Notre Dame In Town for @GTBaseball ACC Opener

March 5, 2015

>> Winners of four straight games, Georgia Tech welcomes Notre Dame to Russ Chandler Stadium this weekend to open Atlantic Coast Conference play. The series is underway Friday at 4 p.m. and all three games are live on ESPN3.

>> The Yellow Jackets and the Fighting Irish are meeting for the first time since Notre Dame joined the ACC last season. All-time, Tech is 6-4 versus the Irish, but the rivals have not played since the Jackets swept a two-game set at Russ Chandler Stadium in 1996.

>> Tech has won five of its last seven ACC-opening series and is 15-6 in ACC-opening series under head coach Danny Hall. It has faced an Atlantic Division opponent in six of its last seven ACC openers (at Virginia Tech in 2013).

>> After coming from behind in each of their first five wins and trailing at some point in each of the first nine games, the Yellow Jackets haven’t trailed at all during their four-game winning streak.

>> Tech is out-scoring opponents 15-4 in the first inning and 24-3 over the final two innings plus extra innings (11-0 in the ninth). The Jackets have already won twice via walk-offs after having just two walk-off wins last season.

>> Senior A.J. Murray brings a six-game hitting streak into the weekend. He has reached base safely in all 12 games this season and in 24 of 25 games dating back to last year. Murray is hitting .417 (10-for-24) over his hitting streak with three doubles, two homers and seven RBI. He is second in the ACC in RBI (17), fourth in runs (15), fifth in slugging (.682), fourth in doubles (five) and fourth in home runs (three).

>> Sophomore C Arden Pabst has thrown out 80 percent of stolen-base attempts (eight of 10) against him this season, which is the nation’s third-best percentage. He was second in the ACC last season in runners caught stealing (16) and caught-stealing percentage (.410). On Feb. 22, Pabst clubbed a walk-off, three-run home run as Tech rallied to beat Albany.

>> Danny Hall is in his 22nd season as Tech’s head coach (28th overall), and his last four seasons on the Flats have resulted in two ACC tournament titles (2012, 2014) and an ACC regular-season crown (2011). Hall is a two-time ACC Coach of the Year and is among the 15 winningest active coaches in college baseball with 1,108 wins. He won his 900th career game at Georgia Tech on Tuesday versus Ohio.

>> Freshman 2B Wade Bailey has hit safely in five of Tech’s last seven games, including a 6-for-9 effort in the final two games of the Indiana State series. Five of his nine runs have come in the last three games.

>> Tech’s rotation remains the same for the second straight weekend. Last Friday, junior lefty Jonathan King tossed a one-hitter over six innings in a 1-0 win over Indiana State — his 10th career win. Saturday, senior righty Cole Pitts made his first start since off-season Tommy John surgery and worked three solid innings. Sunday, sophomore Brandon Gold’s first career start was a gem as he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and earned his first career win.