GAMEDAY CENTRAL
TOP STORYLINES
• After an impressive road trip that saw a 3-0 ACC sweep, No. 10 Georgia Tech baseball hosts its first league opponent of the year in No. 1-ranked Louisville.
• Georgia Tech has reached the top-10 rankings for the third time since 2016. Tech was No. 8 in April 2019, remaining there the rest of the season, after also ranking top 10 in March 2016.
• This weekend marks the first matchup between top-10 teams on The Flats since 2011 (No. 8 GT, No. 1 UVA) and is the first top-ranked team to visit since Florida St. (2014)
• Tech last faced Louisville on the road in 2019 where it took two-of-three for the Jackets’ first series win over the Cardinals.
THE FLATS – Looking for its sixth straight win in Atlantic Coast Conference play, Georgia Tech concludes its 2020-21 regular season with an 8 p.m. contest Friday night against Wake Forest at the Lawrence Joel Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Georgia Tech update – The Yellow Jackets, winners of five straight games and 8-5 since its 17-day COVID pause, are alone in fifth place in the ACC standings and have a NCAA NET ranking of No. 40. Tech’s current surge began with a 71-65 home win over Pitt on Feb. 14, and continued with a pair of big road wins at Miami (87-60) and No. 16 Virginia Tech (69-53) and home wins over Syracuse (84-77) and Duke (81-77).
The 10
th-ranked Yellow Jackets (6-2) fell behind early after a four-run opening frame for the Panthers (4-6) and were unable to get the bats going for runs in response, hitting just .147 for the game.
Third baseman
Justyn-Henry Malloy, who was 2-for-3 on the day with the lone RBI and a walk, was the standout bat for Tech on the night.
Luke Waddell and
Austin Wilhite also had base hits through the right side with Wilhite also drawing a walk. In his first collegiate at-bat, true freshman
Hank Thomas boomed a double to the outfield wall, while
Jake DeLeo and
On the mound, starter RHP
Storylines
Georgia Tech has racked up extra-base hits this season, currently ranking second in the ACC and 12
th in the NCAA in doubles (23).
From the circle as a team, the Yellow Jackets have pitched three shutouts, a mark that ranks among the top 25 in the nation.
A pair of Jackets have earned ACC Player of the Week recognition this season as sophomore catcher
Emma Kauf earned ACC Player of the Week and sophomore pitcher
Blake Neleman was named ACC Co-Pitcher of the week for their performances in the season opening Buzz Classic.
Kauf, the mainstay in the leadoff spot, has knocked five doubles to lead the ACC and rank seventh in the NCAA in the category.