Yellow Jacked Up
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Georgia Tech Baseball: Jackets in need of another big week

By Dylan Callaghan-Croley

4 Mar 1998: A general view of a baseball laying in a glove on the grass during an Arizona Diamondbacks spring training game against the Chicago Cubs at Hohkam Stadium in Mesa, Arizona. The Diamondbacks defeated the Cubs 9-8.
4 Mar 1998: A general view of a baseball laying in a glove on the grass during an Arizona Diamondbacks spring training game against the Chicago Cubs at Hohkam Stadium in Mesa, Arizona. The Diamondbacks defeated the Cubs 9-8. /
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Georgia Tech went 3-1 this past week at home against Georgia Southern and Virginia but will need another big week, this time on the road.

Georgia Tech needed a big week last week and luckily the Jackets found themselves at home during a four game homestand. The Jackets had a mid-week showdown against Georgia Southern before their first ACC series at Russ Chandler in 2019. The Jackets ended up getting the job done this past week, collecting a 3-1 record over the week with their lone loss coming in a one-run loss last Friday to the Cavaliers.

With the quality week, the Jackets have improved their record to 13-7 on the season but there is still work to be done. The Jackets 13-7 record puts them in the middle of the pack in the ACC while their 3-3 ACC record has them in a five-way tie for third place, of course, teams will start pulling away from each other as the season goes on. That being said, Danny Hall’s squad must make sure they’re one of those teams pulling away and not being left in the dust of the others.

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This week, the Jackets will take on Mercer on Tuesday evening in Macon and will start a three-game series against Louisville on the road, Friday night. The Mercer Bears entering Tuesday have an 11-10 record and are 3-7 over their last 10 games. That being said, the Bears have been a quality tea at home this season with a 10-6 overall record. Additionally, six of those last 10 games for the Bears have come against two of the better teams in the country in Florida State (14-4) and Indiana State (16-1).

Out of the Bears first 21 games, they’ve placed in 7 games against Quadrant 1 opponents according to Warren Nolan. In those 7 games, they’re 0-7, meaning in their other 14 games, they are 11-3 on the season. The Jackets entering Tuesday are ranked 64th in RPI, putting them in the second quadrant. Based off on RPI alone, Tuesday’s game won’t be an easy win for the Jackets by any means.

On Friday, the Jackets will travel to Louisville to take on the 16-4 Cardinals who are now ranked 16th in the country. The Cardinals ranked 11th in RPI are as good as their record indicates and are coming off a great week with five wins. The Cardinals took down a top-25 Ole Miss program twice before sweeping Duke over the weekend. The Blue Devils are off to a similar start to the Yellow Jackets with a 12-8 record so far this season.

The weekend matchup against Louisville will be a big early season series for the Yellow Jackets. Louisville is tied with NC State atop of the ACC standings with a 5-1 record and a weekend sweep for the Cardinals would be disastrous for the Jackets. The Jackets at 3-3 need to win at least one game of the three-game series this week to stay within striking distance of the top of the ACC standings.

With three of their next four ACC series against programs that are in similar situations as the Yellow Jackets, the Jackets staying afloat with a strong week could be huge when it comes to trying to pull away from the pack later in the season.  Additionally, another strong week including a win or two against Louisville could help the Jackets later in the season if they’re fighting for an NCAA Tournament spot.

In summary, this week for Georgia Tech will have big implications later on this season. The Jackets are in the middle of the pack in the ACC and will face off against similar teams over the course of the next month. If the Jackets can have a quality week and stay afloat both with their overall record and they’re ACC record, the Jackets efforts this week could pay off big time down the road.