Feb. 21, 2011
ATLANTA – The 21st-ranked Georgia Tech baseball team will open the midweek portion of its schedule with two games against Georgia Southern, beginning Tuesday at 6 p.m. and concluding Wednesday at 4 p.m. at J.I. Clements Stadium in Statesboro, Ga.
Pitching Matchup (Georgia Tech vs. Georgia Southern)
Tuesday: RHP Luke Bard (0-0, 0.00, 1.0 IP, 2 SO) vs. LHP Jarrett Leverett (0-1, 0.00, 1.0 IP, 1 SO)
Wednesday: RHP Matt Grimes (0-0, 0.00, 1.0 IP, 1 K) vs. TBA
BROADCAST INFORMATION
The GT radio broadcast can be heard over the air on WREK (91.1), the flagship station of Georgia Tech baseball, and online at RamblinWreck.com.
LIVE STATS
Live stats for all home games and most road games will be available on RamblinWreck.com to both media and fans. Click the GameTracker logo on the website to see play-by-play, player/team stats and much more.
SERIES PREVIEW
The Jackets opened the 2011 season winning two out of three at home against Kent State on opening weekend, a team that returned five of its top six hitters and two weekend starters from a squad that won the 2010 MAC regular season and tournament Championship … Tech combined for 30 hits in the three game series, and allowed just five earned runs … Junior Jacob Esch is currently on a career-best nine game hit streak heading into Tuesday’s game.
Georgia Southern went 2-1 on opening weekend against Atlantic 10 conference opponent George Washington at J.I Clements Stadium … The Eagles return 15 letterwinners and five positions starters from last season … Georgia Southern went 34-24 in 2010, finishing third in the Southern Conference.
SERIES HISTORY
Georgia Tech holds a 86-27 lead in the all-time series between the two schools, having won 11 of the last 13 contests dating back to March 27, 2007 … The Jackets are 37-13 in games played in Statesboro, and 54-15 against the Eagles since head coach Danny Hall’s arrival in 1994.
Last Meeting: Georgia Tech swept the four-game midweek series in 2010 season, winning 10-0 and 8-5 away, and 6-2 and 18-4 at home.
GEORGIA TECH vs. IN-STATE OPPONENTS
In 2010, the Jackets claimed victor to the “State Championship” of Georgia college baseball, going 12-1 against in-state opponents. The Jackets won four against Georgia Southern, two against Mercer, three against Georgia, two against Georgia State, and one against Kennesaw State. Tech’s only loss came at Kennesaw State on March 31, 2010. Tech has a total of 13 regular season games on the schedule against schools from Georgia this season. Since 1999, the Yellow Jackets own a 110-34 (.764) record against its in-state foes. In 17 years under head coach Danny Hall, Tech is 154-51 (.751) against teams from Georgia.
LEFTOVERS FROM THE WEEKEND
Georgia Tech’s 1.67 team earned run average was the secondlowest in the Atlantic Coast Conference during the first weekend ofplay, as the Jackets yielded just five earned runs against KentState … Weekend starters Mark Pope, Jed Bradley and Buck Farmer allowed just two of those. Junior Jacob Esch .583 (7-for-12) average was the third best in theACC … his four doubles lead the conference. Twelve of Tech’s 17freshmen appeared in the first three games, with eight makingstarts in the series Participation Clarification — There isa clarification on Matt Skole’s participation in Georgia Tech’s opening serieswith Kent State. Skole missed last Friday’s season opener becauseof a sprained ankle. He did not participate in Saturday’s gamewhile serving a suspension for a violation of team rules.
NOTEBOOK
Georgia Tech returns 17 letterwinners and four starters (twoposition players and two pitchers) from a 2010 team that went 47-15(21-6 ACC) and finished 2nd in the ACC Coastal Division whilereaching the finals of the NCAA Atlanta Regional. Georgia Tech isranked in the top-25 by three different major polls — No. 21 byCollegiate Baseball, No. 24 in the National Collegiate BaseballWriters Association Poll, and No. 19 by the USA Today/ESPN CoachesPoll (Week 2 poll release on Tuesday, Feb. 22). In 2010, theJackets were one of the biggest power-hitting teams in the country.The group belted a school-record 122 home runs – the second most inthe nation – and won 28 games by five runs or more. Junior Matt Skole, a 2011 Louisville Slugger preseason All-Americanbecame just the 12th player in school history to belt at least 20home runs in a season when he did so in 2010. Weekend startersMark Pope and Jed Bradley have gained early preseason national attention,each being named to Preseason All-America teams, as well as top-100college prospects by Baseball America … Bradley was named to theUSA Baseball Golden Spikes National Player of the Year watch liston Feb. 17. After tying a school-record with 10 selections inJune’s MLB first-year player draft, the Jackets lost sevenunderclassmen to professional contracts. Included in that groupwere 2010 All-Americans Deck McGuire and Derek Dietrich. Tech’s freshman class, consisting of 17newcomers, six of whom were also selected in the 2010 MLB draft, isranked as high the No. 6 recruiting class in the nation. Sixnewcomers started on opening day.
TECH CAMPUS HOSTS NEGRO BASEBALL LEAGUES MUSEUM EXHIBIT
As a part of the 50th anniversary of the matriculation of black students at Georgia Tech, the steering committee along with the GT Athletic Association are bringing the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum exhibition entitled “Shades of Greatness – Art Inspired by Negro Leagues Baseball” to the GT library on campus. The exhibit, which contains about 35 works in the show featuring various themes and stories from negro league history, is here from Feb. 11 to March 20. It is located in the library’s Neely Gallery room, and is open to the public.
ACC COACHES PICK TECH TO FINISH SECOND IN THE COASTAL RACE
The 19th-ranked Georgia Tech baseball team was picked to finish second in the Coastal Division race according to the 2011 ACC Preseason Coaches Poll, voted on by the league’s 12 head coaches. Atlantic Division leader Clemson was the overall favorite, finishing with seven overall first-place votes and 68 points in the Atlantic Division. Defending ACC Champion Florida State was second with three overall votes, and 64 points in the same division. The Yellow Jackets (56 points) followed Virginia (69) in the Coastal standings. This marks the third straight season in which the Jackets were predicted to finish second in the Coastal Division. Tech finished second in 2010 after a 21-9 record in ACC play.
THREE JACKETS GARNER PRESEASON NATIONAL HONORS
Junior pitcher Jed Bradley, junior pitcher Mark Pope and junior infielder Matt Skole have all been named to preseason All-America team sin 2011. Bradley was tabbed by both Baseball America (2nd team) and Louisville Slugger (3rd team), while Pope and Skole landed spots on Louisville Slugger All-America teams.
BRADLEY NAMED TO LIST OF NATIONS BEST
Junior Jed Bradley was one of 50 players named to the preseason USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Watch List Thursday, Feb. 17, marking the organization’s first step toward identifying the top amateur baseball player in the country.
Bradley, a 2010 second-team All-ACC selection, is the lone returner to the Tech weekend rotation. He went 9-5 with a 4.83 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 91.1 innings last season.
JACKETS CRACK PRESEASON TOP 25 FOR 18TH TIME UNDER HALL
Georgia Tech has been ranked in the preseason Top 25 by at least one of the major polls (Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, USA Today/Baseball Weekly) in each of Danny Hall’s 18 seasons as the Yellow Jackets’ skipper. Tech has been a preseason Top 10 pick in seven of the last 13 years and a top five selection in four of the last 11 seasons. The Jackets are currently ranked No. 19 in both the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll, and the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll.
