Feb. 23, 2012
No. 10 Georgia Tech (4-1) vs. Ohio State(2-1) Game 6 Friday,Feb. 24, 4 p.m. Game 7 Saturday, Feb. 25, 2 p.m. Game8 Sunday, Feb. 26, 1 p.m. Location Atlanta, Ga. | Russ Chandler Stadium| Weather Radio WRECKRadio Gametracker RamblinWreck.com Webcast RamblinWreck All-Access Game Info GameNotes | 2012 MediaGuide | Facebook | Twitter
#BUZZWORTHY
>> Putting an early-season, four-game winning streak on the line, No. 10 Georgia Tech opens its home schedule with a three-game series versus Ohio State at Russ Chandler Stadium this weekend.
>> All three games of the series can be heard live on WREK Radio, 91.1 FM in Atlanta, with a live video stream available at RamblinWreck.com.
>> The OSU series begins an eight-game homestand — Tech’s longest of the season.
>> The Yellow Jackets are 17-1 in their 18 previous home-openers under Danny Hall, with the only setback coming in 2005 to Georgia State, 5-2.
>> Tech is 12-5-1 all-time versus Ohio State, but the teams have not met since the Buckeyes beat the Yellow Jackets, 7-4, at Russ Chandler Stadium in the second game of the 1993 NCAA Atlantic Regional. Tech is 10-2 at home versus OSU.
>> Georgia Tech head coach Danny Hall, who enters the weekend just nine wins shy of the 1,000th in his 25-year career, was awarded a five-year contract extension through the 2016 season, it was announced this week.
>> A three-run HR in the eighth inning by Zane Evans broke an 8-8 tie Wednesday at No. 30 Ga. Southern, propelling the Jackets to an 11-9 win. Evans also caught the first seven innings, then pitched the bottom of the eighth to keep the lead safe.
A MODEL OF SUCCESS
>> With an appearance in the 2011 NCAA Atlanta Regional, Georgia Tech returned to the NCAA Tournament for the 25th time in the last 27 years. The Yellow Jackets have played in the NCAA Tournament every year since 1985 with the exception of the 1999 and 2007 seasons, and made its 27th overall postseason appearance in history last year.
>> Since 2002, Georgia Tech has appeared in nine NCAA Regionals, three NCAA Super Regionals and two College World Series (2002 and 2006).
>> Prior to its recent streak, Georgia Tech has participated in the NCAA playoff just twice, in 1959 and 1971, with an additional play-in tournament appearance in 1948.
>> Georgia Tech made its first trip to the College World Series in 1994, advancing to the championship game before falling to Oklahoma, 13-5.
>> Under Danny Hall, Tech is averaging 43.3 wins per season, a figure that ranks 10th nationally since the 1994 season.
SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES
>> Ohio State heads to Atlanta this weekend after going 2-1 to open the year last weekend in St. Petersburg, Fla. at the Big Ten/Big East Challenge.
>> OSU dropped a 5-3 decision to South Florida in its opener, but rebounded to double up Seton Hall 14-7 and beat Connecticut 9-5.
>> Sophomore 1B/RHP Josh Dezse, a preseason All-America pick, went 7-for-14 on the weekend with a home run, five RBI. four runs and earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors.
>> The Buckeyes are in their second season under head coach Greg Beals, who played for and was later an assistant coach under Danny Hall at Kent State. OSU was 25-26 last year and finsihed fourth in the Big Ten.
THE OHIO STATE SERIES
>> Georgia Tech leads Ohio State 12-5-1 in the all-time series that dates back to 1924.
>> The teams played six times in the late 1920’s, four times in the late 1950’s, twice in 1963 and five times in the 1980’s.
>> When the teams last met, the Buckeyes handed the Jackets a 7-4 loss at Russ Chandler Stadium in the second game of the NCAA Atlantic Regional.
NATIONAL POLL UPDATE
>> Georgia Tech remains highly-ranked in all four major college baseball national polls this week, sitting at No. 10 in both the Collegiate Baseball and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, and No. 11 in both Baseball America and NCBWA.
RAIN DODGERS
>> Having to adjust last weekend’s schedule due to impending rain at the Coca-Cola Classic hosted by Winthrop, Georgia Tech was the only Division-I team to play four full games in the first two days of the season.
>> It also marked the first time Tech opened a season with back-to-back doubleheaders since 1976.
PRESEASON ACC COACHES POLL
>> Georgia Tech was picked second in the Coastal Division behind North Carolina, in the preseason poll of the league’s 12 head coaches.
>> UNC was also the pick as the overall conference championship, with the Yellow Jackets second.
CLOSING ON MAJOR MILESTONE
>> Having spent his entire coaching career involved with winning programs, Danny Hall’s tenure at Georgia Tech has been his most successful, as he is the all-time winningest baseball coach in Yellow Jacket history with 783 victories at the school.
>> Now in his 19th season on the Flats, Hall is just nine victories shy of becoming the 46th Division-I baseball coach all-time to reach 1,000 career wins.
>> Entering 2012, he was ranked 13th among active Division-I coaches in winning percentage (.679), and is 16th among active D-I coaches in number of victories (987).
>> Hall has led Tech to the NCAA Tournament on 16 occasions and guided the Yellow Jackets to the College World Series in 1994, 2002 and 2006, the only head coach in the program’s storied history to reach the promised land of Omaha.
>> Hall, 57, is 991-467-1 as a head coach, including six seasons at Kent State. At Tech, Hall’s record is 783-350-1.
MR. EVERYTHING
>> Sophomore Zane Evans, a year removed from a freshman All-America season in which he caught nearly every game for Tech, is proving his worth all over the diamond in 2012.
>> He’s started three of the five games behind the plate, is tied for the early ACC lead with three appearances on the mound and is hitting .313 with a homer and six RBI.
>> Evans’ first home of the season was a three-run shot at Georgia Southern (F22) that broke an 8-8 tie in the eighth inning and gave the Jackets the lead for good. He picked up his first career save the Sunday before in a 5-3 win at Winthrop.
>> Evans hit .270 as a rookie with five homers and became Tech’s first everyday freshman starting catcher since Jason Varitek in 1991.
ARMS RACE
>> The Yellow Jackets got three quality starts in four games last weekend from junior RHP Buck Farmer, sophomore RHP Matthew Grimes and sophomore RHP Dusty Isaacs.
>> Although on the wrong end of a 5-0 loss, Farmer fired six innings last Friday versus the Golden Flashes and allowed just two earned runs, one walk and matched his career-high of nine strikeouts.
>> Grimes was brilliant last Friday in getting Tech its first win, firing a career-long seven shutout innings and allowing just one hit with seven Ks in the 5-0 win. Sophomore Zane Evans pitched the final two innings and produced Tech’s first combined one-hitter since 1994.
>> Isaacs allowed the Jackets to exact revenge on Kent State last Saturday, firing seven innings and allowing just five hits, one earned run, one walk and three strikeouts in a 6-2 victory.
BALANCING ACT
>> Tech displayed balance offensively over its 4-1 start, getting at least two hits from 11 different players and seeing 11 players score the team’s 27 runs.
>> Sophomore backup catcher Mitch Earnest — a walk-on last season — hit .571 (4-for-7) with a double and four RBI. Fellow sophomore RF Paul Kronenfeld was 4-for-14 with a double and a run. Earnest and Kronenfeld played just 31 games with five hits and one RBI combined last season.
>> And it didn’t take sophomore 1B Daniel Palka long to rekindle his rookie power. Palka, who launched 12 homers last season, has seven hit — two doubles, one triple a homer and two RBI.
JACKETS CRACK PRESEASON TOP 25 FOR 19TH TIME UNDER HALL
>> Georgia Tech has been ranked in the preseason Top 25 by at least one of the major polls (Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, USA Today/Baseball Weekly) in each of Danny Hall’s 19 seasons as the Yellow Jackets’ skipper.
>> Tech has been a preseason Top 10 pick in eight of the last 14 years and a Top 5 selection in four of the last 12.
TECH ON THE AIR
>> A record 43 baseball games involving ACC teams, including all 13 games of the ACC Baseball Championship in Greensboro, N.C., will be broadcast by the conference’s television partners this season.
>> Tech will tie a school record with 15 regular-season television games this season (2003), including six games as part of the ACC’s package — one nationally-televised contest at North Carolina (April 22) on ESPNU — and seven others on CSS.
>> Additional games on ESPN3, CSS and FS-South are possible and all non-TV home games will be streamed live at RamblinWreck.com.
>> Radio broadcasts of every Tech game — home and road — can be heard over the air on WREK (91.1), the flagship station of Georgia Tech baseball, and at RamblinWreck.com.
RECAPPING THE PRESEASON HONOR ROLL
>> Junior RHP Buck Farmer and sophomore CF Kyle Wren were named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Preseason All-America Team, and Farmer also earned a spot on the Louisville Slugger Preseason All-America list.
>> Junior LF Brandon Thomas earned mention on the Baseball America Preseason All-America team, which is selected by a panel of Major League Baseball scouting directors.
>> Sophomore Zane Evans was selected the No. 9 catcher nationally and junior Luke Bard was picked the No. 10 reliever in the nation by Perfect Game.
>> In College Baseball Daily’s list of the Top 100 college baseball players this season, Farmer was listed at No. 20 and sophomore 1B/OF/LHP Daniel Palka was 29th.
GEORGIA TECH BLOODLINES
>> Luke Bard — His brother Daniel is former UNC standout and current Red Sox pitcher.
>> Jake Davies — Brother of Toronto Blue Jays RHP Kyle Davies, who was drafted by the Atlanta Braves out of high school.
>> Jonathan Roberts — Great uncle Mickey Babb played football for Georgia from 1961-1963 (All-SEC in 1962) and the Philadelphia Eagles in 1964.
>> Kyle & Colby Wren — The twins are the sons of current Braves GM Frank Wren. Wren was the Vice President of the Florida Marlins in 1997 when the franchise won its first ever World Series.
>> Jamal Golden — His cousin, Reggie Golden, was selected in the second round of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft by the Chicago Cubs
>> Connor Lynch — His grandfather, Jerry Lynch, played in the MLB for 13 years with the Pirates and Reds, and roomed with Roberto Clemente and Bill Mazarowski.
>> A.J. Murray — His brother Michael was a standout catcher at Wake Forest, and currently plays for the San Francisco Giants organization.
>> Charles Sheffield — His uncle, Dan Reeves, is a former player in the NFL and head coach of the Atlanta Falcons when the Falcons advanced to their only Super Bowl in franchise history in 1998.
