL HONORS
Junior pitcher Jed Bradley, junior pitcher Mark Pope and junior infielder Matt Skole have all been named to preseason All-America team sin 2011. Bradley was tabbed by both Baseball America (2nd team) and Louisville Slugger (3rd team), while Pope and Skole landed spots on Louisville Slugger All-America teams.
BRADLEY NAMED TO LIST OF NATIONS BEST
Junior Jed Bradley was one of 50 players named to the preseason USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Watch List Thursday, Feb. 17, marking the organization’s first step toward identifying the top amateur baseball player in the country. Bradley, a 2010 second-team All-ACC selection, is the lone returner to the Tech weekend rotation. He went 9-5 with a 4.83 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 91.1 innings last season.
