The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jackets suffer a rough weekend against rival Dogs
Looking for a bright spot? Burress parks 4 homers in one game.
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 (7-3) going into the third week of the campaign:
Record: 7-3, 0-0 ACC. Streak: Lost 2. Last week (1-2): Tuesday, beat Georgia State 10-0; Saturday, lost to Georgia 3-1; Sunday, lost to Georgia 11-9.
This week: Today, vs. Northeastern, 4 p.m.; Friday, vs. Youngstown State, 4 p.m.; Saturday, vs. Youngstown State, 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. (DH); Sunday, vs. Youngstown State, 1 p.m.
Week in review: Tech has dropped 3 of 4 after a disastrous Sunday at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville. The Jackets led rival Georgia 9-3 after six innings only to surrender five runs in the seventh and three more in the ninth to lose 11-9. Tech’s bullpen was touched for nine earned runs on nine hits and five walks.
That defeat followed a 3-1 setback Saturday in Athens. Tech left 10 men on base and went 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position while the Tech bullpen gave up single runs in the seventh and eighth. Tech starter Aeden Finateri (2-0) shined again, however, by allowing just one earned run over six innings. The junior righty has a 1.06 ERA with 21 strikeouts over 17 innings this season.
Tech very likely would have been swept in the three-game series if Friday’s game had not been called in the fifth inning due to inclement weather, with the Yellow Jackets trailing 9-3.
The Jackets started the week with a 10-0 victory at home over Georgia State, including a record four home runs by freshman center fielder Drew Burress.
Week ahead: Northeastern (5-3) comes to town today. The barnstorming Huskies, who don’t play a home game until March 12, took two of three at Mercer over the weekend. Northeastern, out of the Coastal Athletic Conference, went 44-16 a season ago and played in the Winston-Salem Regional where the Huskies went 0-2.
Youngstown State comes to Atlanta for a four-game weekend series. The Penguins are 0-9 and play at Ohio today before coming to Russ Chandler Stadium. Youngstown is coming off a 19-36 season.
The big picture: Tech has an unofficial RPI of 84 (according to warrennolan.com) and its four upcoming games against Youngstown State (286) won’t boost the resume. Tech also travels to Mercer (119) on March 12 before beginning ACC play.
The Jackets’ offense, traditionally a strength, ranks toward the bottom among ACC teams in average (.298), hits (102) and runs (86). Burress is a bright spot with his nation-leading nine home runs.