GT georgia tech athletics
Anders Albertson, who became the eighth Georgia Tech player to win medalist honors at the ACC Championship in April, will lead the 7th-ranked Yellow Jackets into NCAA regional competition May 16-18.
SPRING SURGER
Yellow Jacket teams ramp up for postseason play
B
By Adam Van Brimmer
BASEBALL: Defending ACC champions hope to build May momentum
Georgia Tech played like a Ramblin’ Wreck in the 2012 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament. The Yellow Jackets shrugged off their worst ACC regular season in three decades and played with “reckless abandon” in winning the ACC championship. Behind their lone senior, Jake Davies, the Jackets won four games in five days to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the 26th time in 28 years. Georgia Tech should need no such lift this postseason. A veteran roster -- seven starting position players returned from last season as well as the entire starting pitching rotation – and the 2012 ACC tourney champs have translated into a confident team. The Yellow Jackets will finish the regular season among the nation’s best in batting and slugging averages. The pitching staff, meanwhile, held opponents to sub-.250 batting average for much of the season, with the starters improving as the season progressed.
16
The Buzz
“We hope we are peaking at the right time, getting hot at the right time,” catcher Zane Evans said. “It feels a lot like last year at the ACC Tournament, we’re just getting it going a little earlier.” The Yellow Jackets are feeding off of Evans, along with likely All-Americans Brandon Thomas and Buck Farmer. Evans is arguably the ACC’s leading slugger as well as the league most feared closer on the mound. Thomas’s batting average topped .400 for much of the season despite a bout with mononucleosis that sidelined him for nine games and weakened him for several more. As for Farmer, his ERA stayed below 1.50 for much of the season and his leadership helped steady a pitching staff that struggled in March. “Our pitching staff has gotten more comfortable and more consistent, particularly in terms of throwing strikes,” head coach Danny Hall said. “The way we play defense and the way we hit, as long as they throw strikes we have a chance at success.” The postseason focus is squarely on the first tournament, the ACC. But the players are well aware their proud program hasn’t advanced past
the NCAA Regional stage since 2006. Dreams of a deep NCAA run will be all the spark they need this season. “The energy level is pretty high with this team,” Evans said. “We can’t wait for tournament time.”
GOLF: Under-the-radar Jackets ready for their favorite time of the year Most powerhouses boast a power player, and historically, Georgia Tech’s uber-successful golf team is no exception. All-American anchors have included James White, Cameron Tringale, Roberto Castro, Nicholas Thompson, Troy Matteson, Matt Weibring, Bryce Molder and Matt Kuchar. The 2013 Yellow Jackets are out to prove not every powerhouse boasts star power. Georgia Tech won two major tournaments this year, finished runner-up in two more and recorded top-five finishes in three others, all with different golfers leading the charge. Sophomores Anders Albertson and Ollie Schniederjans have been the most consistent,