Tech Baseball to Host Georgia Southern for Two Midweek Games

Jackets and Eagles play at 6 p.m. Tuesday and 4 p.m. Wednesday.

April 19, 2010

Live Stats: RamblinWreck.com
Live Audio: WREK 91.1 FM
Twitter Updates: twitter.com/gt_baseball
Promotions:
Tuesday - $2 Tuesdays; Tickets and concessions for just two dollars.
Wednesday - Free Georgia Tech baseball cards for the first 250 fans.

ATLANTA - Coming off a series sweep of No. 16 Clemson, the third-ranked Georgia Tech baseball team (31-5, 15-3 ACC) will host Georgia Southern (21-15, 12-6 SoCon) for a two-game midweek series beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday and 4 p.m. Wednesday at Russ Chandler Stadium.

PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS:
Tuesday, April 20 (6 p.m.) - Russ Chandler Stadium
Georgia Tech - Mark Pope, So., RHP (5-0, 4.35 ERA, 44 K's)
Georgia Southern - Matt Murray, So., RHP (3-1, 6.15 ERA, 47 K's)

Wednesday, April 21 (4 p.m.) - Russ Chandler Stadium
Georgia Tech - Buck Farmer, Fr., RHP (3-1, 2.86 ERA, 24 K's)
Georgia Southern - Justin Hess, Fr., RHP (0-0, 3.86 ERA, 17 K's)

BROADCAST INFORMATION
The GT radio broadcast can be heard over the air on WREK (91.1), the flagship station of Georgia Tech baseball, and online at RamblinWreck.com. The games can also be heard online, free of charge at www.ramblinwreck.com.

Be sure to tune into the pre-game show 15 minutes before every game as play-by-play commentator Kyle Tait will preview the matchup.

SERIES PREVIEW

No. 3 Georgia Tech is coming off a three-game sweep of No. 16 Clemson in conference play over the weekend ... The Jackets have won nine of their last 11 games, and will look improve on an 8-1 record against in-state opponents when they face Georgia Southern Tuesday ... Tech won two games against the Eagles in Statesboro, Ga. back on Feb. 23 and 24.

The Jackets are ranked as high as No. 3 in three different polls this week (ESPN/USA Today Coaches', Collegiate Baseball and NCBWA).

Georgia Southern is currently riding a six-game win streak after a three-game sweep of Samford in Southern Conference action over the weekend ... The Eagles return 17 letterwinners from a 2009 team that finished with a 42-17 record (20-8 in conference play), won the SoCon tournament, and reached the NCAA Fullerton Regional.

SERIES HISTORY

Georgia Tech holds an 84-27 lead in the all-time series between the two schools, having won nine of the last 11 contests ... The Jackets are 46-14 in games played at home, and 52-15 against the Eagles since head coach Danny Hall's arrival in 1994.

Last Meeting:
Georgia Tech won both games at J.I Clements Stadium in Statesboro on Feb. 23 and 24. The Jackets shutout the Eagles, 10-0, in game one behind strong pitching from Mark Pope and Luke Bard, before scoring three runs in the ninth en route to an 8-5 victory in game two.

UP NEXT
The Jackets will remain at home to host No. 20 Virginia Tech in a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series over the weekend.

QUICK NOTES

GT holds the best record in the conference at 31-5, and leads the ACC in hitting (.342), while second in pitching (3.52 ERA)

Tech's starting pitchers are 23-4, and have combined for 215 strikeouts in 217.0 innings. Deck McGuire leads the way with 68 strikeouts, the second most in the conference.

McGuire ranks in the top five in the conference in five different categories: wins (5, T-2nd), Innings pitched (66.2, 1st), strikeouts (68, 2nd), Opponent batting average (.221, 4th) and complete games (2, 1st).

Tech has four starting pitchers in the ACC with at least five wins (Jed Bradley, Brandon Cumpton, McGuire and Mark Pope). No other team in the conference has more than two pitchers with at least five wins. Cumpton's six wins are tied for the conference lead.

The Tech bullpen is 8-1 on the year, and 6-for-6 in save opportunities.

Senior Andrew Robinson has allowed just three runs (two earned) in 16 appearances out of the bullpen (21.2 innings) ... He is 4-0 on the year and has recorded three saves.

Sophomore Mark Pope is 5-0 as Tech's midweek starter ... He has struck out 44 batters and walked just three hitters in six starts.

The Jackets have recorded five shutouts on the year, three shy of trying the school record of eight - held by the 1906, 1971 and 1997 teams. The five shutouts lead the conference.

The Jackets have scored double digit runs 17 times this season, and are third in the nation in scoring at 10.3 runs per game.

Tech has hit a conference-leading 80 home runs this season, an average of 2.2 per game. It is the second most homers in the nation. Seven different players have gone yard at least five times, and four at least 10.

The Jackets have homered in 15 straight games, and 23 of their last 24. Tech has only had four games this season in which it didn't go deep. Senior Tony Plagman is second in the ACC with 13 round-trippers this season.

Plagman leads the conference in total bases (105), while his 47 RBI are the third most.

Junior Derek Dietrich has started 156 consecutive games at shortstop, every game of his career.

Sophomore Matt Skole the ACC in slugging percentage (.741), as Plagman (.734) ranks second.

Senior outfielder Jay Dantzler has missed 18 games due to a fractured wrist ... Junior right-handed pitcher Kevin Jacob (Tech's closer) has been out for over a month (March 13) with shoulder tendinitis.

GEORGIA TECH vs. IN-STATE OPPONENTS

The state championships of college baseball in Georgia continue this week, when Tech plays its 10 and 11th games against an in-state opponent this season.

Georgia Tech went 8-4 against teams from the state of Georgia in 2009 and has posted an 8-1 mark against in-state foes in 2010. The Jackets have won two against Georgia Southern, two against Mercer, two against Georgia, one against Georgia State, and one against Kennesaw State. Tech's only loss came at Kennesaw State on March 31.

Tech has a total of 13 regular season games on the schedule against schools from Georgia this season.

Since 1999, the Yellow Jackets own a 106-34 (.757) record against its in-state foes. In 17 years under head coach Danny Hall, Tech is 150-51 (.746) against teams from Georgia.

APRIL 24 GAME TIME CHANGE
Georgia Tech Baseball's April 24 game against Virginia Tech at Russ Chandler Stadium, originally scheduled for a 6 p.m. start, will begin at 4 p.m.

Because of the football T-Day game at 12:30 p.m., the game has been moved up to 4 p.m. to give fans the opportunity to remain on campus.

"SPRING BASEBALL CLASSIC FOR KIDS"

On April 27 at 7 p.m., Georgia Tech and Georgia will meet at Turner Field for the eighth consecutive year in the annual "Spring Baseball Classic for Kids."

All tickets are $12 with proceeds benefitting Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and its Brain and Spinal Cord Tumor Program.

The game has raised more than $200,000 annually for the not-for-profit pediatric healthcare system. Since 2004, there have been more than 20,000 tickets sold annually for each game.

PLAGMAN NAMED FINALIST FOR LOWE'S SENIOR CLASS AWARD

Georgia Tech senior first baseman Tony Plagman has been named one of 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for baseball.

The 10 names have been placed on the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award baseball ballot for a nationwide vote that concludes May 31. Fan balloting, available on the award's official website, www.seniorclassaward.com, will be combined with votes from coaches, media and sponsors to determine the recipient of the award. Fans can also vote by texting B9 to 74567 on their cell phones.

Plagman is currently batting .385 with 13 home runs and 47 RBI, and has helped the fifth-ranked Yellow Jackets to a 27-5 start this season. The Alpharetta, Ga. native has started at first base all four years on the Flats, having played in 205 career games.

TECH ON RECORD PACE FOR HOME RUNS
Through 36 games this season, Georgia Tech has belted 80 home runs, an average of 2.2 per game. If power numbers remain, the Jackets are on pace to hit 122 by the end of the regular season. The record for most home runs in a season is 119, set in 1987.

In 2009, the Jackets hit the second most home runs in school history. Tech belted 111 homers, the most since Hall's arrival in 1994.

Last season's 111 home runs were the third most in the nation.