Tech to face Miami for ACC baseball title
The Georgia Tech baseball team has one more hill to climb Sunday on an improbable ascent. The Yellow Jackets will play Miami for the ACC championship in Greensboro, N.C., eight days after their spot in the eight-team tournament was secured on the final day of the regular season.
The game will start at noon and will be carried on ESPN2.
The No. 8 seed, Tech upset top-seeded Florida State (the top-ranked team in the country) on Wednesday, beat No. 17 Virginia on Friday and then Clemson on Saturday behind six innings from Jake Davies, who limited the Tigers to two hits in the fourth pitching start of his career.
A team that entered the tournament on the NCAA tournament bubble, Tech can secure its ticket automatically by winning its first ACC title since 2005. The Jackets (35-24) are just the third No. 8 seed to reach the final.
“We didn’t have anything to lose,” Davies said. “Nobody expected us to do anything. We upset the No. 1 seed and then things just kind of fell into place.”
Davies has taken the lead role, hitting four home runs in three games, including a two-run shot in the first inning of Saturday’s game to give the Jackets a lead they never surrendered in their 5-1 win.
Davies is 5-for-11 in the three games with nine RBI and a slugging percentage of 1.636, not a bad addendum to his portfolio before the major league draft begins June 4.
“This is the best I’ve ever seen the ball,” Davies said. “I’m playing probably the best three games I’ve played in my career.”
Freshman Josh Heddinger, who demonstrated his big-game appetite earlier this season with two solid starts against Georgia, is expected to pitch for the Jackets against Miami. The sixth-seeded Hurricanes (36-20) took two of three from Tech on the final weekend of the season, though the three-game aggregate was 14-12 in Miami’s favor.
Including the win over the Hurricanes to secure the No. 8 seed, Tech has now won four games in a row over ACC opponents. Prior to that, the longest winning streak the Jackets put together against ACC competition this season was three games, and did that against Boston College and Duke, neither of which qualified for the tournament.
“Offensively, that’s really what we should have been doing all season,” Davies said. “You know what? You get hot at the right time. That’s what this thing’s about.”
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302 comments Add your comment
5150 UOAD
May 27th, 2012
1:51 pm
GREAT………….1.2.3.
Now we get to hear MORRIS…………..I hope we make him CRY during the interview like Oprah does her guests. LOL
5150 UOAD
May 27th, 2012
1:55 pm
MORRIS looks like he wanted to CRY after that play at first on the bunt. LMMFAO
Supersize that order, mutt
May 27th, 2012
1:57 pm
hard to believe it’s still only the 5th inning. This game is gonna last as long as the NC State game last nigh
5150 UOAD
May 27th, 2012
1:57 pm
Good BUNT. nice
5150 UOAD
May 27th, 2012
1:58 pm
Super you finish watching th UNC v NCSU game?
DAMN that hurt. needed a FLY ball at the minimum.
1 4 GT
May 27th, 2012
1:59 pm
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
5150 UOAD
May 27th, 2012
1:59 pm
That bad hit on the last at bat took the bat out of BABE Davies hands.
Supersize that order, mutt
May 27th, 2012
1:59 pm
UOAD, yes, I watched it all
Supersize that order, mutt
May 27th, 2012
1:59 pm
they were afraid to pitch to Davies
1 4 GT
May 27th, 2012
2:00 pm
Make ‘em pay Palka
5150 UOAD
May 27th, 2012
2:00 pm
throw it past the catcher
Supersize that order, mutt
May 27th, 2012
2:01 pm
This game would have ended already on the mercy rule, if we could have brought in half the guys we’ve had on base.
1 4 GT
May 27th, 2012
2:01 pm
durn
5150 UOAD
May 27th, 2012
2:02 pm
SUPER I did to. it was only Exciting because of what it meant to TECH. If I paid money to sit through that game i only got my monies worth because of the Hours it took to play the game. LOL
5150 UOAD
May 27th, 2012
2:04 pm
WAY WAY too many runners left on base for sure.
Supersize that order, mutt
May 27th, 2012
2:04 pm
UOAD, I can assure you I wouldn’t have watched any of it, if it had not been relevant to Tech
Robert the Yellow Jacket
May 27th, 2012
2:05 pm
We still have a good lead. Let’s not stress out over woulda shouldas.
I think we will still win and probably have a more exciting game as well.
Like that Mott comment, UOAD.
5150 UOAD
May 27th, 2012
2:05 pm
Should have tried to HIT the bat when he squared to bunt.
1 4 GT
May 27th, 2012
2:06 pm
these guys are bad as the Braves–nail biter–should be up by at least 6
5150 UOAD
May 27th, 2012
2:06 pm
DAMN a throw to the right side of the bag he is OUT
1 4 GT
May 27th, 2012
2:07 pm
GT pitchers stink today
5150 UOAD
May 27th, 2012
2:07 pm
what a STAB to get that ball
5150 UOAD
May 27th, 2012
2:08 pm
The Pitching has not been that bad. We have left too many runners on.
1 4 GT
May 27th, 2012
2:09 pm
damn I coulda made that play
Supersize that order, mutt
May 27th, 2012
2:09 pm
too damn many hoppers like that today
Biff Pocoroba
May 27th, 2012
2:10 pm
Miami can manufacture runs. Hall’s teams can’t bunt, steal, or run the bases well. They also can’t play defense. Tech has to sit back and wait for the home run which is why they fall apart against small schools with one good pitcher in the regionals. If Hall would ever try and just teach the basic fundamentals with the talent he brings in, he would get to Omaha every now and then.This is the second day in a row that he has tried to sit on a lead and it may cost him today.
Ol'JacketFan
May 27th, 2012
2:11 pm
Defense has been horrible today and after swinging the bats early now they look too complacent. Better wake up and gets serious abouth this game!
5150 UOAD
May 27th, 2012
2:11 pm
The Infield Dirt has had many funny bounces all Series long.
5150 UOAD
May 27th, 2012
2:12 pm
That pitch was WAY WAY outside called a strike
1 4 GT
May 27th, 2012
2:12 pm
too many base runners not scoring is right–pitchers too many balls–just barely better pitching than UM
Supersize that order, mutt
May 27th, 2012
2:12 pm
@ Biff…..I neither disagree nor agree with everything you said, but I WOULD say that it sure looks like they’ve been sitting on the lead. There just doesn’t seem to be any reason for some of those runners not to try to get home.
5150 UOAD
May 27th, 2012
2:13 pm
They are not going to hit balls out of the strike zone.
5150 UOAD
May 27th, 2012
2:15 pm
BIFF………..i saw where you called TECH dead the other day and that HALL would CHOKE! DID Tech and Hall Choke? NO. Please join WnE in the haters PIT OF HELL.
1 4 GT
May 27th, 2012
2:16 pm
WHEW
Robert the Yellow Jacket
May 27th, 2012
2:19 pm
@Biff.
Are u the guy who played catcher for the Braves?
If I followed the team more maybe I would think like u.
But u do seem to see the negative even when things are going good.
When someone hates the coach and is ready to pounce on his mistakes, I begin to wonder whether such folks want their team to win anymore.
Whether they like losing better than winning so they can vent.
BLT
May 27th, 2012
2:19 pm
“Please join WnE in the haters PIT OF HELL.”
HAHA
5150 UOAD
May 27th, 2012
2:21 pm
DAMNIT
Supersize that order, mutt
May 27th, 2012
2:22 pm
Why don’t you go ahead and flush yourself, faker !!!
Supersize that order, mutt
May 27th, 2012
2:22 pm
Ken must not be monitoring now, since the faker got through again.
Ol'JacketFan
May 27th, 2012
2:22 pm
@Supersize, I looked at the blog on the Hall commitment and didn’t see anything from Weenie on there. Has he given up his harping on CPJ not being able to recruit??????
5150 UOAD
May 27th, 2012
2:22 pm
BLT it is the Level Dante left out of “Inferno”.
Supersize that order, mutt
May 27th, 2012
2:24 pm
@ Ol’JacketFan……he attempted some posts within the past hour or so and complained that most of what he had posted had been blocked.
5150 UOAD
May 27th, 2012
2:25 pm
I like it…………….runner on 2nd……………
Ol'JacketFan
May 27th, 2012
2:26 pm
LOL! So Carvell’s not lefting his drivel get through??? Couldn’t happen to a better person!
Supersize that order, mutt
May 27th, 2012
2:27 pm
yeah, OJF…..if that’s what is happening, Carvell just went up in my opinion. lol
5150 UOAD
May 27th, 2012
2:28 pm
I think WnE & Thomas Brown are at the mall putting stuff on their Wedding registry. Headly Lemar is helping
1 4 GT
May 27th, 2012
2:28 pm
OLJ—-I’ll believe gollum gave up when I read his obituary
Robert the Yellow Jacket
May 27th, 2012
2:28 pm
Can’t help but be excited about football next year and years after.
Wouldn’t mind if Jabari wins linebacker job or at least more playing time. I especially like finally adding a special team coach. I see he has already provided a bonus in Ohio running back who sounds pretty good.
5150 UOAD
May 27th, 2012
2:29 pm
Yea 151 post like my Kick’n Chicken in my glass. LOL
Ol'JacketFan
May 27th, 2012
2:29 pm
I would much rather see hit and run than give up an out with a bunt.