At the start of each week throughout the regular season, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will take a closer look at the Georgia Tech baseball team.
Here’s a breakdown of the Yellow Jackets (22-12, 7-8 ACC) going into the ninth week of the campaign:
Record: 22-12, 7-8 ACC
Streak: Won two
Rank: N/A
RPI: 66
Last Week: (3-1)
Tuesday: beat Georgia Southern 5-4
Friday: lost to Virginia Tech 11-1
Saturday: beat Virginia Tech 19-0
Sunday: beat Virginia Tech 11-7
This Week
Tuesday: at Auburn, 7 p.m.
Friday: at Virginia, 6 p.m.
Saturday: at Virginia, 4 p.m.
Sunday: at Virginia, 1 p.m.
Week in review
Tech ended the weekend in emphatic fashion by taking the final two games of a three-game series from nationally-ranked Virginia Tech by a combined score of 30-7.
The Jackets won Saturday’s contest 19-0. They drew 19 walks, only had 11 hits and still left 12 on base in the rout. Cam Jones walked four times and scored a run at the plate while also pitching seven scoreless innings and striking out six batters.
Tech capped the series with an 11-7 victory Sunday, a game which it trailed 6-0 after two innings. The Jackets scored six in the fifth and then got a three-run homer from John Giesler in the sixth to take the lead for good.
On Tuesday, Tech scored four runs in the sixth and then held on in the ninth to top Georgia Southern 5-4 at Russ Chandler Stadium. On Friday, Virginia Tech eased to an 11-1 win thanks to 20 hits.
Sunday’s win by the Jackets gave Tech coach Danny Hall his 1,400 career coaching victory making him the 11th coach in Division I baseball history to reach that milestone.
Week ahead
It is a huge week for the Jackets as far as the push for the postseason is concerned.
Tech travels to Auburn for a 7 p.m. Tuesday affair. The Tigers are just 18-17 and 2-13 in SEC play, but have an RPI of 39 meaning a victory for the Jackets there would be a big boost to the resume.
The weekend schedule begins at 6 p.m. Friday in Charlottesville, Va., where Tech will face one of the ACC’s best teams. Virginia (28-8, 11-7 ACC) has an RPI of 9 and leads the conference in batting average, doubles, hits, on-base percentage and runs.
Tech goes into the week alone in third place in the ACC’s Coastal Division, but buried behind three teams (UVA, Duke, Virginia Tech) tied for second and first-place North Carolina (29-7, 14-4).
