April 3, 2003
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ATLANTA–Georgia Tech, ranked eighth in the nation’s by Baseball Weekly and Collegiate Baseball, visits North Carolina for a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series this weekend at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill. The two teams play on Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 1 p.m., and Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
Saturday’s game will be televised by the ACC Regional Network (Fox Sports Net South, Comcast and Sunshine). Radio coverage for the entire series will be available on WREK-Radio (91.1 FM in Atlanta), while the radio broadcast and live statistics will be available on the internet at www.ramblinwreck.com.
The weekend series at North Carolina is the second of three consecutive weekends away from home. Tech plays nine of 12 games on the road during that stretch.
GEORGIA TECH UPDATE (22-5, 3-0 ACC)
Georgia Tech snapped a three-game losing streak with a non-conference win over Winthrop, 7-5, on Wednesday night after dropping three straight games at Miami last weekend. Tech’s 17-0 start to the season eclipsed the previous school record of a 16-0 start in 1987.
The Yellow Jackets have snapped out of an offensive lull over the last eight games, scoring 91 runs on 104 hits over that stretch. Tech’s team batting average has risen to .300 after hovering in the .270 range for the first month of the season. Tech has belted 46 home runs this season (averaging 1.70 per game after hitting 0.97 per game in 2002). The team has been led by LF Matt Murton (.364-8-26) and C Mike Nickeas (.343-5-26), while DH Micah Owings (.299-8-19), CF Brandon Boggs (.308-7-23) and SS Tyler Greene (.320-7-25) have all contributed with the long ball.
The Georgia Tech pitching staff owns a 3.71 team ERA, although the staff was battered around for 37 runs in three games last weekend at Miami. Opponents are batting .238 against Georgia Tech pitching this season.
NORTH CAROLINA UPDATE (21-9, 3-3 ACC)
North Carolina is currently 21-9, 3-3 ACC on the season after dropping two of three last weekend at Florida State but winning a pair of non-conference games over Charlotte and Coastal Carolina midweek. The Tar Heels are batting .330 as a team and own a team ERA of 4.11. Junior LHP Daniel Moore (4-0, 4.28) is scheduled to start on Friday, while freshman LHP Adam Kalkhof (4-1, 3.48) will start on Saturday. Sunday’s starter is TBA.
QUOTING DANNY HALL
ON THE WEEKEND SERIES AT NORTH CAROLINA:
“This is a very critical series for both teams. I think that North Carolina is one of the teams that can finish in the top half of the league, and it’s a road series for us. Any time you can go on the road and win a series it gives you the upper hand on some of your opponents. It will be a very difficult weekend for us, but I think that it can go a long way in giving us a boost in the league standings if we can win this series.”
ON TECH’S OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION:
“I think that our offense has picked up, and I think that it will continue to pick up. We are getting close to having our entire team swinging well. Our pitching has slid a little bit, and my main concern right now is getting the staff back on track. Chris Goodman pitched extremely well on Wednesday night, he had one inning where he let it get away from him a little bit. I am hoping that’s the start of good thing for our staff. We have great ability and good depth, and I think that the Miami series will just be a small bump in the road.”
ON THIS WEEKEND’S STARTERS – MICAH OWINGS AND AARON WALKER:
“The biggest thing about both of those guys is that they have thrown strikes and have been able to change speeds. That’s something that we are looking for out of some of our other guys, to be able to change speeds and keep hitters off balance. North Carolina has an outstanding hitting team, and the whole key to the series is our ability to throw strikes and keep hitters off balance.”
ON THE OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION FROM MATT MURTON AND BRANDON BOGGS:
“Brandon has had two straight weeks of swinging the bat really well from both sides of the plate. Matt Murton has really picked up his production with getting a lotof hits, hitting home runs and getting on base. Those two guys have been a big part of our offensive surge. The other guy who really encouraged me on Wednesday night was Jeremy Slayden. I thought he had some good at bats and hit the ball hard a couple of times. If we can get Slayden going and get Eric Patterson going at the top of the order then we will be in really good shape.”
GEORGIA TECH VS. NORTH CAROLINA
GEORGIA TECH LEADS, 49-42
Georgia Tech leads North Carolina, 49-42, in a series that dates to 1901. The Tar Heels hold a 16-15 edge in games played in Chapel Hill.
The Yellow Jackets have won 10 of the last 13 meetings since the 1999 season, and they are 6-3 in games played in Chapel Hill since the 1997 season.
Last year, Tech won two of three from North Carolina in the final weekend of the regular season in Atlanta, and then took a 10-8 decision in the third round of the ACC Tournament in St. Petersburg, Fla. Tech won 7-4 on Friday in Atlanta behind an 8-inning, two run performance from LHP Kyle Bakker and a home run from Jeremy Slayden. The Yellow Jackets took a 12-9 decision on Saturday when Matt Murton went 4-for-4 and Clifton Remole delivered a key three-run double in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Tar Heels won 6-1 on Sunday, led by Daniel Moore’s complete game four-hitter.
The Yellow Jackets won the final meeting of 2002 in the ACC Tournament, 10-8, when Slayden homered and drove in three runs and Jeff Watchko worked five innings of relief and allowed just one run.
Georgia Tech is 20-13 against North Carolina under head coach Danny Hall.
STARTING PITCHER NOTES
Friday: MICAH OWINGS (RHP) 4-1, 4.28 ERA
Freshman Micah Owings gets the nod on Friday evening in what will be his fourth start and ninth 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).
Owings suffered his first loss in his most recent start on Mar. 18 against Auburn (4 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 0 BB, 5 K). After allowing nine runs in five innings against Auburn and Maryland (Mar. 23), the freshman has allowed just one earned run over 6.1 IP in his last two appearances (Mercer and Miami).
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 backup first baseman, and he has a team-high eight home runs.
Owings Game-by-Game in 20032003 Opp. S/R W/L IP H R ER BB SO NP2/15 Ga. Southern R W 3.1 0 0 0 0 0 402/23 Michigan R W 0.2 1 0 0 1 1 193/4 Campbell S W 6.0 4 2 2 0 3 693/11 Auburn S W 6.0 5 1 1 1 7 913/18 Auburn S L 4.0 6 6 6 0 5 683/23 Maryland R -- 1.0 2 3 3 1 1 203/25 Mercer R -- 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 173/29 Miami R -- 5.1 4 2 1 2 2 78
Saturday: AARON WALKER (LHP) 2-0, 1.77 ERA
Junior LHP Aaron Walker will get the call on Saturday afternoon in what will be his second start of 2003 and his 14th appearance of the season. Walker joins the weekend rotation for the second time, moving from his usual role as Tech’s top lefty in the bullpen.
Walker made his first career start on Mar. 15 against Kent State, and he earned a win after working a career-long 5.1 innings and allowing just one run on five hits. When working out of the bullpen, Walker is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in 12 relief appearances. For his career, Walker is 3-2 with a 4.38 ERA in 47 appearances spanning 61.2 innings.
Walker has been one of Tech’s most consistent pitchers in 2003, and he has not allowed a run in nine of his 13 appearances.
Aaron Walker Game-by-Game in 20032003 Opp. S/R W/L IP H R ER BB SO NP2/23 MIchigan R -- 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 52/28 G. Washington R -- 1.2 1 0 0 0 3 183/2 G. Washington R -- 1.0 2 1 1 0 3 263/7 Rutgers R -- 1.0 1 1 1 0 0 83/8 Rutgers R -- 0.1 1 0 0 0 0 73/9 Rutgers R W 3.0 2 0 0 0 1 363/15 Kent State S W 5.1 5 1 1 2 5 813/18 Auburn R -- 2.0 0 0 0 0 4 233/22 Maryland R -- 1.0 2 2 0 0 0 203/25 Mercer R -- 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 153/28 Miami R -- 0.2 1 0 0 0 1 83/29 Miami R -- 1.0 1 2 2 3 0 333/30 Miami R -- 2.0 0 0 0 1 3 30
Sunday’s starter is TBA.
OFFENSE ON FIRE IN LAST EIGHT GAMES
After hitting .277 as a team through the first 19 games of the season, Georgia Tech’s offense has finally started to produce at a level that was expected in the Yellow Jackets’ last eight games against Maryland, Mercer, Miami and Winthrop.
The Yellow Jackets have hit .350 (104-for-297) in the last eight games to raise their team batting average nearly 25 points to .300. Tech is averaging 11.4 runs per game over the last eight games, and the Yellow Jackets scored in 43 of their 66 innings at bat (65.2%).
The Yellow Jackets hit .330 in 2002, .347 in 2001 and .342 in 2000. In fact, Tech has never hit lower than .306 as a team since Danny Hall became the school’s head coach in 1994, and the Yellow Jackets have hit better than .320 as a team in seven of his nine years at the helm of the program.
NICKEAS ONE OF FIRST EIGHT INVITED TO USA BASEBALL TRIALS
Sophomore catcher Mike Nickeas is one of the first eight collegiate players invited to participate in the 2003 USA Baseball National Team Trials that will be held June 21-27 in Tucson, Arizona. The USA National Team will be selected from a pool of 35 players, of which an additional 27 have yet to be determined.
USA Baseball’s final selection of the athletes that will comprise the team that will represent the USA at the 2003 Pan Am Games, is subject to the approval of the United States Olympic Committee. The official team roster will be determined and announced on June 27.
NICKEAS NAMED TO JOHNNY BENCH WATCH LIST
Sophomore catcher Mike Nickeas is one of 33 collegiate catchers named to the 2003 Johnny Bench Award watch list, an award given annually to the nation’s top collegiate catcher. The watch list will be narrowed down to 10 semifinalists, whom will be announced on May 20. Three finalists will be announced on June 2, prior to the College World Series.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN . . .
After opening the season with six straight games away from home, Georgia Tech played 16 of its next 17 games at home. Last weekend, the Yellow Jackets began a stretch of three straight weekends on the road (at Miami, North Carolina and Duke). Tech will play nine of 12 games away from home during the current three week strectch.
VERSUS NCAA REGIONAL FOES
Georgia Tech owns an 8-5 record this spring against teams that played in the 2002 NCAA Regionals. The Yellow Jackets are 3-0 against George Washington, 2-0 against Georgia Southern, 2-1 against Kent State, 1-1 against Auburn and 0-3 against Miami. Tech has 14 more games on the regular season schedule against postseason teams, including three this weekend at North Carolina.
HOME RUNS COMING AT BLISTERING PACE
Georgia Tech has hit 46 home runs as a team in 27 games in 2003, averaging 1.70 home runs per game. Last season Tech hit 66 home runs in 68 games (0.97 home runs per game). The school record for home runs is 119, which was accomplished in 65 games during the 1987 season (1.83 per game).
Listed below are Tech’s home run totals since the NCAA adopted the current bat rules for the 1999 season.
GEORGIA TECH'S YEARLY HOME RUN TOTALSYear Games HR HR per game1999 58 65 1.122000 66 79 1.202001 61 74 1.212002 68 66 0.972003 27 46 1.70
WATCHKO CLIMBS TECH SAVES BASE CHARTS
Senior reliever Jeff Watchko has four saves in 2003, raising his career total to 18 saves since 2000. Watchko’s 18 saves is tied for fourth on the Georgia Tech all time list, trailing Jim Poole (22; 1985-88), Keith Fleming (21; 1983-86), Chris Myers (20; 1991-94) and Brett Binkley (18; 1991-93).
