Week 1 Preview: Saint Peter's, Cincinnati, St. John's
The long offseason is finally over, and baseball season has returned to The Flats once again. For this year's iteration of Georgia Tech baseball will feature a combination of familiar faces and new ones alike.
The Ramblin' Wreck heads in to the season having lost nearly the entire starting rotation and some key power hitters to last year's MLB Draft. As a result, players such as Luke Waddell & Jonathan Hughes as well as various members of Tech's incoming 5th ranked freshman class will be asked to step up into big roles pretty early into the season.
As Tech fans know at this point, the plate and mound is not the only spot that features a new Georgia Tech face. After spending 18 years at various positions within the New York Yankees organization, pitching guru Danny Borrell has made the transition to the college ranks to become Tech's pitching coach.
All that being said, it's time to dive into another season of college baseball!
News & Notes
- Georgia Tech has landed in four 2020 preseason polls: 19th by D1Baseball, 21st by Baseball America and 22nd by USA Today & NCBWA.
- A year after winning the Coastal, Tech has been picked to finish 3rd in the Division. Louisville & Miami were picked to win the Atlantic & Coastal Divisions respectively.
- Nine of Georgia Tech's 55 regular season game will be national televised, with 8 of them being home games.
- March 18 – vs. Georgia Southern – 7 p.m. – ACCN
- March 21 – vs. Duke – 2 p.m. – RSN
- March 22 – vs. Duke – 12 p.m. – RSN
- March 25 – vs. Mercer – 7 p.m. – ACCN
- April 7 – vs. Auburn – 4 p.m. – ACCN
- April 12 – vs. NC State – 12 p.m. – ACCN
- May 9 – at Virginia – 4 p.m. – ACCN
- May 14 – vs. Miami – 4 p.m. – ACCN
- May 16 – vs. Miami – 12 p.m. – ACCN
The Week Ahead
Georgia Tech will spend the entire opening weekend at Russ Chandler Stadium, playing against 3 different opponents over a normal slate of Friday-Saturday-Sunday games.
Home (Atlanta, GA)
- Friday, February 14th @ 4:00pm vs. Saint Peter's
- ACC Network Extra
- WREK 91.1 FM
- Saturday, February 15th @ 2:00pm vs. Cincinnati
- ACC Network Extra
- WREK 91.1 FM
- Sunday, February 16th @ 1:00pm vs St. John's
- ACC Network Extra
- WREK 91.1 FM
Know The Foe
School: Saint Peter's University
Nickname: Peacocks
Location: Jersey City, NJ
Total Enrollment: 3,452
Head Coach (school record): Lou Proietti (0-0)
2020 Record (conference record): 0-0 (0-0)
Team Leaders (2019):
- Avg: *Peter Ferony (.302)
- RBI: Hunter Mason (37)
- HR: Hunter Mason (3)
- ERA: Jean Candelaria (4.71)
- Strikeouts: 2 tied for 33
- Wins: 5 tied for 1
School: University of Cincinnati
Nickname: Bearcats
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Total Enrollment: 38,062
Head Coach (school record): Scott Googins (59-59)
2020 Record (conference record): 0-0 (0-0)
Team Leaders (2019):
- Avg: Wyatt Stapp (.294)
- RBI: *A.J. Bumpass (41)
- HR: *A.J. Bumpass (8)
- ERA: Nathan Kroger (1.86)
- Strikeouts: Evan Shawver (69)
- Wins: David Orndorff (5-2)
School: St. John's University
Nickname: Red Storm
Location: Queens, NY
Total Enrollment: 21,643
Head Coach (school record): Mike Hampton (0-0)
2020 Record (conference record): 0-0
Team Leaders (2019):
- Avg: Mike Antico (.386)
- RBI: Ryan Markey & Wyatt Mascarella (36)
- HR: Mike Antico & Sean McGeehan (6)
- ERA: *Joe LaSorsa (1.66)
- Strikeouts: *Joe LaSorsa (67)
- Wins: *Joe LaSorsa (6)
*graduated after 2019 season
Opponent Breakdown:
| Saint Peter's | Cincinnati | St. John's | Georgia Tech | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
RPI | 299th | 91st | 113th | 12th |
SOS | 272nd | 60th | 171st | 17th |
Home Record | 4-15 | 16-12 | 20-4 | 26-11 |
Away Record | 1-26 | 10-16 | 9-17 | 13-7 |
Batting:
| Saint Peter's | Cincinnati | St. John's | Georgia Tech | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Base on Balls | 282 (158) | 89 (254) | 99 (251) | 7 (357) |
Batting Average | 252 (.246) | 202 (.258) | 152 (.267) | 22 (.297) |
Hits | 272 (399) | 81 (546) | 175 (486) | 17 (635) |
Home Runs | 290 (12) | 167 (34) | 213 (28) | 31 (69) |
On Base Percentage | 282 (.325) | 208 (.351) | 123 (.366) | 11 (.406) |
Runs | 281 (207) | 145 (22) | 177 (300) | 16 (464) |
Slugging Percentage | 279 (.328) | 213 (.367) | 185 (.379) | 27 (.459) |
Pitching:
| Saint Peter's | Cincinnati | St. John's | Georgia Tech | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Earned Run Average | 297 (10.58) | 211 (5.54) | 42 (3.89) | 95 (4.46) |
Hits Allowed/9 Innings | 297 (13.24) | 84 (8.75) | 30 (7.94) | 138 (9.18) |
Strikeouts Per 9 Innings | 287 (5.9) | 159 (7.9) | 81 (8.6) | 85 (8.5) |
Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio | 297 (0.72) | 260 (1.38) | 196 (1.73) | 28 (2.58) |
WHIP | 296 (2.38) | 206 (1.61) | 98 (1.44) | 67 (1.39) |
Walk Allowed/9 Innings | 296 (8.18) | 279 (5.75) | 233 (4.98) | 30 (3.31) |
Key: Rank out of 297 (Value)
*2019 Stats are reflected above
Saint Peter's Peacocks:
Georgia Tech could not have picked a better opponent to start the 2020 season with. You could make the argument that last season, the Saint Peter's Peacocks were the worst team in all of Division I college baseball. They finished the season with the least amount of wins (5-46) the lowest RPI (299th) and the lowest ERA (10.58).
Things don't get a ton better this year, as Saint Peter's lost a couple "key" contributors from last season. RHP Steve Epstein whose 33 strikeouts tied for most on the team & 3B Peter Ferony who led the team in batting average and triples are a couple examples of those who have moved on.
While players such Hunter Mason (.302 average, 57 hits and 3 home runs) could find pay dirt against the Yellow Jackets, there is not enough Saint Peter's talent to make it a competitive game. If this game is ever remotely close, there could be bigger problems for Tech.
Cincinnati Bearcats:
Head coach Scott Googins might be an even .500 in his first two years as the skipper at UC, but if last season is any indicator, the Bearcats are a team that can sneak up on you. Winners of the American Athletic Conference Tournament last season, it clinched their first NCAA Tournament bid in 45 years. Their first game in the Corvalis Regional saw them take down the Oregon State Beavers, who were the defending national champions.
While UC has proven that they can be competitive, they still for the most part have struggled against top-tier competition. Last season, they went just 9-17 against RPI Top 50 opponents and 0-9 against RPI Top 25.
With home run, RBI and total bases leader (8/44/111) outfielder AJ Bumpass having graduated, a lot of the offensive production will rest on the shoulders on those who were behind him in the batting order. While no one on the Bearcats' roster was hitting over .300 last season, they will be throwing out 4 players (Wyatt Stapp, Joey Wiemer, Joey Belini & Jace Mercer) who had over 60 base hits and over 80 total bases.
UC's batting lineup will have a lot of work ahead of them, as it is likely that they will be giving up a decent amount of runs. Their ERA of 5.54 was good for 211st in the nation, with just 4 pitchers having a sub-4.00 ERA (min. 5 IP). It also doesn't help that two of their weekend starters have ERA's above the team average (Garret Schoenle, Evan Shawver).
St. John's Red Storm:
For the opening weekend of college baseball, the Yellow Jackets saved quite possibly the best for last. Not only is St. John's the first team that the Jackets will face that had a winning record from last season, but the Red Storm have some of the better players they will see all weekend.
Last season, now-senior outfielder Mike Antico had the 22nd best batting average in the nation at .386, and was top 100 in slugging percentage and stolen bases. His home run, total bases and RBI total from a season ago was also best on the team.
Complementing Antico is a one-two punch in the starting pitching rotation for the Johnnies. Right-Handers Sean Mooney and Ian Murphy are the two leading returners as it pertains to both ERA and strikeouts (2.17 & 2.53, 67 & 57 respectively). They are a part of a pitching staff that has the lowest ERA of any of the 3 teams Georgia Tech will face all weekend (3.89), though much of it can be attributed to Joe LaSorsa, who was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays last season. However, Tech's biggest chance at a loss all season will come against the Red Storm, and the Ramblin' Wreck will need to be ready for them.
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