April 23, 2007
ATLANTA – Riding a four-game winning streak that began with an 8-2 victory over the University of Georgia last Wednesday, the 19th-ranked Georgia Tech baseball team will meet the Bulldogs (14-26) for the second time this season in the Spring Classic for Kids Tuesday night at Turner Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m., and tickets for the game are still available for $10 at www.ticketmaster.com, with all proceeds benefiting Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
GAME COVERAGE: SportsSouth will broadcast the game, with Wes Durham and Larry Conley calling the action. It can also be heard on WREK-Radio (91.1 FM/www.wrek.org) while live stats for all Yellow Jacket baseball games are available at www.ramblinwreck.com.
The Yellow Jackets (26-14) are coming off a weekend series sweep of 20th-ranked NC State and have won four in a row, and 13 of their last 16 games. Georgia Tech currently stands tied for third in the overall ACC standings, and tied for second in the Coastal Division.
With their sweep over the weekend, the Yellow Jackets moved back into the rankings for the first time since Mar. 5. Tech began the season ranked as high as 10th in the NCBWA rankings.
Junior RHP John Goodman is tentatively scheduled to make his first start since Mar. 31 for the Yellow Jackets, and he will face either freshman RHP Dean Weaver (1-2, 6.85 ERA) or sophomore lefty Jason Leaver (0-1, 4.97 ERA) to begin the game.
Tech’s pitching has been strong over the last 22 games, leading the team to a 17-5 record by holding opponents to a .243 average while posting a 2.98 ERA. The bullpen in particular has been remarkable of late, tossing 13.1-consecutive scoreless innings dating back to last Wednesday, giving up just six hits while striking out 14 during that span.
The Yellow Jackets’ offense is led by junior CF Danny Payne (.391-2-30-15), junior SS Michael Fisher (.356-3-32-7), junior C Matt Wieters (.351-7-37-1), senior RF Wally Crancer (.329-5-33-1) and freshman 1B Tony Plagman (.313-1-13-3). Tech, as a team, is hitting .290 on the year.
The Yellow Jackets are 1-3 against the Bulldogs at Turner Field, with their only win coming in 2004, 12-5. Georgia won last year’s contest, 5-4, in 11 innings.
Following Tuesday’s game against the Bulldogs, the Yellow Jackets open a 10-game road swing with a weekend series at Clemson beginning Friday at 7:15 p.m.
