Tigers Battle #7 Georgia Tech |
Georgia Tech was coasting through conference play prior to getting swept by Virginia last weekend. Virginia's sweep has created a log jam at the top of the conference with four teams within reach of the conference title. For Clemson, Miami, Georgia Tech, and North Carolina, every game in the conference becomes that more important. The two teams that finish at the top of conference will put themselves in excellent shape to host a regional, and depending on how things shake out across the country third place may even have a shot.
Head Coach Jack Leggett understands the situation, and he also knows he has a very young team that is about to play the most important series of the season. The team picked up two wins in the mid-week over Elon and Wofford, while the Yellow Jackets lost to Georgia 11-8 and had another matchup with the Bulldogs rained out. Georgia Tech leads the ACC in batting average and runs scored. Jeremy Slayden is the team's power leader with 10 home runs. South Carolina native Matt Wieters leads the Jackets with a .409 batting average, and he is hitting .522 in ACC play. Clemson has changed its rotation for the weekend. Stephen Faris will make the start Friday night. Faris is now second in the ACC with an 1.20 ERA. He will be making his first weekend start of the year. In his last two starts, Faris has went the distance for the Tigers. Robert Rohrbaugh will look to bounce back from consecutive losses on Saturday, and Kris Harvey will get the start on Sunday. Georgia Tech will counter Friday night with sophomore lefthander Lee Hyde (5-2, 4.14 ERA) on the mound Friday. The Fayetteville, GA native has made 11 starts for a total of 58.2 innings pitched. He has allowed 66 hits and 24 walks while striking out 52. Saturday, the Yellow Jackets will send out sophomore righty Blake Wood (7-1, 3.39 ERA) to the mound Saturday. The Suwanee, GA native has made 11 starts for a total of 61.0 innings pitched. He has allowed 67 hits and 17 walks with 40 strikeouts. Head Coach Danny Hall has not announced a starter for Sunday's matchup. Harvey is padding his home run lead. He hit home runs in both mid-week games to push his total to 16. Tyler Colvin will look to continue his 17-game hitting streak this weekend. The Tigers are .305 as a team, which is fourth in the conference. They are also hitting .336 with runners in scoring position. Brad Chalk leads the Tigers with .365 batting average. The Yellow Jackets come in against the ropes, and the Tigers will look to finish them. It is going to take an exceptional team effort for the Tigers to win this series this weekend. Game times are Friday-7:15 pm, Saturday-7:00 pm, and Sunday 2:00 pm.
Upgrade Your Account
Unlock premium boards and exclusive features (e.g. ad-free) by upgrading your account today.
Upgrade Now
