May 5, 2017

Jackets to Play Four Games in Four Nights

May 5, 2017

GT Game Notes | Pitt Game Notes | UGA Game Notes | 2017 GT Baseball Information Guide

THE FLATS – The Yellow Jackets (21-21, 6-15 ACC) have had a week off for exams, but will return to action this weekend with four games in four nights with a three-game ACC series versus the Pittsburgh Panthers (21-21, 8-13 ACC) Saturday, Sunday and Monday and then a neutral site contest at SunTrust Park against the Georgia Bulldogs (17-28) on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. ET.

FOLLOW THE ACTION LIVE

• Live stats can be found for all four games at RamblinWreck.com. A link to live stats can also be found on the baseball schedule page at RamblinWreck.com or at the top of this page.

• Wiley Ballard will also broadcast all four games live over the radio air waves on WREK 91.1 FM and online at WREK.org.

• Saturday night’s game (May 6) will be video streamed live on ACC Network Extra and the WatchESPN App.

• Sunday night’s contest (May 7) will be live on a number of RSN affiliates. CLICK HERE to see the complete list of stations in your area. It can also be viewed on ACC Network Extra (Subject to Blackout).

• Monday’s series finale with the Panthers will be a live national broadcast on ESPNU.

THINGS FANS NEED TO KNOW

• Saturday night (6 p.m.) is GT Baseball’s annual Alumni Game. Join us as we honor our past by welcoming former players and their families back to The Flats with a pre-game recognition and in-game elements.

• Sunday (6 p.m.) we celebrate all of the moms out there with our Mother’s Day celebration. All moms receive free admission to the game by visiting the ticket window of Russ Chandler Stadium.

• Monday night (7 p.m.) we wrap up the series against Pittsburgh with a nationally televised game under the lights! The first 500 fans to enter the ballpark will receive a free t-shirt!

• GT Baseball takes on the Georgia Bulldogs in SunTrust Park on Tuesday, May 9, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 for all fans and go directly to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

• Outside food and beverages are not permitted inside Russ Chandler Stadium. Also the season ticketholder clear bags are not permitted during baseball season at Russ Chandler Stadium. All bags will be searched upon entry into the stadium. NO bags larger than 14 by 10 by 5 inches will be permitted.

LEADING OFF

• Georgia Tech will play its first-ever game inside SunTrust Park on Tuesday night, May 9, at 7 p.m. ET versus the Georgia Bulldogs. SunTrust Park is the new home of the Atlanta Braves. It will also be the Jackets’ first neutral site game on the year.

• Each of the Jackets’ last two games were shutouts. Tech blanked the UIC Flames 3-0 in game one of a twin bill on Friday, April 28, in Chicago, Ill. before the Flames used a walk-off wild pitch with two outs in the bottom of the ninth for a 1-0 shutout win in game two of the doubleheader.

• The Jackets have exactly three ACC series remaining heading into play this weekend versus the Pittsburgh Panthers. Tech will host Pitt this weekend (May 6-8), hit the road to face off with Duke (May 12-14) and then will return home for a three-game series with Virginia (May 18-20).

• Georgia Tech will play four games in four nights beginning on Saturday, May 6. The Jackets will host Pitt on Saturday at 6 p.m., Sunday at 6 p.m. and Monday at 7 p.m. ET. Tech will then hit the road to face off with the Georgia Bulldogs on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET at SunTrust Park in a neutral site game.

• Tech has had five multi-home run games by a single player so far this season. Kel Johnson hit three home runs at Georgia Southern on Feb. 21, while Joey Bart hit two home runs in a single game versus Belmont on Mar. 4 and again at Mercer on Mar. 28. Coleman Poje blasted two home runs at Wake Forest on Mar. 24, while Wade Bailey hit two home runs in the Jackets’ win at VT on April 22.

• The Georgia Tech offense enters play this weekend averaging 6.4 runs per outing. The Yellow Jackets are 16-6 on the season when scoring six or more runs for the game. On the flip side, the Jackets are just 4-15 on the year when giving up six or more runs in the contest.

• Georgia Tech is 5-2 overall this season against in-state foes on the baseball diamond. The Yellow Jackets are 2-0 versus Georgia State, 2-0 against Mercer and 1-0 versus Georgia Southern, but are 0-2 against the Georgia Bulldogs.

• Tech and Pitt have played a total of eight times overall entering the weekend with the Panthers holding a slight 5-3 edge. The Jackets are 2-1 at home versus the Panthers with both wins coming back in the home series in 2015.

• Georgia Tech has just nine ACC regular season games remaining this season. With only three series left, the Jackets will look to gain ground in the Coastal Division where they are just two games out of fourth-place.

• The Jackets are a perfect 3-0 this season when the contest goes 10 innings or more. In fact, all three of Tech’s extra-inning wins have come in ACC play (7-5 (11) at Miami on Mar. 11, 4-2 (12) vs. No. 9 North Carolina on Mar. 18 and 7-6 (11) at Wake Forest on Mar. 24).

VERSUS THE PITT PANTHERS

• Georgia Tech has played a total of eight games versus the Pittsburgh Panthers with all eight games coming in ACC play over each of the last three years.

• The Yellow Jackets are 3-5 overall versus Pitt, including going 2-1 at home versus the Panthers at Russ Chandler Stadium back in 2015.

A LOT ON THE LINE FOR THE JACKETS

• There is a lot on the line for the Jackets this weekend, as Georgia Tech is looking to climb up the ACC regular season standings with just three conference series remaining in the season.

• The Yellow Jackets are just 0.5 games behind Virginia Tech (8-16) for the 12th and final spot in the 2017 ACC Championships at the end of May.

• The Jackets are also just two games behind Pitt (8-13) and only 1.5 games behind Duke (9-15), their next two ACC conference opponents.

GRADUATION DAY

• Georgia Tech will have three current student-athletes in Jonathan King, Coleman Poje and Ryan Peurifoy graduate on Saturday, May 6th, prior to its contest versus the Pitt Panthers at 6 p.m. ET.

• King and Poje will both graduate with a degree in industrial engineering, while Peurifoy will get his degree in business administration.

• Also graduating with a degree in literature, media and communication is former Jacket Brandon Boggs. Boggs played from 2002-04 where he was a First Team All-ACC selection in 2004 before being drafted in the fourth round by the Texas Rangers in the 2004 MLB Draft.

OLDEST RIVALRY

• The Georgia Tech and Georgia baseball teams have played a total of 369 times, the most-played opponent for the Yellow Jackets in the program’s history.

• UGA leads the all-time series at 206-161-2 and have won both of the previous two meetings between the two teams this season (5-1 in Athens on April 11 and 7-5 in Atlanta on April 19).

• Tuesday night’s meeting will be the first between the old rivals at the new SunTrust Park.

COACHES’ CONNECTIONS

• Georgia Tech head coach Danny Hall and Georgia’s head coach Scott Stricklin have a number of connections beyond coaching baseball in the state of Georgia.

• Both Coach Hall and Coach Stricklin are former head coaches at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. Coach Hall coached the Golden Flashes from 1988-93, posting a record of 208-117 overall and winning two MAC Championships. Stricklin was the head coach at Kent from 2005-13, where he directed the Golden Flashes to a school-record 47 victories including a 21-game winning streak and their first trip to the College World Series.

• Coach Stricklin was on Coach Hall’s staff at Georgia Tech for three seasons from 2002-04 and got his start in coaching in 1998 as a volunteer coach for the Yellow Jackets.

• Coach Hall was Coach Stricklin’s college coach at Kent State from 1991-93 where he was a two-time All-Mid-American Conference catcher under Hall’s tutelage.

POJE EARNS COSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT HONORS

• Georgia Tech redshirt-senior Coleman Poje earned a spot on the 2016-17 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District Baseball Team, it was on Thursday, May 4.

• A two-time ACC Academic Honor Roll member, Poje earned a spot on the District 4 Academic Team as an outfielder. He will be graduating with a degree in industrial engineering this Saturday, May 6.

• Poje broke into the starting lineup early in the season and has not left it having started each of the last 31 games for the Jackets. The Atlanta native has posted career highs this year in hits (40), home runs (9), doubles (10), RBIs (20) and runs scored (26) this season, while hitting .272 at the plate. He is second on the team with a .524 slugging percentage and has posted a fielding percentage of .991 on the year, which includes two outfield assists.

• Poje was also twice named academic all-conference while at the Air Force Academy before transferring to Tech.

ON DECK

• The Yellow Jackets will hit the road for its final ACC road series of the year at Duke on May 12-14.

For the latest information on the Georgia Tech baseball team, follow us on Twitter (@GTBaseball), Facebook, Instagram (@gt_baseball ) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.