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No. 22 Baseball Looks to Rebound vs. Virginia Tech

March 17, 2016

GAMES 17-19: #22 GEORGIA TECH vs. VIRGINIA TECH
Friday, March 18 – Sunday, March 20 
// Russ Chandler Stadium // Atlanta, Ga.
First Pitch: 
7 p.m. (Fri), 4 p.m. (Sat), 1 p.m. (Sun) // TV: None // Radio: WREK 91.1 FM
Live Stats: Friday, Saturday, Sunday // Live Video: Friday, Saturday, Sunday
 GEORGIA TECH (12-4, 0-3)
 Last Game:
L, 3-14 vs. Auburn (March 15)
 Head Coach:
Danny Hall (Miami – Ohio, 1977)
 Career Record:
1,143-573-1 (29th year)
 Friday SP:
RHP Brandon Gold (1-1, 2.25 ERA, 22 K, 7 BB)
 Saturday SP:
RHP Zac Ryan (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 K, 1 BB)
 Sunday SP:
RHP Jonathan Hughes (3-1, 2.49 ERA, 9 K, 6 BB)
 VIRGINIA TECH (10-8, 1-2)
 Last Game:
L, 7-22 vs. Liberty (March 15)
 Head Coach:
Patrick Mason (Northwestern, 2007)
 Career Record:
58-66-1 (3rd year)
 Friday SP:
LHP Packy Naughton (2-1, 3.91 ERA, 26 K, 6 BB)
 Saturday SP:
LHP Kit Scheetz (3-0, 2.19 ERA, 17 K, 7 BB)
 Sunday SP:
LHP Jon Woodcock (1-3, 4.91 ERA, 15 K, 9 BB)
Games Notes // 2016 Information Guide // @GTBaseball on Twitter // Listen Live

LEADING OFF: STORYLINES TO KNOW

  1. Senior 3B/LF Matt Gonzalez ranks amongst the nation’s active career leaders in games played (t5th), at bats (2nd), hits (3rd) and sacrifice flies (1st).
  2. Georgia Tech is 16-6 in the first game of its ACC home opening series under head coach Danny Hall. The Jackets have won 18 of 22 ACC home opening series under Hall.
  3. Through 16 games, Georgia Tech leads the nation in both double plays turned (30) and double plays per game (1.88). Since 2012, the Yellow Jackets have turned 279 double plays – the second-highest total nationally during that span.
  4. Freshman C/DH Joey Bart leads the Yellow Jackets with a .412 batting average in the last five games. He has driven in a team-high eight RBI with three doubles during that span.
  5. Georgia Tech saw its 11-game home winning streak come to an end with a 14-3 loss to Auburn. Georgia Tech, which is 10-1 at home this season, has won 17 of its last 20 home games.
  6. Junior catcher Arden Pabst has thrown out 41 baserunners in three seasons behind the plate, throwing out runners 43 percent of the time.
  7. Matthew Gorst has recorded four saves. Gorst owns a 0.90 ERA, allowing one earned run and just eight baserunners with 16 strikeouts in 10.0 innings.
  8. Georgia Tech has used 16 different lineups to open the 2016 season. Only 2B Wade Bailey and SS Connor Justus have started every game at the same position.
  9. Brandon Gold and Tristin English have scored the game-winning runs in six of Tech’s 12 wins this season. Both have scored the winning run three times.
  10. Sophomore RF Kel Johnson is currently on a career-best 11-game hitting streak. Six of Johnson’s seven doubles this season have come during his current hit streak.

SERIES HISTORY
• Georgia Tech leads 26-15
• Streak: Georgia Tech, 1 win
• Home Record vs. VT: 16-8
• Last Meeting: April 5, 2015 (W, 7-6)
• Danny Hall vs. VT: 25-13
• GT in Last 5 Meetings: 3-2
• GT in Last 10 Meetings: 6-4

TECH IN ACC HOME OPENERS
• This weekend marks the fifth time Georgia Tech will face Virginia Tech in its ACC home opener. The Yellow Jackets have won 3 of the first 4 home series against the Hokies.
• Georgia Tech is 16-6 in the first game of its ACC home opening series under head coach Danny Hall.
• The Jackets have won 18 of 22 ACC home opening series under Hall.

STREAKIN’
• Sophomore RF Kel Johnson is currently on a career-best 11-game hitting streak. Johnson’s streak began Feb. 26 vs. UMBC with a 1-for-4 performance. His streak includes four multi-hit games, including a career-best four hits on March 4 vs. Western Carolina and two hits in three other games.
• Six of Johnson’s seven doubles this season have come during his current hit streak.

CH-CH-CHANGES
• Georgia Tech has used 16 different lineups to open the 2016 season. So far, head coach Danny Hall has used eight different combinations in the infield and 12 more in the outfield.
• Only three players have started every game for the Jackets – Wade Bailey, Connor Justus and Matt Gonzalez. Bailey and Justus are the only players to start in the same position in all 16 games.

HOME, SWEET HOME
• Georgia Tech saw its 11-game home winning streak come to an end with a 14-3 loss to Auburn.
• Georgia Tech, which is 10-1 at home this season, has won 17 of its last 20 home games.
• The Jackets went 9-6 at home in ACC play and after posting a 10-5 home ACC mark in 2014.

BAPTISM BY FIRE
• Georgia Tech’s freshman pitching staff began the season with an impressive ERA hovering around 1.00 through the first 12 games. Since then, their ERA has skyrocketed after games against Florida State and Auburn.
• However, the experience is crucial for the Jackets’ success. Through 16 games, Tech’s freshmen are 6-2 with 3.43 ERA and one save in 76.0 innings.
• Sunday starter Jonathan Hughes (3-1) has thrown the most innings (21.2 IP) among Tech freshmen. Burton Dulaney (1-1) ranks second with 14.1 innings pitched.
Robert Winborne (5.2 IP) and Bailey Combs (1.0 IP) have yet to allow an earned run in 2016.

THE CLOSER
• Junior Matthew Gorst has already quadrupled his career saves output in 2016. Gorst has recorded four of Tech’s five save opportunities. Gorst owns a 0.90 ERA, allowing one earned run and just eight baserunners with 16 strikeouts in 10.0 innings.
• Gorst owns an 8:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (16 K, 2 BB) this season. He had a career 1:1 ratio (48 K, 48 BB) in his first two seasons with the Yellow Jackets.

NICE WEEK, ROOK
• Freshman C/DH Joey Bart leads the Yellow Jackets with a .412 batting average in the last five games. He has driven in a team-high eight RBI with three doubles during that span.
• As the starting catcher March 8 at Auburn, Bart went 2-for-3 with a double and 3 RBI to lead the Jackets to a 4-1 road win. He drove in two more runs in Tech’s loss to the Tigers on March 15.
• In two games against the Seminoles, Bart went 4-for-9 with one double and 3 RBI. In Sunday’s loss at Florida State, Bart made his career-first start as the designated hitter and finished with a career-high 3 hits and tied his career high with 3 RBI.

For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on Twitter (@GTBaseball), Facebook (facebook.com/GTbaseball) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.

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