GAINESVILLE REGIONAL: A look at the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Thursday, May 31, 2012 | Baseball, Scott Carter
The Georgia Tech baseball team was the last to qualify for the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, sneaking into the tournament as the No. 8 seed. The Yellow Jackets ended up as the last team standing.
Georgia Tech became the first team to win the ACC title as a No. 8 seed, sweeping four games last weekend in Greensboro, N.C. The Yellow Jackets' unexpected run through the tournament earned them a No. 2 seed for the Gainesville Regional.
Georgia Tech faces College of Charleston on Friday afternoon at 1 at McKethan Stadium. The Yellow Jackets are no stranger to the NCAA Tournament – this is their 26th trip in 28 years.
Here is our final look at the out-of-town visitors in the Gainesville Regional:
GEOGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS
Record: 36-24
How they qualified: ACC Tournament champions
Head coach: Danny Hall (19th season) … Hall's 815 wins are most in Georgia Tech history … He became 46th Division I coach in history to reach 1,000 career wins earlier this season … Has led Yellow Jackets to only three CWS appearances in school history, including a runner-up finish in 1994, his first season …
Quote of note: “If we worry about what we're doing [and not the opponent], if we swing the bat like we did in the ACC tournament, and our pitchers give us a cushion, I think we've got a real good chance of coming out of that regional.” – Yellow Jackets 1B/P Jake Davies, named Louisville Slugger National Player of Week after going 7-for-16 with four home runs and 11 RBIs in ACC Tournament
Players to watch: Davies (.332, 13 HR, 69 RBI), RHP Buck Farmer (8-3, 3.43 ERA, 99 2/3 IP, 93 H, 34 BB, 110 SO), RHP Alex Cruz (7-3, 2.00, 67 2/3 IP, 44 H, 44 SO), OF Brandon Thomas (.352, 4, 41, 12 SB), 1B/OF Daniel Palka (.302, 12, 47)
Photo: Jake Farmer/Georgia Tech
Notable ex-players: Nomar Garciaparra, Jason Varitek, Mark Teixeira and Kevin Brown highlight a strong group of former Yellow Jackets to later play in the majors
NCAA Tournament record: 63-55
Fun fact: Since 1996, the Yellow Jackets have had 19 players reach the major leagues.
Need to know: This is first time Georgia Tech has opened NCAA Tournament outside of state of Georgia since 1998 (11 appearances); sent to Athens twice and opened at home nine times … This is second-lowest winning percentage (.600) a Tech team has entered tournament with in Hall's 19 seasons … Only Miami and Florida State (28) have more NCAA Tournament appearances than Georgia Tech since 1985 … In going 4-0 in the ACC Tournament, Georgia Tech hit .329 as a team, with seven homers, 13 doubles and a 35-15 run advantage … The Yellow Jackets are 3-4 all-time at McKethan Stadium … Cruz was a reserve middle infielder last season before joining the pitching staff; he leads the team with 29 appearances out of the bullpen.
