No. 24 @GTBaseball Hosts Georgia Tonight

April 14, 2015

>> No. 24 Georgia Tech, which has won seven of its last nine games, hosts Georgia Tuesday night looking to clinch the teams’ three-game season series. The game airs live on ESPN3, with radio coverage on WREK 91.1 FM in Atlanta. Live audio can also be accessed at RamblinWreck.com and via WREK on the TuneIn app.

>> Tuesday’s game is the 364th all-time meeting, with Georgia leading the series 201-160-2. In games played on the Flats, Tech leads 90-69-1. The Yellow Jackets have also had the upper-hand recently, having won four of the last five regular-season series. Under head coach Danny Hall, Tech is 43-32 vs. the Bulldogs.

>> Tech enters the week No. 11 in the RPI, and ranked in a pair of polls — 24th by Collegiate Baseball and 29th by the NCBWA. The Jackets’ schedule thus far is ranked 15th-toughest, and Tech is 14-11 versus Top 100 RPI teams.

>> The Jackets are 6-0 this season versus in-state opponents. Since 1999, Tech owns a 145-51 (.740) record against its in-state foes. In 22 years under Hall, Tech is 189-68 (.735) against teams from Georgia

>> Tech is outscoring opponents 57-20 over the final two innings plus extras. That includes a +24 margin in the eighth (34-10), +12 in the ninth (20-8) and +1 (3-2) in extra innings. 12 of Tech’s 24 wins are come-from-behind victories, including four when trailing in the eighth inning.

>> Tech is second in the ACC lead in fielding percentage (.976; 28th NCAA) and is third in double plays (36; 20th NCAA). Last season, the Jackets led the NCAA with 77 double plays and set school records for fielding (.973) and double plays. Since 2012, Tech has fielded .973 as a team and recorded the NCAA’s second-most double plays (229).

>> The Jackets have benefited from strong late-game work from sophomore right-handers Zac Ryan and Matthew Gorst. Ryan is already 5-1 with seven saves (two last week) and a team-leading ERA of 2.36. Ryan is tied for fourth in the ACC in wins, is tied for third in saves and tied for fourth in appearances (18). Gorst pitched a career-long 4.0 innings to get the win in Saturday’s 11-4 victory over No. 15 Virginia that evened the series.

>> Of Tech’s 323.2 innings pitched this season, 82 percent have come from freshmen or sophomores, which is the highest percentage of any team in the nation.

>> Senior A.J. Murray was 5-for-16 (.312) last week and extended his hitting streak to seven games. He led the team last week with five RBI and two home runs. His seven homers this season are a career-high, and his 34 RBI are one shy of a career-high 35 that came in 2013. In Murray’s career, he’s scored 103 runs and driven in 103 runs.

>> Tech is 17-1 this season when scoring first; 8-2 in one-run games; 7-7 versus ranked team. Sophomore RHP Brandon Gold is 4-0 in series rubber-games — all coming in ACC victories over Notre Dame, Duke, Virginia Tech and Virginia. As a team, the Jackets are 6-1 this season in weekend rubber-games (4-1 in ACC play).