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Georgia Tech Baseball: Jackets Set to Take On Tough Ohio State Team

By Dylan Callaghan-Croley

OMAHA, NE - JUNE 26: A general view of a baseball on the field during batting practice before game one of the College World Series Championship Series between the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Oregon State Beavers on June 26, 2018 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images)
OMAHA, NE - JUNE 26: A general view of a baseball on the field during batting practice before game one of the College World Series Championship Series between the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Oregon State Beavers on June 26, 2018 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images) /
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After collecting a 3-1 record in their first week of play, the Georgia Tech baseball team returns to action on Friday night for a three-game series against the Big Ten’s Ohio State Buckeyes.

After a quality first week, Georgia Tech baseball will be taking a step up in their competition level. The Jackets enter this week with a 3-1 record after defeating Georgia Southern on Tuesday night. Despite the positive overall record, the Jackets tumbled in the RPI after the first weekend of play, falling all the way from 62 to 142.

With that, the Yellow Jackets will be looking for an early-season resume booster against the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Buckeyes enter this week 2-1 on the season after taking two of three last weekend at the Snowbird Classic. The Buckeyes are currently sitting in the top-100 in RPI, coming in at No.87.

Georgia Tech Since Feb. 14:

  • 6-0 win over St. Peter’s
  • 6-4 win over Cincinnati
  • 11-1 loss to St. John’s
  • 4-3 win over Georgia Southern

This past week, the Georgia Tech baseball team went 3-1 with wins over St. Peter’s, Cincinnati, and Georgia Southern. The Jackets lone loss of the weekend came in a 11-1 loss drubbing to St. John’s on Sunday.

The Yellow Jackets pitching outside of the loss to St. John’s has been solid through the first week. In their other three games this season, they’ve allowed a total of seven runs and pitched a combined shutout last weekend against St. Peter’s.

While the pitching has been solid, especially out of the bullpen, the Yellow Jackets at the plate have struggled at times. While they are hitting .260 as a team, they’ve only scored 17 runs through their first four games, an average 4.25 runs per game. It’s still early in the season, but they’ll need to find a ways to push across more runs as the season goes on.

Ohio State Since Feb. 14:

The Buckeyes traveled down to Port Charlotte, Florida last weekend for three games. The Jackets took on St. Joseph’s, Pittsburgh, and Indiana State.

After losing their season opener to St. Joseph’s 7-3, the Buckeyes picked up two big wins against Pittsburgh (4-1) and Indiana State (10-6), the second coming in extra innings.

The Buckeyes didn’t hit all that well in their opening weekend, hitting .223 as a team while their on-base percentage is a bit more respectable at .362. Strikeouts were a major issue for the Buckeyes, striking out 36 times in 103 at-bats.

While their hitting struggled for the most part, they’re pitching staff put together a great effort. Opposing hitters hit just .234/.328/.327 off the Buckeyes last weekend and were only able to manage 10 runs. The Buckeyes only allowed four extra base hits overall but three of those were long balls, which will be something to watch this weekend. All in all, the Buckeyes pitching staff enters this weekend with a team ERA of 2.57 over 28 innings with 44 strikeouts while walking just 12.

Projected Starters:

Below are the projected starters for this weekend according to Ohio State’s game notes for the weekend.

Friday: RHP Jonathan Hughes (1-0, 1.80 ERA, 2 K) vs RHP Garrett Burhenn (0-1, 5.40 ERA, 5 K, 2 BB)

Hughes got the start last Saturday against the Cincinnati Bearcats for the Yellow Jackets and pitched extremely well in his is five innings of work.

Saturday: RHP Cort Roedig (0-1, 9.82 ERA, 6 K, 2 BB) vs LHP Seth Lonsway (1-0, 1.50 ERA, 12 K, 4 BB)

Roedig started against St. John’s last weekend was batted around pretty hard against the Red Storm, allowing four earned runs and six total in 3.2 innings of work. The Yellow Jackets will need a big bounce back effort out of him on Saturday.

Sunday: RHP Zach Maxwell (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 5 K, 4 BB) vs LHP Griffan Smith (0-0, 3.00 ERA, 3.0 IP, 4 K)

The true freshman was the Yellow Jackets opening day starter last week against St. Peter’s. After a shaky first inning in which he loaded the bases, Maxwell really settled down and looked like the pitcher the Yellow Jackets recruited him to be. His next challenge, however, will be a bit tougher with the Buckeyes.

Georgia Tech Players to Watch:

  • OF Michael Guldberg – The junior outfielder was the definition of a hard out over the Jackets first four games as he boasts a batting average of .571 entering the weekend. He’s collected eight hits and three walks so far this season. He’s reached base in nine of his 14 plate appearances this season.
  • 3B Jackson Webb – The senior is hitting .300 on the season so far and has driven in three, he’ll look to continue being a hot hand this weekend.

Ohio State Players to Watch:

  • INF Zach Dezenzo – Dezenzo was solid at the plate for the Buckeyes through their first three games, hitting .417 over the opening weekend. He picked up five hits including two doubles while also knocking in two walks. In total, he’s reached base in seven of his 14 plate appearances.
  •  Catcher Dillon Dingler – Dingler is off to a hot start at the plate, hitting .364/.429/.636. In his 11 at bats this season, he’s totaled four hits including one double and one triple. His three RBI is second on the Buckeyes.

Greg Beals Faces Former Coach in Danny Hall:

One of the cooler things about this weekend’s series between the Jackets and the Buckeyes is the fact that Ohio State head coach Greg Beals will be facing his college coach in Danny Hall. Beals played for the Kent State Flashes from 1989 to 1991. Hall was the head coach at Kent State from 1988 to 1993 prior to coming to Georgia Tech in 1994.

Fans can watch or listen to all of this weekend’s games by watching ACC Network Extra or by listening to the WRECK 91.1 FM.