No. 24 @GTBaseball in Beantown this Weekend

April 16, 2015

    >> No. 24 Georgia Tech is on the road this weekend with an ACC series at Boston College. The series can be heard live on WREK 91.1 FM in Atlanta. Live audio can also be accessed at RamblinWreck.com and via WREK on the TuneIn app.

    >> The Yellow Jackets are 9-9 in the ACC enter the weekend in a second-place in the Coastal Division with North Carolina. Tech is home against Clemson (also 9-9 in ACC) next weekend. Ten teams advance to the ACC Championship in Durham — the top two teams in each division, plus the next eight best records regardless of division.

    >> Tech and BC have met 23 times previously, with the Jackets holding a 16-7 advantage. The teams last met in Atlanta in 2013 when the Jackets swept the Eagles. Tech is 7-5 versus BC in Chestnut Hill — its last visit coming in 2012.

    >> Tech has won seven of its last nine overall and enters the weekend No. 12 in the RPI, and ranked in a pair of polls — 24th by Collegiate Baseball and 29th by the NCBWA. The Jackets’ schedule thus far is ranked 14th-toughest, and Tech is 12-11 versus Top 100 RPI teams.

    >> Tech is outscoring opponents 57-20 over the final two innings plus extras. That includes a +24 margin in the eighth (34-10), +12 in the ninth (20-8) and +1 (3-2) in extra innings. 12 of Tech’s 24 wins are come-from-behind victories, including four when trailing in the eighth inning.

    >> Tech is second in the ACC in fielding percentage (.976; 28th NCAA) and is third in double plays (36; 20th NCAA). Last season, the Jackets led the NCAA with 77 double plays and set school records for fielding (.973) and double plays. Since 2012, Tech has fielded .973 as a team and recorded the NCAA’s second-most double plays (229).

    >> The Jackets have benefited from strong late-game work from sophomore right-handers Zac Ryan and Matthew Gorst. Ryan is already 5-1 with seven saves (two last week) and a team-leading ERA of 2.36. Ryan is tied for fourth in the ACC in wins, is tied for fourth in saves and tied for eighth in appearances (18). Gorst pitched a career-long 4.0 innings to get the win in last Saturday’s 11-4 victory over No. 15 Virginia that evened the series.

    >> Of Tech’s 323.2 innings pitched this season, 82 percent have come from freshmen or sophomores, which is the highest percentage of any team in the nation.

    >> Senior A.J. Murray was 5-for-16 (.312) last week and extended his hitting streak to seven games. He led the team last week with five RBI and two home runs. His seven homers this season are a career-high, and his 34 RBI are one shy of a career-high 35 that came in 2013. In Murray’s career, he’s scored 103 runs and driven in 103 runs.

    >> Tech is 17-1 this season when scoring first; 8-2 in one-run games; 7-7 versus ranked team. Sophomore RHP Brandon Gold is 4-0 in series rubber-games — all coming in ACC victories over Notre Dame, Duke, Virginia Tech and Virginia. As a team, the Jackets are 6-1 this season in weekend rubber-games (4-1 in ACC play).