April 7, 2016
| GAMES 30-32: #24 GEORGIA TECH at PITT Friday, April 8 – Sunday, April 10 // Charles L. Cost Field // Pittsburgh, Pa. First Pitch: 3 p.m. (Fri), 12 p.m. (Sat), 12 p.m. (Sun) // TV: ESPN3 (Fri & Sat) // Radio: WREK 91.1 FM | |
| GEORGIA TECH (22-7, 6-6) Last Game: W, 4-2 vs. Kennesaw State (April 6) 2016 Road Record: 6-4 Head Coach: Danny Hall (Miami – Ohio, 1977) Career Record: 1,153-576-1 (29th year) Friday SP: RHP Brandon Gold (3-1, 2.23 ERA) Saturday SP: TBA or RHP Zac Ryan (1-0, 4.50 ERA) Sunday SP: TBA or RHP Zac Ryan (1-0, 4.50 ERA) | PITT (13-12, 5-7) Last Game: L, 0-7 at Penn State (April 5) 2016 Home Record: 4-3 Head Coach: Joe Jordano (Westminster, 1985) Career Record: 807-570-2 (28th year) Friday SP: RHP Josh Falk (2-4, 4.20 ERA) Saturday SP: RHP T.J. Zeuch (2-0, 2.84 ERA) Sunday SP: RHP Aaron Sandefur (2-2, 2.85 ERA) |
| Games Notes // 2016 Information Guide // @GTBaseball on Twitter // Listen Live |
LEADING OFF: STORYLINES TO KNOW
- Georgia Tech’s Friday night starter Brandon Gold has been golden in his last 3 starts on the mound. The junior from Alpharetta is 2-0 with a 2.11 ERA and 17 K’s with wins over VT and UNC.
- Wade Bailey and Connor Justus have combined to turn 25 of Georgia Tech’s 43 double plays. Either Bailey or Connor has been involved in 40 of Tech’s 43 double plays.
- Georgia Tech is 19-3 (4-3 on the road) in games played in under 3 hours. In contract, the Jackets are 3-4 in games lasting over 3 hours.
- Through 29 games, the Yellow Jackets lead Division I in double plays (43). Georgia Tech has turned at least 1 double play in 25 of 29 games.
- Georgia Tech is 20-0 when allowing 5 or fewer runs this season. Offensively, the Jackets are 16-2 when scoring 5 or more runs in a game.
- Junior catcher Arden Pabst has thrown out 43 baserunners in three seasons behind the plate, throwing out runners 44 percent of the time.
- Matthew Gorst has recorded 7 of Tech’s 11 saves. Gorst owns a 0.49 ERA, allowing one earned run and just 11 baserunners with 26 strikeouts in 18.1 innings.
- Georgia Tech has used 25 different lineups in the first 29 games. Only 2B Wade Bailey and SS Connor Justus have started every game at the same position.
- Connor Justus leads the Yellow Jackets with a .395 batting average and has recorded a team-leading 15 multi-hit games.
- Sophomore RF Kel Johnson has hit a home run in 5 of the last 7 games. 5 of Johnson’s last 6 hits have been a home run.
SERIES HISTORY
• Pitt leads series, 4-2
• Streak: Georgia Tech, 1 win
• GT at Pitt: 0-3
• Last Meeting: May 10, 2015 (W, 10-3)
• Danny Hall vs. Pitt: 2-4
• GT in Last 5 Meetings: 2-3
KEL-0, GOODBYE
• Sophomore slugger Kel Johnson has been lighting up the scoreboard during the last 7 games. 5 of Johnson’s last 6 hits have been a home run – March 26 at North Carolina, March 30 vs. Georgia Southern, April 1 vs. Duke, April 2 vs. Duke, and April 6 vs. Kennesaw State.
• Johnson has recorded only 1 hit in 5 of the last six games – 4 of those hits have been homers.
• Johnson owned a career-best 22-game hit streak, which was snapped April 5 at Mercer. Johnson’s 22-game hit streak was the longest by a Yellow Jacket since Tyler Greene (23 games) in 2005.
GOLD-EN
• Georgia Tech’s Friday night starter Brandon Gold has been golden in his last 3 starts on the mound. The junior from Alpharetta is 2-0 with a 2.11 ERA and 17 strikeouts, posting victories over ACC Coastal Division rivals Virginia Tech and North Carolina.
• Through his first four starts this season, Gold was 1-1 with a 2.35 ERA and two no-decisions.
• Gold is 3-1 with a 2.23 ERA and a 4:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (39 K, 9 BB) in 44.1 innings.
SHOULDERING THE BURTON
• Freshman RHP Burton Dulaney has become the perfect set-up man on the Georgia Tech pitching staff. Dulaney (1-1, 2 saves) has a 3.16 ERA in 25.2 innings.
• Dulaney has been sensational in his last 7 relief appearances, allowing just 5 earned runs with 17 strikeouts in 18.0 innings.
…(TURN) TWO IF BY JUSTUS AND BAILEY
• While Georgia Tech leads the nation with 43 double plays, it’s been 2B Wade Bailey and SS Connor Justus involved in most of them. Bailey and Justus have combined to turn 25 of Tech’s 43 double plays. Either Bailey or Connor has been involved in 40 of Tech’s 43 double plays.
ACC ROAD WOES
• Georgia Tech snapped a 9-game ACC road losing streak when it won the series at North Carolina in March. Prior to Georgia Tech’s 3-2 win on March 25, the Jackets had not won an ACC road game since April 5, 2015.
• The Yellow Jackets have not posted a winning ACC road record since 2011 when they went 10-5 and won series at Miami (3-0), Duke (2-1), Wake Forest (2-1) and Virginia Tech (2-1).
• Georgia Tech has not won back-to-back ACC road series since 2011 (at Duke, at Wake Forest).
• In Tech’s only trip to Pittsburgh, the Jackets were swept by the Panthers in 2014.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
• Georgia Tech enters the weekend with a 6-4 road record. The Yellow Jackets are 4-1 in their last 5 road games. The Jackets haven’t finished a season with an above .500 road record since 2011 (15-8).
DOUBLE TROUBLE
• Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets lead Division I in both double plays (43) and double plays per game (1.48). Tech is the only team in Division I with more than 40 double plays turned this season.
• Entering the week, the Jackets ranked 15th nationally in doubles per game (2.41) and 16th in doubles (65). Tech is second in the ACC in doubles and third in doubles per game.
FRESHMEN POWER HOUR
• Freshmen Joey Bart and Tristin English have become mainstays in Georgia Tech’s lineup. Bart ranks 3rd on the team with a .355 average with 7 doubles and 19 RBI. English is 7th with a .320 average but is 2nd on the team in doubles (11). Bart and English have combined for 19 doubles and 36 RBI in 29 games.
• A third freshman, Brandt Stallings, is 4th on the team with 3 home runs.
TIME FLIES
• 22 of Tech’s 29 games this season have been played in under 3 hours.
• Georgia Tech is 19-3 (4-3 on the road) in games played in under 3 hours. In contract, the Jackets are 3-4 in games lasting over 3 hours.
BATTLE-TESTED
• Georgia Tech’s freshmen pitchers have played an important role in the Yellow Jackets’ 22-7 start. Georgia Tech’s eight freshmen hurlers – Micah Carpenter (2-0, 3.21 ERA), Bailey Combs (0-0, 0.00), Burton Dulaney (1-1, 2 Sv, 3.16), Bobby Gauvreau (0-0, 6.94), Keyton Gibson (2-2, 4.12), Jonathan Hughes (3-1, 2.45), Jake Lee (1-0, 1 Sv, 6.94), and Robert Winborne (0-0, 6.00) – have accounted for 9 of Tech’s 22 wins.
• Tech’s eight freshmen are a combined 9-4 with a 3.98 ERA in 117.2 innings.
THE CLOSER
• Junior Matthew Gorst has solidified his role as Georgia Tech’s closer. The Alpharetta, Ga., native has recorded 7 of Tech’s 11 save opportunities. Gorst owns a microscopic 0.49 ERA, allowing one earned run and just 11 baserunners with 26 strikeouts in 18.1 innings.
• Since allowing his lone run of the season, Gorst has pitched 11.0 scoring innings of relief, walking only batter and allowing two hits with 13 strikeouts.
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