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Home, Sweet Home: No. 18 Baseball Hosts Georgia Southern

March 29, 2016

GAME 24: #18 GEORGIA TECH VS. GEORGIA SOUTHERN
Wednesday, March 30 
// Russ Chandler Stadium // Atlanta
First Pitch:
6 p.m. // TV: None // Radio: WREK 91.1 FM
GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS (18-5)
Last Game: W, 6-0 at #3 North Carolina (March 26)
2016 Home Record: 13-1
2016 Midweek Record: 4-1
Head Coach: Danny Hall (Miami – Ohio, 1977)
Career Record: 1,149-574-1 (29th year)
Wednesday SP: RHP Cole Pitts (1-1, 6.00 ERA)
GEORGIA SOUTHERN EAGLES (15-8)
Last Game: W, 9-7 at Arkansas State (March 26)
2016 Road Record: 7-3
2016 Midweek Record: 3-1
Head Coach: Rodney Hennon (Western Carolina, 1993)
Career Record: 585-400 (17th season)
Wednesday SP: RHP Lawson Humphries (0-0, 3.37 ERA)
Games Notes // 2016 Information Guide // @GTBaseball on Twitter // Listen Live

LEADING OFF: STORYLINES TO KNOW
1. Georgia Tech is ranked all six college baseball polls for the first time this season. The Yellow Jackets made their season debut in both D1Baseball and Perfect Game.
2. Wednesday is the second half of the home-and-home series with Georgia Southern. In this year’s first meeting, the Yellow Jackets played their longest game in program history – 16 innings – and left Statesboro with a 6-5 win.
3. Georgia Tech is 11-2 in its last 13 games against in-state rivals. Since 1999, the Yellow Jackets own a 149-53 (.738) record against their in-state foes.
4. Through 23 games, the Yellow Jackets lead Division I in both double plays (38) and double plays per game (1.65).
5. Senior 3B/LF Matt Gonzalez leads NCAA Division I active players with 18 career sacrifice flies and 247 career hits. Gonzalez is also second in career at bats (802) and tied for fifth in both games played (203) and doubles (50).
6. Junior catcher Arden Pabst has thrown out 41 baserunners in three seasons behind the plate, throwing out runners 43 percent of the time.
7. Matthew Gorst has recorded 5 of Tech’s 8 saves. Gorst owns a 0.63 ERA, allowing one earned run and just nine baserunners with 20 strikeouts in 14.1 innings.
8. Georgia Tech has used 19 different lineups in the first 23 games. Only 2B Wade Bailey and SS Connor Justus have started every game at the same position.
9. Georgia Tech is 23-4 in its last 27 home games, dating back to the 2015 season. Tech was 10-3 in its final 13 home games of 2015.
10. Sophomore RF Kel Johnson is currently on a career-best 18-game hitting streak. During his current streak, Johnson is batting .420 with 3 home runs and 20 RBI.

SERIES HISTORY
• Georgia Tech leads 97-31
• Streak: Georgia Tech, 4 wins
• GT vs. Southern in Atlanta: 53-16
• Last Meeting: Feb. 24, 2016 (Tech 6-5, 16 innings)
Danny Hall vs. Georgia Southern: 65-19
• GT in Last 5 Meetings: 4-1
• GT in Last 10 Meetings: 7-3

A TECH WIN WEDNESDAY WOULD…
• Be the Jackets’ seventh in the last eight games
• Improve the Jackets’ series record to 98-31 vs. Georgia Southern
• Improve Georgia Tech’s midweek record to 5-1 this season
• Improve Tech’s record to 150-53 against in-state rivals since 1999
• Tech’s 12th win in its last 14 games against in-state foes
• Extend the Yellow Jackets’ win streak to five games against in-state rivals
• Be Tech’s 32nd win in its last 38 nonconference games (12-1 in 2016, 19-5 in 2015)
• Be head coach Danny Hall’s 1,150th career victory

HAVEN’T WE MET BEFORE?
• Wednesday is the second half of the home-and-home series between Georgia Tech and Georgia Southern. In this year’s first meeting, the Yellow Jackets played their longest game in program history – 16 innings – and left Statesboro with a 6-5 win.
• Junior 1B Brandon Gold’s three-run home run to dead center in the top of the 16th inning helped deliver broke a 3-3 tie to put the Jackets up 6-3.
• The 16-inning contest is the longest game by innings in school history, eclipsing the previous mark of 15 innings set in 1933 vs. Oglethorpe and later tied in 2011 vs. NC State.
• Georgia Tech is 97-31 all-time vs. Georgia Southern. The previous meeting was only the sixth extra-inning game in 128 series meetings.

HOMEGROWN SUCCESS
• Head coach Danny Hall has had a history of building a wall around the Peach State and keeping the best prep talent close to home. 32 of this year’s 35-member opening weekend roster (91%) hail from the state of Georgia, which is home to some of the best high school baseball talent in the nation.
• Since 1999, the Yellow Jackets own a 149-53 (.738) record against their in-state foes. In 23 years under Hall, Tech is 193-70 (.734) against teams from Georgia. Georgia Tech is 11-2 in its last 13 games against in-state rivals.

JACKETS’ OWN “BASH BROTHERS”
• Georgia Tech’s version of the “Bash Brothers” – senior 3B/LF Matt Gonzalez and junior RF Kel Johnson – have combined for 24 extra-base hits, 8 home runs and 49 RBI with a combined .385 batting average in 23 games.
• Johnson leads the team in batting average (.386), slugging percentage (.636) and on-base percentage (.455). Gonzalez ranks second in both average (.384) and slugging (.576) but leads the Jackets in hits (38) and total bases (57).

DOUBLE TROUBLE
• Through 23 games, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets lead Division I in both double plays (38) and double plays per game (1.65). Tech is one of only four Division I teams with 30+ double plays this season.
• On the offensive side, the Jackets ranked 9th nationally in doubles (57) and 10th in doubles per game (2.48). Tech leads the ACC in both categories.

STREAKIN’
• Sophomore RF Kel Johnson is currently on a career-best 18-game hitting streak. During his current streak, Johnson is batting .420 (29-of-69) with 11 extra-base hits, 3 home runs and 20 RBI. Johnson’s streak began Feb. 26 vs. UMBC with a 1-for-4 performance.
• Johnson has recorded at least one hit in 20 of 22 games this season. His last hitless game before his current streak? Feb. 24 at Georgia Southern. Johnson went 0-for-7 in Statesboro.

BATTLE-TESTED
• Georgia Tech’s freshmen pitchers have played an important role in the Yellow Jackets’ 18-5 start. Georgia Tech’s eight freshmen hurlers – Micah Carpenter (1-0, 2.89 ERA), Bailey Combs (0-0, 0.00), Burton Dulaney (1-1, 2 Sv, 2.11), Bobby Gauvreau (0-0, 10.12), Keyton Gibson (2-1, 4.02), Jonathan Hughes (3-1, 2.45), Jake Lee (1-0, 1 Sv, 6.75), and Robert Winborne (0-0, 0.00) – have accounted for 8 of Tech’s 18 wins.
• Tech’s eight freshmen are a combined 8-3 with a 3.59 ERA in 97.2 innings.

THE CLOSER
• Junior Matthew Gorst has solidified his role as Georgia Tech’s closer. The Alpharetta, Ga., native has recorded 5 of Tech’s 8 save opportunities. Gorst owns a 0.63 ERA, allowing one earned run and just nine baserunners with 20 strikeouts in 14.1 innings.
• Gorst owns a 10:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (20 K, 2 BB) this season. He had a career 1:1 ratio (48 K, 48 BB) in his first two seasons with the Yellow Jackets.

GONZO ON THE CAREER LISTS
• Senior 3B/LF Matt Gonzalez leads NCAA Division I active players with 18 career sacrifice flies and 247 career hits. Gonzalez is also second in career at bats (802) and tied for fifth in both games played (203) and doubles (50). Gonzalez is currently seventh among NCAA active players in both career total bases (342) and career RBI (140).
• Gonzalez is three sac flies shy of tying the school record of 21 held by Jason Basil (1998-2001). He is also 7 hits away from cracking Tech’s career top 20 list for hits.

For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on Twitter (@GTBaseball), Facebook (facebook.com/GTbaseball) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.

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