April 9, 2015
| GT Game Notes · 2015 Media Guide · Season Statistics |
| GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS (22-11, 7-8) vs. #15 VIRGINIA CAVALIERS (20-12, 6-9) April 10-12, 2015 · Atlanta, Ga. · Russ Chandler Stadium (4,157) |
| TV: ESPN3 | Radio: WREK 91.1 FM Atlanta Listen Live |
| DIGGIN’ IN PREVIEW: Listen to Podcast |
>> Georgia Tech, which has won six of its last seven games, welcomes No. 15 Virginia to the Flats this weekend for a showdown of ACC Coastal Division rivals. The entire series airs live on ESPN3, with radio coverage on WREK 91.1 FM in Atlanta. Live audio can also be accessed at RamblinWreck.com and via WREK on the TuneIn app.
>> Tech leads the series with the Virginia 69-49-2, including a 36-15-2 advantage in Atlanta. The Yellow Jackets won the series in the Cavaliers’ last visit to Russ Chandler Stadium in 2013, but Virginia has won four straight games since.
>> The series matches up two of the winningest programs since 2000. Tech enters with the 12th-best winning percentage (.673) and the eighth-most wins (660), while the Cavs own the 11th-best percentage (.674) and 11th-most wins (639).
>> Senior CF Daniel Spingola has reached base safely in 24 straight games, which extends a career-high. He was a team-best 10-for-20 (.500) last week with two doubles, a triple, eight RBI and five walks. In Tuesday’s win over Mercer, he launched a three-run homer that broke a 1-1 tie in the seventh inning as Tech won 4-3. Spingola is hitting .381 against the ACC and a team-best .383 (23-for-60) in road games.
>> Tech is outscoring opponents 57-16 over the final two innings plus extras. That includes a +27 margin in the eighth (34-7), +13 in the ninth (20-7) and +1 (3-2) in extra innings. 11 of Tech’s 22 win are come-from-behind victories, including four when trailing in the eighth inning.
>> Tech is tied for the ACC lead in fielding percentage (.976) and is fifth in double plays (31). Last season, the Jackets led the NCAA with 77 double plays and set school records for fielding (.973) and double plays. Since 2012, Tech has fielded .973 as a team and recorded the NCAA’s second-most double plays (224).
>> The Jackets have benefited from strong late-game work from sophomore right-handers Zac Ryan and Matthew Gorst. Ryan is already 5-1 with six saves and a team-leading ERA of 1.95. Ryan is tied for second in the ACC in wins, is tied for fourth in saves and tied for third in appearances (17). His ERA of 1.95 would rank in the ACC, but is just shy of qualifying. Gorst’s ERA has dropped to 3.70 thanks to six consecutive scoreless appearances.
>> Of Tech’s 296.2 innings pitched this season, 82 percent have come from freshmen or sophomores (243 innings), which is the highest percentage of any team in the nation.
>> Freshman 2B Wade Bailey brings a career-best 11-game hitting streak into the series. He has also hit safely in 10 straight ACC games. The rookie has struck out just nine times in 119 at-bats this season (one in every 13.2 at-bats). Sophomore C Arden Pabst is hitting .520 (13-for-25) over his career-long eight-game hitting streak.
>> Tech is 6-4 in 10 games without rookie slugger Kel Johnson, who suffered an ankle injury on March 21 versus North Carolina. Johnson was hitting .379 with seven home runs and 25 RBI.
