The Cards will take on Georgia Tech today at 3 pm. The Cards went 1-2 vs Georgia Tech in the regular season. We were outscored 45-21 for an average of a 15-7 beat down! Real high scoring series. Because GT lost last night to Clemson this is a winner take all game and the winner advances to the single elimination final four of the ACC Tournament! The Cards desperately need one more win to guarantee inclusion in the NCAA Tournament. If they lose today, then they will have to wait until Monday to hear if their name is called.
Do the Cards have a chance? Here is what JK had to say in his breakdown:
The Yellow Jackets (28-21, 21-15 ACC) claimed the Coastal Division title by a half-game over the Miami Hurricanes, taking the final two games in the series against North Carolina to clinch it. While Georgia Tech has one of the better offenses in the ACC (.286 batting, second in ACC; ACC-leading 330 runs scored), they have the second-worst team ERA with a 5.63 ERA as a group.
Georgia Tech had six guys hit 10+ doubles on the season, including Justyn Henry-Malloy. Henry-Malloy averaged .307 in the regular season with 16 doubles, ten home runs, and a team-high 39 RBIs with 44 walks drawn to just 33 strikeouts this season. He will likely be a tough out for Louisville in their Thursday clash.
Kevin Parada leads the team in batting (.328) and doubles (19), with six home runs and 34 RBIs to add. He is coming off last week where he went 6-for-18 with six RBIs and two doubles against Georgia and North Carolina. Luke Waddell (.322 batting, 11 doubles, six HR, 28 RBIs) also had a phenomenal week, batting .450 (9-for-20) with three RBIs and two doubles against the Bulldogs and Tar Heels. Andrew Jenkins (.290 batting, ten doubles, five HRs, 27 RBIs) went 7-for-19 on the week and should be another name to watch on Thursday.
With the game on Thursday, Georgia Tech might go ahead and have either Brant Hurter (5-4, 3.39 ERA) or Andy Archer (4-5, 5.37 ERA) start against Louisville. Archer did have a stellar outing against Louisville on March 6th, allowing just one earned run in six innings of work. Hurter, however, had the shortest outing of his 2021 season against the Cardinals, lasting just 1.2 innings and allowing seven earned runs. In Hurter’s last three starts, though, he has allowed no more than two earned runs, and thrown seven complete innings in each of them.
Bullpen wise, Josiah Siegel (1-0, 3.70 ERA, 14 appearances) and Zach Maxwell (2-2, 3.58 ERA, 20 appearances) are among the top performers for Georgia Tech. Maxwell is the only Georgia Tech pitcher currently holding opponents under the Mendoza line, allowing just .191 at the plate.
Georgia Tech lost it’s opening game of the ACC Championship to an impressive Clemson team 11-5.
You can watch the game on the Bally’s Sports app (Formally Fox Sports), or if you have the Bally’s Sports channel in your lineup you may be able to watch it there. Radio coverage of the Cards will be on ESPN 93.9 The Ville at 2:50
