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This weekend, the Clemson Tigers and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will renew one of the more entertaining series in ACC baseball. Whether or not you consider Clemson and Georgia Tech to be a “rivalry”, anytime these two schools get together in any sport, it’s typically an exciting and emotional affair. Clemson and Georgia Tech have played 220 times, dating back to 1906, with Clemson leading the overall series 109-108-3. The Tigers come in with a 20-4 record (8-1 ACC) and have won 8 games in a row. Tech comes in with 14-9 record (3-6 ACC), and picked up an 11-3 win in Macon this week over in state foe Mercer.
Friday’s pitching matchup will Clemson lefty Charlie Barnes against Tech righty Xzavion Curry. Barnes comes in with a 2-2 record in six starts, and a 1.12 ERA. Curry is freshman from Atlanta, but was actually born in Orangeburg. He has a connection to Clemson, as his father Reginald played football as a defensive back for the Tigers in the late nineties before transferring to South Carolina State. Curry has a 3-2 record in 6 starts, and holds a 4.60 ERA while throwing thirty one strikeouts.
Saturday’s matchup will righty Alex Eubanks taking on Yellow Jacket freshman lefty Jay Shadday. Shadday is a native of Rome, GA, and is a fellow graduate of my high school alma mater, Darlington School in Rome (Go Tigers!). Shadday isn’t the only Darlington alum on the team, as sophomore relief pitcher Burton Dulaney also came from the school. Shadday has a 1-1 record in two starts, and in nine appearances has thrown for a 2.50 ERA. Eubanks is 4-1 on the year with a 2.23 ERA .
Sunday, Clemson will bring Pat Krall to the mound to face the Jackets. Georgia Tech has not announced their Sunday starter yet. Krall comes in at 4-0 on the season in six starts. He has struck out twenty seve batters and holds a 3.31 ERA.
Tech is led offensively by sophomore catcher Joey Bart. Bart has a .374 batting average and has hit eleven home runs in ninety-nine at bats. Bart also leads the team in RBI’s with 29. It’s worth noting that Bart’s backup is freshman Kyle McCann, who was a high school teammate of Seth Beer at Lambert High School in Suwanee, GA.
Friday’s first pitch is set for 6:00 PM in Georgia Tech’s Russ Chandler Stadium. Saturday’s first pitch will be at 4:00 PM, and Sunday’s game will get going a 1:00 PM. All three games will be available to be streamed on ACC Network Extra. Audio can be heard on the radio through the Clemson Tigers Sports Network and through TigerCast on ClemsonTigers.com.