Feb. 5, 2004
ATLANTA – Eight of nine offensive starters return. Eight of 12 pitchers return. More than 85% of the run production returns. Nearly 60% of the innings pitched return. Twenty letterwinners who won an Atlantic Coast Conference championship in 2003 return. And one dedicated and determined baseball team is poised for a run to Omaha and the College World Series in 2004.
Head coach Danny Hall, now in his 11th season at Georgia Tech, has led the Yellow Jackets to nine NCAA Regional appearances, two Atlantic Coast Conference Championships (2000 and 2003) and two College World Series appearances (1994 and 2002). His Yellow Jackets begin the 2004 season ranked No. 4 in the nation by Collegiate Baseball and No. 5 by Baseball America magazines.
“You look at the last two years, and the group of players that are here now have been big factors,” said Hall, who owns a 440-190 record as Tech’s skipper. “We’ve gone to Omaha and we have won an ACC Championship. Those are two major accomplishments.”
Tech went 44-18 last year and won the 2003 ACC Championship in dramatic fashion by sweeping a triple-header over Florida State, North Carolina and NC State on the final day of the tournament, but the Yellow Jackets went 0-2 in the NCAA Atlanta Regional. While the Yellow Jackets were disappointed to be eliminated in the NCAA Regionals on its home field last season, it left them very determined to make a return to Omaha.
“We were certainly disappointed in what happened in the NCAA Regionals last year,” said Hall. “You play your regular season to put yourself in a position to host a regional. And hosting a regional greatly increases your chances of reaching Omaha. We did everything that we had to do during the season, but we did not win the regional.
“I think our players have grown from that and have used it as a motivating factor to be better this year. I thought that we had great workouts in the fall and the players have worked very hard in the offseason.”
The nucleus of the 2003 team returns intact, and Hall feels confident about how his 2004 club is shaping up entering the season. Tech has five players – pitcher/DH Micah Owings, catcher Mike Nickeas, second baseman Eric Patterson, shortstop Tyler Greene and right fielder Jeremy Slayden – who were named to Baseball America’s preseason all-America team.
“I feel very strong about our team because of how hard they have worked,” said Hall. “I think our chemistry is extremely good. We have eight of nine starters back offensively, and we have a couple of freshmen who will challenge somebody in that lineup for playing time. That’s always a good problem to have.
“I think we have all the ingredients in place to have a good team. The two things I look for is that they are very focused in writing a new chapter in the history of Georgia Tech baseball, and they get along very well with each other.”
A position-by-position look at the Yellow Jackets:
CATCHER
Hall has the luxury of two returning veterans behind the plate in junior Mike Nickeas, the starter in 2003, and sophomore Andy Hawranick, a key reserve who started at least one game a week. Nickeas, who led the Yellow Jackets with a .333 batting average, spent the summer with the USA Baseball National Team that won the silver medal at the Pan-American Games in the Dominican Republic. Last season he established himself as a middle-of-the-order hitter and one of the better clutch hitters on the team.
“Mike Nickeas is a great player, a great leader, and he hits in the middle of the order for us,” said Hall. “He has done everything that we thought he would do and I expect another solid season from him.”
Hawranick, who played in 35 games and made 25 starts, hit .321 and threw out eight of 15 attempted base stealers.
“Andy Hawranick is probably the best backup catcher in the country,” said Hall. “He’s a guy that can spell Mike from time to time, and step in and handle our pitching staff. I think we have two outstanding receivers. We can win with either guy, and I think we proved that last year.”
Backing up Nickeas and Hawranick behind the plate is utility-man Cameron Lane and true freshman Nick Scherer.
INFIELD
The Yellow Jackets return all four starters in the infield from 2003 – first baseman Clifton Remole, second baseman Eric Patterson, shortstop Tyler Greene and third baseman Jake Hall. Add in a solid group of newcomers, and Hall feels like Tech will enter the 2004 season with excellent depth across the diamond.
Remole was second on the team with a .323 average and drove in 42 runs in 2003. An excellent defensive first baseman with a smooth left-handed stroke, the junior spent some of fall practice working in the outfield and displayed solid defensive skills there as well. Backing up Remole at first base is freshman Whit Robbins, who had a very impressive fall practice with the bat and should see plenty of playing time this spring.
“Clifton Remole is the incumbent at first base, and he’s as good a defensive first baseman as we have had at Georgia Tech,” said Hall. “We played him quite a bit in the outfield this fall to help create some outfield depth, but at the same time to put us in a position to get Whit Robbins some at bats in the spring. Whit is a good defensive player, and he’s a guy who is going to be an outstanding hitter.”
Hall is looking for Patterson, a two-time first-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference selection, to be one of the top infielders in the nation in 2004. As a freshman, Patterson hit .346, stole 41 bases and scored 73 runs, but he dropped to .274 as a sophomore. His defensive play, however, ranks among the best in the country.
“Eric Patterson had a great freshman year, and he’s coming off, for him, a disappointing sophomore season,” said Hall. “He has worked extremely hard during the summer and fall. I see a hungry ballplayer, a guy who is not only very focused on having a good year for himself but also cares a lot about how our team does. I think he can be the best leadoff hitter in college baseball.”
Greene, who started 61 of 62 games at shortstop and earned Freshman all-America honors in 2003, returns for his second season on the collegiate level after a breakout summer with the USA Baseball National Team. After hitting .316 with eight home runs and 43 RBI for the Yellow Jackets, he hit .431 with four home runs and 21 RBI using wood bats with Team USA.
“Tyler Greene may be our most improved player from last year to this year,” said Hall. “He had great success and lead Team USA in hitting last summer, and he gained a lot of confidence from that. He is certainly stronger physically, but more importantly he has a lot more confidence going into this season. Those guys [Greene and Patterson] give us a great middle of the diamond, and I expect them to be forces offensively and be great defensive middle infielders as well.”
Jake Hall started 36 games at third base in 2003, batting .292 with 12 RBI in 113 at bats, but the Yellow Jackets will enter the 2004 season with freshman Wes Hodges as the starter at that position. Hodges, who played his entire senior season of high school with a broken left hand, still hit .430 despite batting left handed for the first time in his career. He laid claim to the third base job with an outstanding fall practice with both the bat and glove.
“We’ll start the year with Wes Hodges as our third baseman,” said Hall. “He was a highly recruited guy, and he can really swing the bat. He is also a great defensive player.
“Behind him is Jake Hall. He gives you everything that he has, and he is going to play hard every day. We moved him around a lot in the fall – we played him in the outfield and at second base – and he will be a main utility guy for us this season.”
Sophomore Micah Owings, a two-way player and the 2003 ACC Rookie of the Year, led the Yellow Jackets in both home runs (15) and victories (9) last season. He spent most of last spring as Tech’s everyday designated hitter, although he filled in at both first and third base throughout the year. As he is expected to be Tech’s No. 1 starting pitcher this season, Hall hopes to limit his offensive duty to just the DH position.
“Having a guy like Micah Owings is a great luxury,” said Hall. “He can play first base or third base and he’s an invaluable guy because he play a number of different places. But primarily I would like to keep him pitching and let him DH for us. That may change during the season, but that’s the plan to start the year.”
Utility players in the infield include sophomore Mike Trapani, who hit two home runs in spot duty last season, junior Cameron Lane and freshman John Goodman. Redshirt freshman Ryan Stanley adds depth at first base.
“I think we have great depth in our infield,” said Hall. “Mike Trapani could play third, short or second. Cameron Lane could step in and play second. John Goodman is a very good middle infielder who can play second and short. But we’re going to lean on him a lot to pitch, so that may limit his chances to play in the infield.”
OUTFIELD
Tech lost left fielder Matt Murton, a first round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox, but the Yellow Jackets essentially return three starters in junior Jeremy Slayden, the everyday right fielder, junior Brandon Boggs, Tech’s main center fielder, and sophomore Steven Blackwood, who started 27 games at all three outfield positions.
An excellent left-handed hitter with good power to all fields, Slayden set a Tech freshman record with 18 home runs in 2002 but slipped to just eight last season. A preseason all-America selection this spring, he is looking to return to his freshman year form.
“Jeremy Slayden had a great freshman year, and he certainly did not play as well as he or I would have liked as a sophomore,” said Hall. But he had a great fall and a great summer in Cape Cod. He’s very focused on our team and I expect him to bounce back and have a great year.”
Boggs had a very solid rookie season in 2002 when he hit .305, and he belted nine home runs last season after not going deep as a freshman. An excellent all-around athlete, Boggs has all the tools to be one of the top outfielders in the ACC.
“Brandon Boggs is a guy I look for to have a breakout year,” said Hall. “He has great ability, and he has worked very hard to improve himself as a player. I think he has yet to really show everybody what he is capable of doing.”
Blackwood enters the spring as the starter in left field after a highly productive freshman campaign. Despite starting just 27 games, Blackwood drove in 38 runs in just 116 at bats while hitting .353 and playing solid defense. Although did not have enough at bats to qualify for the ACC leaders, the left-handed hitter had the best on-base percentage on the team (.493).
“Steven Blackwood is just a great baseball player,” said Hall. “He comes to play every day, and he plays very hard. He can hit, he is a good defensive player and he is off the charts academically. We feel very good to have him on our team.”
Remole, who was impressive at the corner outfield positions in the fall, could work his way into the outfield rotation this spring, while Jake Hall, Cameron Lane and freshman Avery Johnson also add depth. Freshman Lee Hyde, who will see most of his action as a pitcher, could also play in the outfield if needed.
“I hope those three guys – Slayden, Boggs and Blackwood – play every inning for us in the outfield this year,” laughed Hall.
PITCHING
Hall and the Yellow Jackets will have to replace Kyle Bakker, Chris Goodman and Jeff Watchko, all key members of the 2003 team, but the staff returns nearly intact otherwise. Add in a solid group of newcomers, and Hall feels very comfortable with his staff as the team enters the season.
“I think we have a lot of quality in our pitching staff,” said Hall. “The biggest thing that we have to find out is who is going to close for us. We’ve got some ideas, but until we throw some guys into the fire we are not going to know how they will react. But I think that we have enough bodies that we will be able to figure out who that closer or closers will be.”
Tech used senior Brian Burks in the closer role last season, and he was successful with a 5-1 record and eight saves. But Hall feels like Burks is better suited as a starter, and he will enter the 2004 season as the No. 2 starter in the weekend rotation. A veteran of many roles on the Tech pitching staff, Burks enters his senior season with a 19-9 record, 13 saves and a 3.92 ERA.
“Brian Burks is the ultimate team guy, said Hall. “As a sophomore he was in our starting rotation and won 10 games. I think he pitched better than anybody in the fall, and I really feel he is better suited as a starter. I loved having him in the bullpen last year because he was a troubleshooter for us. But the wear and tear of throwing in the bullpen kind of broke him down physically. I feel like we are better off to keep him in a starting role, and I want to keep him healthy for the long haul. I don’t care who we are playing, but if we need to win a big game, then I would just assume have him out there on the mound.”
Tech’s No. 1 starter entering the season will be sophomore Micah Owings. A second-team all-America selection in 2003, Owings went 9-3 with a 3.99 ERA in 17 appearances, including 12 starts. A fierce competitor who has excellent command of all his pitches, Owings was the Yellow Jackets’ top starter down the stretch of last season.
“Micah Owings is just a fantastic player and an even better person,” said Hall. “He quickly established himself as one of our better pitchers last season, and I look for him to pick right up where he left off.”
The remainder of Tech’s starting rotation is unsettled entering the season, but that’s not for a lack of talent or experience. Hall has the luxury of turning to three right-handers – junior Andrew Kown, senior Philip Perry or sophomore Jason Neighborgall – who have all started big games for the Yellow Jackets in the past.
Kown went 3-2 with a 4.65 ERA in 50.1 innings last season, making 18 appearances and starting five games. He showed flashes of dominance at times last season, and he followed that up with a very successful summer in the Alaska Baseball League where he posted a 2.17 ERA in 54 innings.
Perry missed the entire 2003 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in the fall of 2002, but he returned to full strength in fall practice and showed no ill effects from the procedure. A fifth-year senior, Perry is 9-2 with 4.14 ERA in 108.2 career innings.
Neighborgall has perhaps the best “stuff” of any pitcher in the country, and he turned in a very solid freshman campaign as he went 3-0 with a 3.70 ERA in 41.1 innings. He was hampered by occasional wildness, however, and he worked hard during fall practice to improve his command and control.
“Andrew Kown is a guy who just keeps getting better and better,” said Hall. “He had a great summer in Alaska and pitched very well for us in the fall. This is his chance to step up and take over one of those weekend spots in the rotation.”
“Philip Perry has won some big games for us in the past. I think he is the wild card on our staff. If he is healthy, then he can beat anybody in the country. To this point, he appears to be fully recovered from surgery. I really have high hopes for him. In his case, baseball is more important to him now than it is ever has been. You sit out a year and it makes you appreciate it a lot more.
“Jason Neighborgall pitched the champ-ionship game of the ACC Tournament for us last year,” said Hall. “He has great ability, and has to keep working hard to cut down on his walks. He’s a great competitor and a great athlete. We are waiting for him to really blossom and become a dominant pitcher.”
Returning in the bullpen are four veterans – a pair of lefties in senior Aaron Walker and sophomore Ryan Self, and two right-handers in Nick Wagner and Jordan Crews. Walker has been Tech’s top southpaw in the bullpen the last three years, and he went 3-2 with a 4.35 ERA while working a career-high 44.1 innings as a junior. Self made seven appearances and posted a 3.86 ERA as a rookie, while Wagner (0-0, 3.14) and Crews (0-0, 4.35) were also effective in limited relief roles. All four should be key members of the Tech bullpen this spring.
“Aaron Walker has pitched a lot for us in the past,” said Hall. “Ryan Self is one of the most improved pitchers on the club. Nick Wagner should get more innings than he has been able to get. Jordan Crews could be a great setup guy. If you look at our veterans, we can go eight or nine deep with guys who have pitched for us in the past. And that does not include the freshmen that we have high hopes for this spring.”
Hall is excited about the potential for Tech’s freshman class of pitchers. The group includes two lefties – Lee Hyde and Ryan Turner – and three right-handers – John Goodman, Tim Gustafson and Blake Wood. All five shined at various points during the fall, and each of them could step in and provide immediate help for the staff this spring.
The group also includes righty Jared Hyatt, a strike thrower with excellent potential, who redshirted last spring.
“Lee Hyde has a chance to be special,” said Hall. “I think he’ll be a guy who will be a huge factor for us this year. Ryan Turner learned a lot this fall and he gained a lot of experience. For him, the sky is the limit.
“John Goodman, to me, is a lot like his brother, Chris,” said Hall. “He competes and throws strikes. I don’t know what the Goodman family did to clone those two guys, but they both have very easy, clean arm action. I think John will make a name for himself in his own right.
“Tim Gustafson played on three state championship football teams and a state championship baseball team at Parkview High School. He’s a great competitor and a great athlete, and by the end of fall practice he was as good as any guy we had. Blake Wood is a guy that not a lot of people know about, but he impressed me as much as anyone this fall. I think he has a huge future ahead of him.”
SCHEDULE
As custom, the Yellow Jackets will again take on a schedule that includes the nation’s top opponents. In addition to the usual Atlantic Coast Conference opponents, Tech faces perennial power Miami in a three-game series, as well as Auburn, Georgia, Washington and Purdue in key non-conference matchups. Tech will get a good early season test in the last week of February when the Jackets face Cal State-Fullerton, Southern California and Oklahoma in a tournament in Fullerton, Calif.
“This may be the most challenging sched-ule that we have had since I have been at Georgia Tech. When you look at midweek games with Georgia, Auburn, Purdue, Georgia Southern and Winthrop, those are no cupcake games in the middle of the week. Going on the road and playing at Fullerton as well as playing USC and Oklahoma will be very tough. I hope that our schedule will bring out the very best in our ball-club.”
Another highlight of the schedule is a May 11 game against Georgia at Turner Field. The Yellow Jackets and Bulldogs attracted large crowd in the first college game ever at the Atlanta Braves’ home park in a game where all proceeds go to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
“Our players really like playing in Turner Field,” said Hall. “We had nearly 10,000 people there last year and I hope that we have 20,000 this year. The game is for a great cause – Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta – and we raised over $60,000 last year. For the first year of the event, I thought it went extremely well last year.”
In all, Tech has 18 games on the schedule against teams ranked in the preseason Top 25, and the Yellow Jackets will play 26 games against teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season.
