ATLANTA (Feb. 23) – Georgia Tech’s top-ranked baseball team lost its All-America third baseman Mark Teixeira for six to eight weeks due to a broken right ankle on Feb. 23. He suffered the injury in an outfield collision during the second inning of the Yellow Jackets’ 18-7 win over Elon College at Russ Chandler Stadium.
Teixeira, the 2000 National Player of the Year, collided with left fielder Matthew Boggs as the two players and shortstop Victor Menocal converged on a pop fly in shallow left field. Menocal caught the ball, but Teixeira tumbled over Boggs as Boggs dove for the ball. He required assistance to leave the field, and x-rays taken on the ankle at the Student Health Center revealed the break.
Teixeira will undergo surgery on the ankle Tuesday, and will be in a cast for six weeks. With a minimum of two weeks of rehabilitation, he is not expected to return before May 1.
“We’re probably looking at May,” said Tech head coach Danny Hall. “He handled it great. He’s a great kid, and he’ll bounce back and be as good as new. The team has to rally and hold the fort until he gets back.”
Junior college tranfer Brian Jackson, whom Hall had hoped to redshirt, will replace Teixeira at third base until he returns. On Friday, Jackson entered the game in the second inning and went 3-for-4 with a double, RBI and two runs scored.
