May 23, 2006
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla.–Georgia Tech (42-14, 19-11 ACC) earned the No. 4 seed at the 2006 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament this weekend at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. The Yellow Jackets will face No. 5 seed Miami (35-19, 17-13) in the first round of the tournament on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
Also in Tech’s half of the bracket are top-seeded Clemson and No. 8 seed Wake Forest. The other half of the bracket features No. 2 North Carolina vs. No. 7 NC State and No. 3 Virginia vs. No. 6 Florida State. The ACC Tournament format calls for two four-team double elimination brackets with a single championship game between the bracket winners on Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Yellow Jackets return to Jacksonville to defend their 2005 ACC Championship. Tech went 4-0 in last year’s tournament, defeating Virginia 4-3 in the championship game.
Georgia Tech has won seven ACC Tournament championships since joining the league for the 1980 season – 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2003 and 2005.
GAME COVERAGE: Radio coverage for all Georgia Tech games in the ACC Tournament will be available on WREK-FM (91.1 FM in Atlanta / online at: www.wrek.org). Live statistics available at www.ramblinwreck.com and www.theACC.com.
Live video webcasts for all games in the ACC Tournament will be available through the ACC website.
Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament
Georgia Tech has a 61-40 (.604) record in ACC Tournament play. The Yellow Jackets have won seven league titles since joining the conference for the 1980 season – 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2003 and 2005.
vs. Bracket Opponents
MIAMI — Georgia Tech and Miami have never met in ACC Tournament play. The Hurricanes lead the overall series, 38-19, although the Yellow Jackets won two of three games during the final weekend of the regular season. Tech is 4-2 against Miami since the Hurricanes joined the Atlantic Coast Conference for the 2005 season.
CLEMSON — Tech and Clemson have met on 20 occasions in the ACC Tournament, with the Tigers holding an 11-8 edge. Overall, Tech holds a slim 92-91-3 edge in the all-time series. The Yellow Jackets won two of three games against the Tigers during the regular season in Atlanta.
WAKE FOREST — Tech owns a 9-4 record against Wake Forest in ACC Tournament play, including a 9-8 win in last year’s event. Overall, Tech holds a 57-34-1 record in the all-time series against Wake Forest. The Yellow Jackets and Demon Deacons did not meet during the 2006 regular season.
Offensive Short Hops
Second in NCAA in Scoring: Georgia Tech ranks second in the nation, averaging 9.2 runs per game. Troy leads the nation at 9.5 runs per game.
Runs, Runs, Runs: The Yellow Jackets have scored 212 runs in the last 21 games, averaging 10.1 runs per game.
Bats Warm With the Weather: After hitting .299 through the first 24 games of the season (though Mar. 26), Tech’s offense has exploded by batting .339 over the last 32 games. Tech scored 8.6 runs per game in the first 24 games of the year before averaging 9.7 runs per game over the last 32 games.
Comeback Kids: Georgia Tech swept #5 Florida State, coming from behind in all three games. Tech rallied from a 6-0 deficit on Friday to win 15-8, trailed 3-2 in game two before winning 10-4, and fell behind 3-1 only to win 8-7 in the finale. Tech also trailed in all three games in a sweep of Duke (May 12-14). The Yellow Jackets have come from behind to win on 19 occasions this season, including 17 times when Tech has trailed in the first three innings of the game.
Inside the RPI
Georgia Tech enters the ACC Tournament ranked fifth in the nation in the RPI (source: BoydsWorld.com). Clemson, Rice, Texas and Alabama rank first through fourth.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is well represented in the RPI, with eight teams ranked among the top 21 in the nation. Joining Clemson and Georgia Tech are North Carolina (8), Virginia (11), Miami (14), Florida State (15), NC State (18) and Wake Forest (21).
Blackwood Joins Elite Company
Senior Steven Blackwood enters the final weekend of the regular season with 210 career RBI and 209 runs. Blackwood and former National Player of the Year Jason Varitek are the only two players in Georgia Tech history to top 200 in both RBI and runs.
Blackwood enters the final weeks of his collegiate career ranked among Tech’s all-time leaders in doubles (5th, 57), games played (5th, 230), RBI (6th, 212), at bats (7th, 811), runs (8th, 214) and hits (11th, 269).
A Balance of Power
Georgia Tech has four players who have reached double digit home runs in 2006 – Whit Robbins (12 HR), Wes Hodges (11), Jeff Kindel (11) and Danny Payne (11). Tech has four players reaching double-figure home runs for just the second time since the NCAA adopted the current bat rules for the 1999 season.
Tech also had four players reach 10-plus homers in 2002 when the Jackets advanced to the College World Series.
The Yellow Jackets lead the ACC with 71 home runs in 2006.
