June 3, 2004
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ATLANTA–Georgia Tech (41-19, 18-5 ACC), the 2004 Atlantic Coast Conference regular season champion, makes its 19th NCAA Regional appearance in the last 20 years this weekend in the NCAA Atlanta Regional at Russ Chandler Stadium. The Yellow Jackets are making their 21st overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Tech, the No. 1 seed in the Atlanta regional, opens against Ohio Valley Conference champion and No. 4 seed Jacksonville State (31-27) Friday at 7 p.m. ET. Friday’s other first-round matchup, scheduled for 3 p.m. ET, pits No. 2 seed Texas Tech (38-19) of the Big 12 against Southeastern Conference foe Mississippi State (34-22), the No. 3 seed.
The regional continues Saturday with games slated for 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday’s championship game is scheduled for 1 p.m., with a second game to follow, if necessary, 45 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.
The Yellow Jackets tied a school record with 20 straight wins before dropping a pair of games to Florida State in the championship of the ACC Tournament last weekend in Salem, Va. Tech finished the regular season with 17 straight wins, including 16 straight against conference opponents, and won its first three games in the ACC Tournament.
Tech’s Russ Chandler Stadium, which was rebuilt in 2002 and now seats 4,157, is hosting an NCAA Regional for the third straight year and the sixth time since 1987. Tech has hosted a total of seven NCAA events, including Super Regionals in 2000 and 2002.
Along with Georgia Tech, 2004 NCAA Regionals will also be hosted by Arkansas, East Carolina (Kinston, N.C.), Cal-State Fullerton, Florida State, Georgia, Louisiana State, Miami, Notre Dame, Oklahoma (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Mississippi, Rice, South Carolina, Stanford, Texas and Virginia.
The winner of the Atlanta Regional will be matched up with the champion of the Athens Regional, hosted by Georgia and also featuring Clemson, Birmingham Southern and Middle Tenneessee State, in an NCAA Super Regional, scheduled for June 11-13 at a campus site to be determined.
REGIONAL COVERAGE: Live statistics for all games in the NCAA Atlanta Regional will be available on the internet at www.ramblinwreck.com. Radio coverage for all Tech games will be available on WREK-FM (91.1 FM in Atlanta) and 790 The Zone (790 AM), and on the internet at www.wrek.org and www.790thezone.com.
Georgia Tech’s NCAA Tournament History
ALL-TIME RECORD: 43-40
Georgia Tech will play in its 21st NCAA Regional this weekend, posting a 43-40 overall record in NCAA Tournament play. The Yellow Jackets have captured three regional championships – 1994, 2000 and 2002.
The Yellow Jackets are making their 19th NCAA appearance in the last 20 years. Tech is hosting a NCAA Regional for the sixth time, including the fourth time in the last five years. The Jackets are 10-8 in NCAA play at Russ Chandler Stadium.
Georgia Tech went 16-13 against the NCAA field during the 2004 regular season.
Georgia Tech is 24-18 in NCAA Tournament play under head coach Danny Hall, including a 20-15 mark in regional tournaments and a 4-3 record in the College World Series.
vs. JACKSONVILLE STATE
Georgia Tech is 5-1 against Jacksonville State, all coming during regular season play in Atlanta. The most recent meeting came in 2000, with Tech winning, 10-2. The two schools also played in 1979, 1981, 1996, 1997 and 1998. The Yellow Jackets are 4-0 against the Gamecocks under head coach Danny Hall.
vs. TEXAS TECH
Georgia Tech is 0-1 against Texas Tech, with the Red Raiders winning, 8-4, in the 1996 Olive Garden Classic in Kissimmee, Fla. Should the Yellow Jackets and Red Raiders play during the 2004 NCAA Atlanta Regional, it would mark the first time Tech has played a Big XII team in Atlanta.
vs. MISSISSIPPI STATE
Georgia Tech is 3-10 against Mississippi State, including a 1-2 mark in NCAA Regional play. The last meeting came in the 1997 Mideast Regional when the Bulldogs won, 10-2, in an elimination game. The two schools also split a pair of games in the 1971 District III Playoffs in Gastonia, N.C. Mississippi State will be playing in Atlanta for the first time since 1927.
YELLOW JACKETS MAKE 19th NCAA APPEARANCE IN LAST 20 YEARS
Georgia Tech is making its 19th NCAA Regional appearance in the last 20 years this weekend at the NCAA Atlanta Regional. The Yellow Jackets have played in the NCAA tournament every year since 1985 with the exception of 1999, and Tech is making its 21st overall NCAA appearance.
Georgia Tech’s streak of 14 straight years in the NCAA Tournament, which ended in the spring of 1999, was the fourth-longest for a Division I team at the time. Miami owned the longest streak, having been invited for 27 consecutive years, followed by Florida State at 22 and Oklahoma State at 19.
But after missing out on the NCAA Tournament in 1999 for the first time in 15 years, the Yellow Jackets bounced back in 2000 with a 50-win season and an ACC Championship to return to the NCAA Regionals and Super Regionals in 2000. Tech returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2001 and then advanced to the College World Series in 2002. With regional appearances in 2003 and 2004, Tech has earned a berth in the NCAA Regionals 19 times in the last 20 years.
Prior to the recent streak, Tech had participated in the NCAA playoffs twice, in 1959 and 1971, with an additional play-in tournament appearance in 1948. Georgia Tech made its first trip to the College World Series in 1994, advancing to the championship game before losing to Oklahoma, 13-5. Tech returned to the College World Series for the second time in 2002.
Most NCAA Regional Appearances, Last 20 Years1. Florida State 20 Miami 203. GEORGIA TECH 19 Louisiana State 195. Clemson 18 Stanford 18 Texas 18
LEADING OFF … NEWS & NOTES ON THE YELLOW JACKETS
WEB GEMS: The Yellow Jackets are fielding .974 as a team in 2004, committing 61 errors in 60 games. Tech’s best fielding percentage since records were kept in the 1950’s is .968, which was accomplished by the 1994 team that played for the national championship and featured Nomar Garciaparra, Jason Varitek and Jay Payton. The Yellow Jackets have committed one error or less in 44 of 60 games, including 23 errorless games. In 23 conference games, Tech is fielding .981 (16 errors).
THE OFFENSE: After seeing the team batting average briefly drop below the .280 mark in early March, Tech has returned to its familiar ways of a potent offensive attack. The Yellow Jackets lead the ACC with a .319 team batting average, and Tech is averaging 8.9 runs per game. Tech has hit over .300 as a team in 19 of the last 21 years, and has averaged at least seven runs per game every year since 1981. Tech has led the ACC in batting in four years (1994, 1995, 2000, 2001) under Danny Hall.
BALANCED ATTACK: Georgia Tech’s offensive prowess can be largely attributed to a balanced attack that features a number of different contributors. The Yellow Jackets have six players with at least 40 RBI, and nine regulars and key reserves are batting over .300. Three of Tech’s everyday players are batting .330 or better.
SIX YELLOW JACKETS NAMED ALL-ACC
Georgia Tech’s Brandon Boggs, Micah Owings and Eric Patterson were named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference First Team, while Steven Blackwood, Andrew Kown and Clifton Remole were second-team selections. The ACC announced the All-ACC Baseball teams as voted on by the league’s nine head coaches.
Tech has three first-team selections for the first time since 2000 when a school-record five Yellow Jackets were named to the first team. Tech’s total of six all-ACC players is the most since 1998.
Patterson was a first-team all-ACC selection for the third consecutive year, joining Jason Varitek (1992-94) and Andy Bruce (1989-91) as the only players in Tech history to accomplish that feat. Patterson is the only player in Tech history to earn first-team All-ACC honors in each of his first three seasons.
