Pack the Park: No. 18 Baseball Hosts Duke in Coastal Clash

March 31, 2016

LEADING OFF: STORYLINES TO KNOW

1. Georgia Tech is ranked all six college baseball polls for the first time this season. The Yellow Jackets made their season debut in both D1Baseball and Perfect Game.
2. Georgia Tech’s Friday night starter Brandon Gold has been golden in his last two starts on the mound. The junior from Alpharetta is 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA and 14 strikeouts, posting victories over ACC Coastal Division rivals Virginia Tech and North Carolina.
3. Georgia Tech has won four straight home ACC series after sweeping Virginia Tech in March. The Yellow Jackets are 9-3 in their last 12 home ACC games.
4. Through 24 games, the Yellow Jackets lead Division I in both double plays (40) and double plays per game (1.67).
5. Senior 3B/LF Matt Gonzalez leads NCAA Division I active players with 18 career sacrifice flies and 248 career hits.
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 5 of Tech’s 8 saves. Gorst owns a 0.59 ERA, allowing one earned run and just nine baserunners with 22 strikeouts in 15.1 innings.
8. Georgia Tech has used 20 different lineups in the first 23 games. Only 2B Wade Bailey and SS Connor Justus have started every game at the same position.
9. Georgia Tech is 24-4 in its last 28 home games, dating back to the 2015 season. Tech was 10-3 in its final 13 home games of 2015.
10. Sophomore RF Kel Johnson is currently on a career-best 19-game hitting streak. During his current streak, Johnson is batting .411 with 4 home runs and 21 RBI.

SERIES HISTORY
• Georgia Tech leads the series 90-33
• Streak: Georgia Tech, 1 win
• GT vs. Duke in Atlanta: 49-14
• Last Meeting: March 15, 2015 at Duke (W, 4-0)
• Danny Hall vs. Duke: 58-38
• GT in Last 5 Meetings: 3-2
• GT in Last 10 Meetings: 7-3

…(TURN) TWO IF BY JUSTUS AND BAILEY
• While Georgia Tech leads the nation with 40 double plays, it’s been 2B Wade Bailey and SS Connor Justus involved in most of them. Bailey and Justus have combined to turn 23 of Tech’s 40 double plays. Either Bailey or Connor has been involved in 37 of Tech’s 40 double plays.

HOME IN ACC PLAY
• Georgia Tech has won four straight home ACC series after sweeping Virginia Tech in March. The Yellow Jackets are 9-3 in their last 12 home ACC games.
• Tech has also won 10 of its last 12 home ACC series, including a home sweep of Duke in April 2014.

GOLD-EN
• Georgia Tech’s Friday night starter Brandon Gold has been golden in his last two starts on the mound. The junior from Alpharetta is 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA and 14 strikeouts, posting victories over ACC Coastal Division rivals Virginia Tech and North Carolina.
• Through his first four starts this season, Gold was 1-1 with a 2.35 ERA and two no-decisions.
• Gold is 3-1 with a 2.17 ERA and a nearly 5:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (36 K, 8 BB) in 37.1 innings.

SHOULDERING THE BURTON
• Freshman RHP Burton Dulaney has become the perfect set-up man on the Georgia Tech pitching staff. Dulaney (1-1, 2 saves) leads the pitching staff with a 2.11 ERA in 21.1 innings.
• Dulaney has been sensational in his last five relief appearances, allowing one earned run with 15 strikeouts in 13.1 innings. In Dulaney’s last two appearances, he has earned the save, while allowing only two baserunners with 10 strikeouts in 7.0 innings of work.

JACKETS’ OWN “BASH BROTHERS”
• Georgia Tech’s version of the “Bash Brothers” – senior 3B/LF Matt Gonzalez and junior RF Kel Johnson – have combined for 25 extra-base hits, 9 home runs and 51 RBI with a combined .379 batting average in 24 games.
• Johnson ranks second on the team in batting average (.380) and on-base percentage (.447), while leading the Jackets in slugging percentage (.652). Gonzalez ranks third in both average (.379) and slugging (.573) but leads the Jackets in hits (39).

DOUBLE TROUBLE
• Through 24 games, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets lead Division I in both double plays (40) and double plays per game (1.67). Tech is one of only four Division I teams with 30+ double plays this season.
• On the offensive side, the Jackets ranked 9th nationally in doubles (58) and 10th in doubles per game (2.42). Tech leads the ACC in both categories.

STREAKIN’
• Sophomore RF Kel Johnson is currently on a career-best 19-game hitting streak. During his current streak, Johnson is batting .411 (30-of-73) with 12 extra-base hits, 4 home runs and 21 RBI. Johnson’s streak began Feb. 26 vs. UMBC with a 1-for-4 performance.
• Johnson has recorded at least one hit in 21 of 23 games this season. He extended his hit streak on his last at bat Wednesday vs. Georgia Southern with a solo home run to right-center.

BATTLE-TESTED
• Georgia Tech’s freshmen pitchers have played an important role in the Yellow Jackets’ 19-5 start. Georgia Tech’s eight freshmen hurlers – Micah Carpenter (1-0, 2.61 ERA), Bailey Combs (0-0, 0.00), Burton Dulaney (1-1, 2 Sv, 2.11), Bobby Gauvreau (0-0, 10.12), Keyton Gibson (2-1, 4.02), Jonathan Hughes (3-1, 2.45), Jake Lee (1-0, 1 Sv, 6.75), and Robert Winborne (0-0, 0.00) – have accounted for 8 of Tech’s 19 wins.
• Tech’s eight freshmen are a combined 8-3 with a 2.92 ERA in 98.2 innings.

THE CLOSER
• Junior Matthew Gorst has solidified his role as Georgia Tech’s closer. The Alpharetta, Ga., native has recorded 5 of Tech’s 8 save opportunities. Gorst owns a 0.59 ERA, allowing one earned run and just nine baserunners with 22 strikeouts in 15.1 innings.
• Gorst owns an 11:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (22 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.

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