June 1, 2011
Tournament Central
Live TV: CSS
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FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS:
Friday, June 3 (7 p.m.) – Russ Chandler Stadium (Atlanta, Ga.)
Georgia Tech – Mark Pope, RHP, Jr. (11-4, 1.77 ERA, 88 SO)
Austin Peay – Jack Snodgrass, LHP, R-Sr. (3-6, 3.72 ERA, 64 SO)
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech (40-19), ranked as high as No. 9 in the nation, is playing in an NCAA Regional for the 25th time in the last 27 years and will host the NCAA Atlanta Regional this weekend at Russ Chandler Stadium. First pitch between the Yellow Jackets and Austin Peay (33-22) is set for 7 p.m. Friday.
The regional begins at 3 p.m. Friday, when No. 2 seed Southern Mississippi (39-17) meets No. 3 seed Mississippi State (34-23). The top-seeded Yellow Jackets play No. 4 seed Austin Peay (33-22), the Ohio Valley champion, at 7 p.m. Friday. The losers of Friday’s games play Saturday at 3 p.m., while the winners face off at 7 p.m. The regional continues Sunday at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. and will conclude Monday, if necessary, at 7 p.m. Every game of the regional will be televised live on CSS, with Matt Stewart (play-by-play) and Brian Jordan (color) on the call.
2011 NCAA Atlanta Regional Complete Schedule
Friday, June 3
Game 1 – No. 2 Southern Miss. vs. No. 3 Mississippi State, 3 p.m.
Game 2 – No. 1 Georgia Tech vs. No. 4 Austin Peay, 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.
The Yellow Jackets are hosting an NCAA Regional for the ninth time since 2000 and for the 11th time in school history.
Tech was invited to the NCAA Tournament for 14 straight years from 1985 through 1998 before being left out of the field of 64 in 1999. Tech rebounded with seven-straight appearances, two of which ended in Omaha, before being held out again in 2007. The Jackets are making their fourth-straight NCAA appearance after hosting a regional a year ago.
The Yellow Jackets made their first appearance in the College World Series in 1994, advancing to the National Championship game before losing to Oklahoma, 13-5. Tech returned to Omaha in 2002 and again in 2006 and has a 42-31 NCAA Tournament record under head coach Danny Hall.
This Friday, Hall will be coaching in his 75th NCAA Tournament game as the Yellow Jacket skipper. He owns the school record with 777 victories since his arrival on the Flats in 1994. This season, the Yellow Jackets finished with a share of the ACC regular season title, the schools first since the 2005 season. Coach Hall has managed his youngest squad in 18 seasons, a group that consists of 17 freshmen. It is the most freshmen on any team in the nation.
Tech ranks second in the ACC in both hitting (.304) and pitching (2.84 ERA). The Jackets ran a streak of 16 consecutive wins earlier in the year, the longest streak since 2006.
Freshman OF Kyle Wren (.352 AVG-55R-88H-32RBI-14SB), junior 1B Jake Davies (.350AVG-72H-4HR-33RBI) and junior Matt Skole (.348AVG-77H-9HR-57RBI) are leading the Yellow Jacket offense in 2011, while junior Mark Pope (11-4, 1.77ERA, 112.0IP-88SO), junior Jed Bradley (6-3, 3.59ERA, 90.1IP, 102SO) and sophomore Buck Farmer (10-3, 2.99ERA, 99.1IP, 97SO) are commanding the pitching staff.
TECH vs. THE FIELD
vs. (No. 2) Southern Miss.: The Golden Eagles hold a 2-1 edge in the all-time series … All three of those games came in the 2009 NCAA Atlanta regional, when Southern Miss. defeated the Jackets by a 12-8 score in the regional final to advance to the Supers.
vs. (No. 3):Mississippi State: The Bulldogs and the Jackets have met on 13 different occasions in school history, but not since the 1997 season … Mississippi State leads the series 10-3, while also holding a 2-1 lead in games played during the NCAA Tournament … In the most recent meeting in 1997, the Bulldogs eliminated the Jackets with a 10-2 win in the Mideast Regional in Starkville, Miss. … The first ever meeting between the two came on April 27, 1914.
vs. (No. 4) Austin Peay: The Governors and the Jackets have met just once before on the diamond, a 14-3 Tech victory in the 1996 NCAA South II Regional in Baton Rouge, La.
