Georgia Tech Baseball: Previewing Dartmouth

The Jackets righted the ship Tuesday night in Statesboro, taking down their hosts 7-1 in their eighth win in a row against the Eagles. Dartmouth, meanwhile, has not yet played a game this season. The Jackets and the Big Green will face off in three games at Russ Chandler Stadium this weekend, at 4:00 PM Friday, 2:00 PM Saturday, and 1:00 PM Sunday.

Tech and Dartmouth have split their all-time series at 3-3, however the two teams have not played since 1925, when they split a two game series on the Flats. With Dartmouth untested on the season, there is not much to say about what they’ve done so far this year. Meanwhile, Tech looks to take a winning record on the year on its home field.

Projected Starters:
Cole O’Connor (Jr., N/A) vs. Xzavion Curry (So., 1-0, 3.60 ERA)
Michael Parsons (So., N/A) vs. Brant Hurter (Fr., 0-0, N/A ERA)
Clay Chatham (Sr., N/A) vs. TBA

The starters are largely unknowns for the upcoming series. All starters for Dartmouth had an ERA above 4.00 last season, with Chatham’s about 8.00. However, for Tech, only Curry is a known quantity in college baseball, though Hurter was deemed the no. 21 left handed pitching prospect in the latest signing class and faced a few batters in the loss to Bradley last Saturday.

Wade Bailey, reliable as ever, will look to continue his team-leading 75 game streak in the starting lineup. To boot, Bailey has also reached base safely in 31 straight games. Chase Murray leads the Jackets in batting average, with a .438 mark, and is followed by co-captain Joey Bart, who has three home runs so far on the young season.

Dartmouth, which was 22-17-1 last season, including a pedestrian 11-11-1 mark on the road, returns seven of its nine starters from last year. These players, however, represent 73% of the runs scored in 2017. On the mound, four starters have departed, making this year a mixed bag in the experience department.

In the field, Tech has experience up the middle, though those positions have combined for eight errors, with the very young outfield adding a ninth to that total. These have led to six unearned runs. It’s an old cliché that defense wins championships, but, for example, if Nick Wilhite can make more plays like his SportsCenter top 10 web gem from Tuesday and less like his miscommunication and collision with Chase Murray in left field on Sunday, these little improvements can go a long way for the Jackets.

Tech plays three this weekend against Dartmouth before hosting Arkansas-Pine Bluff for a midweek tilt Tuesday at 4:00 PM. As always, Tech can be found streaming online on the ACC Network Extra or over the airwaves on WREK 91.1 or through the Georgia Tech Gameday app. Go Jackets!