Georgia Tech’s offensive juggernaut meets Florida State’s top-ranked pitching staff in a must-see clash of ACC titans. Can the Seminoles contain the Yellow Jackets' powerful bats?
Baseball is a game where history and heroes are made, and Atlanta, Georgia, has been ground zero for history in the making this season. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are playing before packed houses and have launched a hitting barrage throughout the ACC.
For the first time in school history, the Yellow Jackets three-game series with No. 5 Florida State (24-8, 9-3 ACC) is sold out.
Georgia Tech (25-7, 12-3) is ranked No. 3 in the country and is one of the top offensive teams in college baseball.
The Yellow Jackets lead the ACC with .359 team batting average and average a whopping 11 runs per game, and will present a huge challenge to the pitching rotation of the Seminoles.
Over half of the starting lineup for Georgia Tech has logged 40 or more hits this season, and three rank among the top-10 hitters in the ACC for both power and average.
· Vahn Lackey: 48 hits, .414 BA, (No. 3 in ACC), 11 home runs (ninth in ACC), 42 RBI.
· Alex Hernandez: 43 hits, .387 BA, six home runs (eighth in ACC), 29 RBI.
· Ryan Zuckerman: .333 BA, 12 home runs (fifth in the ACC), 40 RBI.
On Tuesday, Georgia Tech reached its season average in runs per game by defeating Kennesaw State 11-4, on the strength of 10 hits and Kent Schmidt’s two home runs. The Yellow Jackets have pounded out double-digit hits in three of their last four games.
The Yellow Jackets will test those bats against a Florida State pitching staff that is a combined 13-1 on the season.
Wes Mendes, Thursday’s starter, is the leader on this staff. Mendes leads the ACC in ERA (1.97), and ranks among the top-four opponents’ batting average (.188), strikeouts (65), and wins, with six.
The Seminoles have struggled at the plate, despite winning four consecutive ACC series. On Tuesday night, Florida State struck out 11 times against Florida and the Gators' elite pitching with major-league velocity.
Through 32 games, striking out seems to be a common result for Florida State, as they have suffered that fate almost 25 percent of the time. That dubious accomplishment ranks the Seminoles dead last in the ACC in that category. Catcher Hunter Carns leads the team with a .359 batting average.
Mendes and the Seminoles must have command and control of their pitches and of the strike zone to limit the offensive onslaught that is sure to be on full display on Thursday night in Atlanta.
How to Watch
Date: Thursday, April 9
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Location: Russ Chandler Stadium, Atlanta Georgia
TV: ACC Network
Radio: 100.7 FM WFLA
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