Georgia Tech Tournament Game Notes (PDF)
Game 1 – Tuesday (11 a.m.): RSN | Video | Audio | Live Stats
Game 2 – Friday (3 p.m.): RSN | Video | Audio | Live Stats
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech baseball (31-25, 14-16 ACC) will open up its 2018 ACC Baseball Championship slate in the tournament opener on Tuesday, May 22, at 11 a.m. versus the No. 12-seeded Pittsburgh Panthers (27-25, 11-19 ACC). The Jackets will then continue Pool A play on Friday, May 25, versus the top-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels (37-17, 22-8 ACC).
The winner of each pool (Pool A, Pool B, Pool C, Pool B) will earn a spot in the semifinals on Saturday, May 26, with the chance to play in the ACC Championship game on Sunday, May 27.
Tickets are available by calling 919.956.Bull (2855), ext.3, or online at http://theacc.co/base18tickets.
Follow the Action Live
All ACC Tournament Pool Play games will to be video streamed live on the ACC Network Extra (link located above) and broadcast by Regional Sports Networks (RSN). Check your local listings for channels.
All of Georgia Tech’s games will be broadcast live on WREK 91.1 FM radio and online at WREK.org.
Live stats for all the games this week can be found at TheACC.com
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are playing in their 39th-straight ACC Baseball Championship this week. The Yellow Jackets have made the ACC postseason tournament every year since joining the conference back in 1980. GT is 78-61 all-time in 38 appearances in the conference championship event.
Tech’s offense leads the ACC in both hitting (.296) and in total base hits (585). The Jackets also have three of the top-four hitters in the league in Joey Bart (.368 – first), Chase Murray (.355 – second) and Wade Bailey (.345 – tied for third).
No. 3 Wade Bailey is looking to close out his four years on The Flats with a career milestone, as the second basemen is chasing down career hit No. 300. He enters the ACC Tournament with 289 career base hits, 11 shy of the career mark. He would be just the fourth Jacket to reach 300 career hits in program history joining Jason Varitek (351), Victor Menocal (327) and Matt Gonzalez (302).
The Shake-and-Bake duo of Xzavion Curry and Connor Thomas, Tech’s first two weekend starters, have combined to win four ACC Pitcher of the Week awards this season. Curry received his conference weekly award honors on April 2 and April 30, while Thomas matched his fellow teammate with ACC weekly accolades on April 9 and most recently on May 14.
This season, the Yellow Jackets have recorded five shutouts. Tech has posted shutout wins over Dartmouth (Feb. 23), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Feb. 27), UIC (March 2), Wake Forest (April 27) and Radford (May 6). The five shutout victories are the most for GT in a season since the Jackets tallied six in 2014.
In their combined six games versus the Pittsburgh Panthers and the North Carolina Tar Heels this season, the Yellow Jackets went 1-5 overall with the lone win coming in the series opener at Pittsburgh (April 13). However, all six games were on the road and included a pair of extra inning losses.
Tech is 11-2 this season when its starting pitcher goes 7.0-complete innings or more for the game. The Jackets are also a perfect 5-0 on the year when their starter goes into the eighth or longer.
15 of the Yellow Jackets’ 25 losses this season have come to a total of eight teams ranked in the top-20 in RPI this season ( WarrenNolan.com). Tech went 0-3 versus Georgia (RPI-3), 0-3 at North Carolina (RPI-7), 2-1 versus Florida State (RPI-10), 0-3 at Clemson (RPI-11), 1-1 with Auburn (RPI-12), 1-2 at NC State (RPI-14), 2-1 versus Duke (RPI-17) and 0-1 against UConn (RPI-20).
Connor Thomas has gone the full 9.0 innings for three complete-game wins this season – versus Florida State (April 7), against Wake Forest (April 28) and at Virginia (May 12). He is the first Jacket to throw multiple complete games since Buck Farmer recorded two in 2013, while his three 9.0-inning contests are the most since current undergraduate assistant coach Mark Pope tallied five complete games in 2011.
Tech is shooting for its 10th ACC Tournament title having won nine in the program’s history. The Yellow Jackets won the ACC Tournament in 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2012 and 2014.
