No. 13 Baseball Concludes Homestand vs. WCU

March 3, 2016

LEADING OFF: STORYLINES TO KNOW

1. Georgia Tech enters the weekend as the NCAA leader in double plays turned (14). The Yellow Jackets lead the ACC and rank fourth nationally with a 1.37 team ERA.
2. Georgia Tech is 858-251-1 all-time at Russ Chandler Stadium (since 1985) – a winning percentage of .773. Georgia Tech is 591-182-1 (.764) at home under Danny Hall.
3. Tech is in the middle of a seven-game homestand. Georgia Tech has won 18 straight nonconference home games after back-to-back weekend sweeps at home.
4. The Yellow Jackets enter the week ranked No. 13 by Collegiate Baseball, No. 23 by Baseball America and No. 29 by NCBWA.
5. The Jackets have scored 15 runs in the fourth inning and 16 more in the eighth inning this season, while allowing no runs in the fourth and only one in the eighth.
6. Tech’s seven-man freshman pitching rotation has allowed only five earned runs in 40.0 total innings, posting a 1.13 ERA. In three starts, rookies Jonathan Hughes and Keyton Gibson have posted a 0.60 ERA in 15 innings.
7. Junior catcher Arden Pabst has thrown out 41 baserunners in three seasons behind the plate, throwing out runners 43 percent of the time.
8. Georgia Tech’s opening day roster included 35 players – 32 of which are from the Peach State.
9. Five players part of Georgia Tech’s current freshman class were drafted. The Yellow Jackets’ 2016 recruiting class was ranked as high as No. 3 nationally.
10. Georgia Tech has played in 27 NCAA Regionals in the last 30 years – tied for the third-highest number among Division I programs.

A TECH WIN FRIDAY WOULD…
• Give the Yellow Jackets’ their first 9-0 start since 2006 (started 16-0).
• Extend the Jackets’ home win streak to nine games, dating back to the end of the 2015 season. It would be their longest home winning streak since 2011 (11 games).
• Be its 19th straight nonconference home win.
• Be head coach Danny Hall’s 1,140th career victory and 932nd at Georgia Tech.
• Improve Tech’s record to 295-100 all-time in the month of March under Danny Hall.

THE RULE OF 4’S
• Through the season’s first seven games, Georgia Tech’s offensive production, which is averaging 7.9 runs per game, seems to heat up the fourth and eighth innings.
• The Jackets have scored 15 runs in the fourth inning and 16 more in the eighth inning this season, while allowing no runs in the fourth and only one in the eighth.
• Tech has scored 12 total runs during the 1-3 innings and 16 total runs for innings 5-7.

TWO-WAY GOLD
• Junior P/1B Brandon Gold has been the Yellow Jackets’ most important two-way player in 2016. Through four games at first base, Gold is batting .462 with two doubles, one home run and seven RBI. His 3-run home run – just his second hit of the season – in the top of 16th inning Feb. 24 at Georgia Southern was the eventual game-winner.
• On the mound, Gold has been impressive. The junior is 1-0 in two starts, striking out 15 batters and allowing one unearned run in 13.0 innings of work.

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. Every freshman in this year’s class hails from Georgia.
• Eight members of the current freshman class played in last year’s Georgia High School state championship series, with five winning state titles (Bart, Gibson, Galloway, Hall, Stallings).
• Since 1999, the Yellow Jackets own a 148-53 (.735) record against their in-state foes. In 23 years under Hall, Tech is 192-70 (.732) against teams from Georgia.
• Tech has won the regular-season series from rival Georgia in four of the past five seasons and is 12-6 over the last 18 games versus the Bulldogs. Under Hall, Tech is 43-33 versus UGA.

SIT DOWN
• Georgia Tech’s pitching staff has been dominant through the season’s first eight games. Tech pitchers lead the ACC and rank fourth nationally with a combined 1.37 ERA.
• Through 79.0 innings, the Jackets have more strikeouts (71) than hits allowed (65). Of those 65 base hits, only 11 have gone for extra bases (7 doubles, 1 triple, 3 home runs).

THE CLOSER
• Junior Matthew Gorst has doubled his career saves output in 2016. Gorst has recorded two of Tech’s three save opportunities. He has allowed just six baserunners and struck out 12 in 7.0 innings.

MEET IN THE MIDDLE
• Georgia Tech’s double play duo of 2B Wade Bailey and SS Connor Justus have been instrumental both in the field and at the plate through seven games.
• Justus leads the Jackets with a .469 average and 15 hits, while Bailey leads the team in runs scored (11) and ranks third in both batting average (.424) and second in hits (14).
• The duo owns a combined .930 fielding percentage and have teamed up to turn seven of Tech’s 14 double plays this season.

DOUBLE UP
• Through eight games, Georgia Tech leads the nation with 14 double plays turned. Since 2012, the Yellow Jackets have turned 263 double plays – the second-highest total nationally during that span.

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