May 30, 2011
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech (40-19) will host Southern Miss. (39-17), Mississippi State (34-23) and Austin Peay (33-22) this weekend in the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament’s Atlanta Regional.
The double-elimination regional begins Friday at 3 p.m. when No. 2 seed Southern Miss. plays No. 3 seed Mississippi State. No. 1 seed Georgia Tech plays No. 4 seed Austin Peay at 7 p.m. The losers of Friday’s games will play Saturday at 3 p.m. and the winners of Friday’s games will square off Saturday at 7 p.m.
The winner of the Atlanta Regional will advance to one of eight two-team Super Regionals, which will ultimately determine the eight-team field for the College World Series.
Georgia Tech (40-19) was one of seven Atlantic Coast Conference teams to receive an NCAA Tournament bid. The Southeastern Conference also had seven teams to earn berths. The Big 12 and Pacific-10 had six each, while the Conference USA had four selected.
The Yellow Jackets will play Ohio Valley conference Champions Austin Peay on Friday evening. The Governors and the Jackets have met just once before in school history, a 14-3 Georgia Tech victory in the 1996 NCAA Regional in Baton Rouge, La.
Southern Miss., the No. 2 seed, is playing in the Atlanta Regional for the second time in three years. The Golden Eagles defeated the Jackets in the 2009 NCAA Atlanta Regional Championship before advancing to the College World Series that same year. Tech is 1-2 all-time against Southern Miss. with all three games coming in that 2009 regional.
Mississippi State will make its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since the 2007 season, a year the Bulldogs advanced to the College World Series. The Yellow Jackets and the Bulldogs have not met on the baseball diamond since 1997. Mississippi State holds a 10-3 all-time advantage in the series.
Virginia is the NCAA Tournament’s overall No. 1 seed.
Georgia Tech, 40-19 after going 1-2 in the ACC Tournament last week, will make its 25th NCAA Tournament appearance in the last 27 years and its 27th NCAA appearance overall.
Russ Chandler Stadium will host a regional for the ninth time in the last 12 years. Georgia Tech will host NCAA postseason play for the 12th time overall.
The Yellow Jackets will host a regional for the third straight year, losing last year to Alabama in the championship round. Five times Tech has won a regional that it has hosted, advancing to a Super Regional. Twice – in 2002 and 2006 – the Yellow Jackets went on to the College World Series after hosting a regional.
Tech is 26-17 all-time when hosting a regional, and the Yellow Jackets are 61-53 all-time in NCAA Tournament play overall.
Georgia Tech is one of five ACC school’s awarded regional sites, joining Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina and Virginia. The ACC led all conferences with the five host selections.
The 16 regional sites, with host institutions and records are as follows:
• Atlanta – Georgia Tech (40-19)
• Austin, Texas – Texas (43-15)
• Fullerton, California – *Cal State Fullerton (39-15)
• Chapel Hill, North Carolina – North Carolina (45-14)
• Charlottesville, Virginia – *Virginia (48-9)
• Clemson, South Carolina – Clemson (41-18)
• College Station, Texas – *Texas A&M (41-18)
• Columbia, South Carolina – South Carolina (45-14)
• Corvallis, Oregon – *Oregon State (38-16)
• Fort Worth, Texas – TCU (42-17)
• Gainesville, Florida – *Florida (44-16)
• Houston – Rice (41-19)
• Los Angeles – *UCLA (33-21)
• Nashville, Tennessee – *Vanderbilt (47-9)
• Tallahassee, Florida – *Florida State (42-16)
• Tempe, Arizona – *Arizona State (38-16)
Ticket Information
• Current Georgia Tech baseball season ticket holders will have the opportunity to purchase their same seats on Tuesday, May 31 (from 8:30am – 5:00pm).
• The ticket office will be closed on Monday in observance of Memorial Day and will re-open on Tuesday at 8:30am.
• Season ticket holders should purchase via the telephone at 404-894-5447 or 888-TECH-TIX; season ticket locations will not be available via the internet.
• Season ticket locations not purchased by 5:00pm on Tuesday will go on sale to the general public on Wednesday.
• All-Session tickets may also be purchased by the general public beginning Tuesday, May 31 at 8:30am at www.ramblinwreck.com/tickets, in person at the Georgia Tech Athletic Ticket Office or over the telephone at 404-894-5447 or 888-TECH-TIX.
• All-session reserved chairbacks are $72; all-session reserved benches are $60. Single session tickets will not be available until Thursday, June 2.
2011 Atlanta Regional Bracket
Friday, June 3
Game 1 – Southern Miss. (home team) vs. Miss. State (visitors), 3 p.m.
Game 2 – Georgia Tech (home team) vs. Austin Peay (visitors), 7 p.m.
Saturday, June 4
Game 3 – Loser, Game 1 vs. Loser, Game 2, 3 p.m.*
Game 4 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner, Game 2, 7 p.m.*
Sunday, June 5
Game 5 – Winner, Game 3 vs. Loser, Game 4, 3 p.m.*
Game 6 – Winner, Game 4 vs. Winner, Game 5, 7 p.m.*
Monday, June 6 (if necessary)
Game 7 – Winner, Game 6 vs. Loser, Game 6, 7 p.m.*
* Home and Visitors TBA.
