April 24, 2003
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ATLANTA–Georgia Tech, ranked fourth in the nation by Collegiate Baseball and USA Today/Baseball Weekly, visits No. 20 Clemson for a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series this weekend at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Gametimes are 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Weekend Coverage: Friday’s game will be televised regionally by Fox Sports Net South. Radio coverage on Friday and Saturday will be available on WREK-Radio (91.1 FM in Atlanta). Radio coverage on Sunday will be available on “790 The Zone” (790 AM in Atlanta). Live statistics and the radio broadcast will also be available on the internet at www.ramblinwreck.com.
GEORGIA TECH UPDATE (32-8, 11-1 ACC)
Winners of nine of its last 11 games, Georgia Tech currently stands in first place in the ACC with an 11-1 league mark after sweeping three games from Wake Forest last weekend at Russ Chandler Stadium. Tech’s 17-0 start to the season eclipsed the previous school record of a 16-0 start in 1987.
Tech swept Wake Forest largely due to the success of its pitching staff, which combined for a 2.00 ERA and held the Deacon hitters to a .214 batting average.
Tech has belted 60 home runs this season (averaging 1.50 per game after hitting 0.97 per game in 2002). The recent offensive surge over the last 21 games has raised the team average to .311 after hitting .277 through the first 19 games of the season.
The Georgia Tech pitching staff owns a 3.62 team ERA, including a 7-4 record, 12 saves and a 3.63 ERA from the Tech bullpen. Opponents are batting .240 against Tech pitching this season. Over the last three weekends, the starting rotation of Micah Owings (6-1, 3.78), Kyle Bakker (7-0, 3.16) and Chris Goodman (6-1, 4.13) is 7-0 with a 2.53 ERA.
CLEMSON UPDATE (28-13, 5-7 ACC)
Clemson is 28-13 overall and 5-7 in the ACC after dropping two of three at Maryland last weekend. The Tigers are batting .305 as a team and own a team ERA of 4.05. Sophomore LHP Tyler Lumsden (7-0, 2.70) is the scheduled starter on Friday night, junior RHP Patrick Hogan (1-2, 3.82) will start on Saturday and junior RHP Steven Jackson (5-2, 4.78) will start game three on Sunday.
GEORGIA TECH VS. CLEMSON
CLEMSON LEADS, 86-84-3
Clemson leads Georgia Tech, 86-84-3, in a series that dates to 1902. The Tigers hold a 35-16-1 advantage in games played in Clemson, while the Yellow Jackets hold a 61-38-2 edge in Atlanta.
Since sweeping a three-game series from the Tigers in Clemson in 1993, the Yellow Jackets have lost nine of the last 11 games played at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
Last year, Tech and Clemson met on five occasions – three games in Atlanta during the regular season, the first round of the ACC Tournament in St. Petersburg, and the second round of the College World Series – and the Tigers won three of the five games. Tech took two of three in the regular season in Atlanta, dropping the first game, 10-0, before winning 15-6 and 11-0 in the final two games of the series. Clemson knotted the season series with a 10-0 win in the first round of the ACC Tournament and took a 9-7 decision in the second round of the College World Series.
Georgia Tech is 14-20 against Clemson under head coach Danny Hall.
STARTING PITCHER NOTES
Friday: KYLE BAKKER (LHP) 7-0, 3.16 ERA
Junior Kyle Bakker will start on Friday in the opening game of the Clemson series, and he will be making his 11th start of the season and the 36th start of his collegiate career.
Bakker is 7-0 with a 3.16 ERA in 2003, and he has been at his best over his last three starts following a three-week rough stretch. Bakker is 3-0 in his last three starts (against North Carolina, Duke and Wake Forest), posting a 1.29 ERA (three runs in 21 IP). Bakker enters Friday’s game having not surrendered a run in his last 15 innings of work (9.0 IP vs Wake Forest and 6.0 IP vs Duke).
Bakker enters Friday’s game having won 11 consecutive decisions, and he has not suffered a defeat since April 26, 2002 against Virginia.
For his career, Bakker stands at 24-3 with a 3.08 ERA in 237 innings pitched. Bakker currently ranks as the top command pitcher in school history, allowing just 1.82 walks per nine innings.
A preseason All-America in 2003, Bakker earned second team All-America honors in 2002 after earning Freshman All-America honors in 2001. The 6-9 lefty spent the summer of 2002 with the USA Baseball National team, and he posted a 3-2 record and a 2.14 ERA in six starts.
Saturday: CHRIS GOODMAN (RHP) 6-1, 4.13 ERA
Senior Chris Goodman will get the ball on Saturday night in the second game of the Clemson series. Goodman will be making his ninth start of the 2003 season and the 22nd start of his Georgia Tech career.
Goodman is 6-1 with a 4.13 ERA this spring. Like Bakker, Goodman has been at his best of the season over the last three weeks. He owns wins over Georgia State, Duke and Wake Forest in his last three starts, allowing five earned runs in 18 innings (2.50 ERA).
The 6-0 right hander ended the 2002 season as Tech’s No. 2 starter, and he posted an 8-2 record and a 4.41 ERA in 81.2 innings of work. For his career, Goodman is 14-3 with a 4.29 ERA in 138.1 innings, and he has allowed just 1.95 walks per nine innings.
A transfer from NC State following the 2000 season, Goodman made the successful conversion from shortstop to pitcher last season.
Goodman spent the summer of 2002 with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod League, posting a 2.61 ERA in 20.2 innings of work.
Sunday: MICAH OWINGS (RHP) 6-1, 3.78 ERA
Freshman Micah Owings gets the nod on Sunday afternoon in what will be his seventh start and 12th appearance of the season. Owings holds the unique distinction of earning a win in each of his first four career appearances, including two starts and two relief stints.
Owings earned a win in his first career start against Campbell (Mar. 4) after holding the Camels to two runs on four hits in six innings. He struck out three batters and did not issue a walk. The freshman won his second start of the season on Mar. 11 at Auburn (6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 K).
After allowing nine runs in five innings in against Auburn and Maryland (Mar. 23), the freshman has allowed eight earned runs over 26.2 IP (2.70 ERA) in his last five appearances (Mercer, Miami, North Carolina, Duke and Wake Forest). In his most recent start against Wake Forest on Apr. 20, a 5-3 Tech win, Owings carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning.
The 6-5 power righthander made his first career appearance in Tech’s second game of the season, working 3.1 scoreless and hitless innings against Georgia Southern. The only baserunner he allowed came via a hit batsman on an 0-2 pitch. Owings earned a win in relief against Michigan in his second appearance, recording two outs in the top of the ninth inning in a tie game before Tech rallied for a 7-6 win in the bottom of the ninth.
As a senior at Gainesville High School, Owings went 12-1 with a 1.03 ERA while recording 121 strikeouts and just three walks in 75 innings.
Owings also serves as Tech’s regular DH, and he has a team-high 13 home runs.
PITCHING SHINES IN WAKE FOREST SERIES
Georgia Tech snapped a five game losing streak to Wake Forest with a three-game sweep of the Demon Deacons last weekend at Russ Chandler Stadium. The Yellow Jackets were aided by strong performances from the starting rotation of LHP Kyle Bakker and RHP’s Chris Goodman and Micah Owings, and RHP reliever Brian Burks. As a whole, the staff posted a 2.00 ERA and held the Deacon bats to a .214 team average.
Bakker tossed the second complete-game shutout of his career, outdueling Wake Forest ace Kyle Sleeth in Tech’s 2-0 win on Friday night. On Sunday, Owings took a no-hitter into the seventh inning as Tech won 5-3. Goodman worked six effective innings in Tech’s 10-4 win on Saturday. Burks earned saves on both Saturday and Sunday.
Over the last three weekends against North Carolina, Duke and Wake Forest, the starting rotation of Bakker, Goodman and Owings is a combined 7-0 with a 2.53 ERA in eight starts.
BAKKER NAMED ACC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Junior Kyle Bakker was named the ACC Pitcher of the Week following his complete game shutout of Wake Forest on Apr. 18. Bakker tossed Georgia Tech’s first complete game shutout of the season in the Yellow Jackets’ 2-0 win over Wake Forest. The left hander won his 11th consecutive decision dating back to the 2002 season and tossed the second complete-game shutout of his career. Against Wake Forest, he allowed seven hits – all singles – and did not walk a batter while striking out a season-high eight batters. He needed just 94 pitches to go the distance, throwing 72 strikes, and he threw first pitch strikes to 26 of 34 batters.
YELLOW JACKETS EXTEND ACC SERIES WIN STREAK TO SEVEN
Georgia Tech has won seven consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference weekend series dating back to late April of 2002. Tech won series from Virginia (2-1), Clemson (2-1) and North Carolina (2-1) down the stretch of 2002, and the Yellow Jackets own series wins over Maryland (3-0), North Carolina (2-1), Duke (3-0) and Wake Forest (3-0). The Yellow Jackets have actually won 10 of their last 11 ACC weekend series.
The current streak of seven straight series wins in the second longest in school history since the ACC adopted the current three-game format for the 1990 season. Tech won 10 straight series in 1993 and 1994.
BEST ACC START SINCE 1990
Georgia Tech’s 11-1 start in the ACC in 2003 is tied for the best in school history since the conference adopted the current three-game series format in 1990. Tech went 11-1 in the first 12 ACC games in the 1997 season, and finished the season in first place with a 19-4 mark. Listed below are Tech’s best starts in ACC play since 1990:
BEST RECORDS IN ACC PLAY THROUGH 12 GAMESYear Start Final ACC Record1997 11-1 19-42003 11-1 ???1994 10-2 16-81995 10-2 16-82000 10-2 18-6
