No. 22 Baseball Closes Regular Season at Home

May 18, 2016

LEADING OFF: STORYLINES TO KNOW

1. Georgia Tech’s ACC Tournament hopes and seeding comes down to the final weekend of the regular season. The Yellow Jackets can finish as high as the No. 5 seed in next week’s tournament or as low as 11th in the ACC standings.
2. Sophomore 2B Wade Bailey’s career at bat-to-strikeout ratio of 11.74 ranks him eighth on Georgia Tech’s all-time list behind Jim Giuliani (11.87), who is in seventh. With his 400th career at-bat, Bailey passed Nomar Garciaparra (10.84) for eighth in school history.
3. The month of May has brought a power surge to Georgia Tech’s offense. In the last seven games, the Yellow Jackets have hit 17 home runs – a blistering 2.4 dingers per game.
4. 33 of Tech’s 52 games this season have been played in less than three hours. Georgia Tech is 26-7 (19-2 at home) in games played in less than three hours.
5. Georgia Tech’s 19 outfield assists are second-most nationally. Matt Gonzalez’s eight outfield assists are tied for fourth nationally. Six of Gonzalez’s eight assists have led to outs at home plate.
6. This weekend marks the final home series for Georgia Tech seniors Matt Gonzalez, Cole Pitts, Joe Wiseman and Grant Wruble.
7. While Georgia Tech leads the nation with 67 double plays, it’s been 2B Wade Bailey and SS Connor Justus involved in most of them. Bailey and Justus have combined to turn 37 of Tech’s 67 double plays. Either Bailey or Connor has been involved in 61 of Tech’s 67 double plays.
8. Georgia Tech is 32-2 when allowing fewer than eight runs in a game this season (11-1 in ACC play). Tech has allowed eight or more runs 18 times this season (2-16 in those games).
9. Freshman Keyton Gibson has made 16 appearances this season, five as a starter and 11 as a reliever. Gibson might be best suited as a middle reliever as the rookie has allowed only three earned runs in 20.1 innings with a 2-0 record and a 1.33 ERA. 

SO, WHAT’S THE DEAL?
• Georgia Tech enters the final weekend of the regular season in eighth place in the ACC standings. The top 10 teams in the ACC standings will advance to next week’s 2016 ACC Tournament in Durham, N.C. However, Georgia Tech’s ticket to the ACC Tournament has not been punched yet.
• Below are the possible scenarios for Tech to clinch a spot in Durham (per WREK’s Wiley Ballard):

SWEEP BOSTON COLLEGE: Tech can finish as high as the No. 5 seed if all three of the following happen (No. 6 if two of three happen):
• 1 loss by Clemson and Wake Forest
• 1 loss by Wake Forest
• 2 losses by NC State
WIN TWO AGAINST BOSTON COLLEGE: Tech will reach the ACC Tournament but can only finish the No. 6 seed if five of the following six scenarios happen:
• 1 loss by Notre Dame
• 1 loss by Duke
• 1 loss by North Carolina
• 2 losses by Clemson
• 2 losses by Wake Forest
• North Carolina sweeps NC State
WIN ONE AGAINST BOSTON COLLEGE: Tech will need three of the following six scenarios to happen in order to make the ACC Tournament:
• 1 loss by Pitt
• 2 losses by Notre Dame
• 2 losses by North Carolina OR
• 2 losses by Duke
• Louisville sweeps Wake Forest
• Notre Dame sweeps Clemson
IF BOSTON COLLEGE SWEEPS GEORGIA TECH: Tech will need three of the following four scenarios to happen in order to make the ACC Tournament:
• 2 losses by Pitt OR Pitt sweeps Duke
• Clemson sweeps Notre Dame
• NC State sweeps North Carolina
SENIOR SEND-OFF
• This weekend marks the final home series for Georgia Tech seniors Matt Gonzalez, Cole Pitts, Joe Wiseman and Grant Wruble.
• Tech’s senior class is 140-95 over the last three-plus seasons. The Jackets are three wins shy of matching the senior class’ top season for wins (37 in both 2013 and 2014).

NO LOOKING BACK
• With its 5-4 win May 15 at No. 12 Virginia, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets won their 92nd consecutive game when leading after eight innings. Tech is 29-0 this season – and 12-0 in ACC play – when taking a lead into the ninth inning.
• Georgia Tech has not lost a game when leading after eight innings since April 26, 2013, when the Jackets lost 4-3 at Clemson in 11 innings.

WHERE ARE YOU GOING?
• Georgia Tech outfielders have an ACC-best 19 assists this season. Tech’s 19 outfield assists are second-most nationally behind only Prairie View A&M (20).
• Senior LF Matt Gonzalez’s eight outfield assists are tied for fourth nationally. Six of Gonzalez’s eight assists have led to outs at home plate.
• Junior CF Ryan Peurifoy ranks second on the team with five outfield assists, including two huge throwouts at home against Virginia.

NO SOUP FOR YOU!
• Georgia Tech junior Matthew Gorst is among the best closers in college baseball. He proved it once against Sunday afternoon in Tech’s 5-4 road win at No. 12 Virginia.
• With two out in the bottom of the third, head coach Danny Hall called for the closer with the Jackets trailing 4-2. Gorst got the final out of the inning and Tech scored three runs in the fourth to take a 5-4 lead. From there, Gorst scattered three hits with four strikeouts in a career-best 6.1 scoreless innings to notch his first win of the season.
• Gorst is 1-1 with 10 saves and a microscopic 0.51 ERA in 35.0 innings.

GOING GONZO
• Senior OF Matt Gonzalez is the NCAA’s active leader in career hits (283) and sacrifice flies (20).
• Gonzalez is currently tied with Steven Blackwood (2003-06) for sixth on Tech’s career hits list. He is four hits shy of tying Jay Payton (1992-94) for fifth with 287 career hits. He needs 17 to become only the third Tech player in school history to amass 300 career hits.
• Gonzalez is one sac fly shy of tying the school record of 21 held by Jason Basil (1998-2001).
• He is currently seventh on Tech’s career doubles list and is one shy of tying former major leaguer Nomar Garciaparra (1992-94) for sixth.

A TOUGH ONE TO CRACK
• Sophomore Wade Bailey is one of the toughest Yellow Jackets to strike out in 2016 (once every 11.1 at bats). In 101 career games, Bailey has struck out only 35 times in 411 at bats.
• Bailey’s career at bat-to-strikeout ratio of 11.74 ranks him eighth on Georgia Tech’s all-time list behind Jim Giuliani (11.87), who is in seventh. With his 400th career at-bat, Bailey passed Nomar Garciaparra (10.84) for eighth in school history.

APRIL SHOWERS BRING MAY HOME RUNS
• The month of May has brought a power surge to Georgia Tech’s offense. In the last seven games, the Yellow Jackets have hit 17 home runs – a blistering 2.4 dingers per game.
• Eight different Yellow Jackets have a home run in the last seven games. Sophomore 3B Trevor Craport and senior LF Matt Gonzalez lead Tech’s power surge with four home runs each.
• Before the six-game surge, Tech had 41 home runs through the first 45 games – an average of 0.91 home runs per game.

#DOUBLETROUBLE
• While Georgia Tech leads the nation with 67 double plays, it’s been 2B Wade Bailey and SS Connor Justus involved in most of them. Bailey and Justus have combined to turn 37 of Tech’s 67 double plays. Either Bailey or Connor has been involved in 61 of Tech’s 67 double plays. 

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