2010 NCAA Regional Previews: (Atlanta)

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The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will be hosting a regional this year which features Alabama, Elon, and Mercer. The first games of the tournament feature number 2 seeded Alabama facing off against number 3 seeded Elon. Georgia Tech and Mercer will face off in the second game on Friday night at 7pm.

Georgia Tech (45-13 overall, 21-9 ACC)

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets enter the NCAA Tournament with a 45-13 overall record while going 21-9 record in the ACC Coastal Division. The Yellow Jackets went 1-2 in the ACC Tournament with losses to Virginia Tech and Clemson but defeated NC State. The Yellow Jackets have a team batting average of .325 while hitting 114 homers. Thomas Nichols is the top hitter with a .369 average while hitting 10 homers and 40 RBI. The Yellow Jackets feature six other hitters with above 10 homers with Tony Plagman and Matt Skole being the team leaders with 19 homers. The Georgia Tech pitching staff enters with a staff ERA of 3.96. Deck McGuire is the top starting pitcher for the Jackets as he is 8-4 with a 3.01 ERA while holding opponents to a .223 BAA in 104.2 innings of work. Andrew Robinson leads the team with seven saves as he has a record of 4-0 with a 2.67 ERA.

Alabama (37-22 overall, 15-15 SEC)

The Alabama Crimson Tide head to Atlanta with a 37-22 overall record and went .500 in the SEC with a 15-15 record. The Crimson Tide went 3-1 in the SEC Tourney defeating Auburn, Ole Miss, and Florida before dropping the SEC Title game to LSU by a score of 4-3 in 11 innings. They have a team batting average of .297 as they are led on offense by Taylor Dugas. He is hitting .391 with 33 RBI and has stolen 18 bases in 22 attempts. Josh Rutledge is second on the squad with a .357 batting average with eight homers and 61 RBI. Clay Jones leads the squad with 15 homers while being second on the squad with 57 RBI. The pitching staff has a 4.90 ERA. Jimmy Nelson leads the starting pitchers with a 8-2 record while having an ERA of 3.69. Nathan Kilcrease leads the team in ERA at 2.47 and in saves with four as he has pitched a total of 80 innings.

Elon (38-22 overall, 19-11 Southern Conference)

The Elon Phoenix enter the weekend with a 38-22 record while they went 19-11 in the Southern Conference. The Phoenix went 2-2 in the Southern Conference Tourney defeating Samford twice and losing to The Citadel twice. They have a team batting average of .297. Neal Pritchard leads the squad in hitting with a .345 batting average while hitting 11 homers while driving in 46 RBI. Matt Hinson leads them with 16 homers while driving in 49 runs which is second on the squad. The pitching staff has been marginal with a team ERA of 5.41 while Jimmy Reyes leads them on the mound. He is 10-3 in 15 appearances (14 starts) while having an ERA of 3.97. He does have 95 strikeouts in only 95.1 innings pitched. Kyle Webb leads the squad with four saves but is 0-3 with a 3.41 ERA.

Mercer (37-22 overall, 16-11 Atlantic Sun)

The Mercer Bears head to Atlanta to take part in the NCAA Regional hosted by the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The Bears won the Atlantic Sun postseason tournament by going 4-0 with wins over Jacksonville twice and East Tennessee State twice. They have a team batting average of .340 while hitting 89 homers this season. They are led by Michael Langley at the plate as he is hitting .396 with six homers and 48 RBI. The Bears best power hitter has been Jacob Tanis who is hitting .382 with 22 homers and 86 RBI. John Moreland is second on the squad with 21 homers. The pitching staff for Mercer enters with a 5.66 ERA. They are led by Matt McCall who is 7-2 with a 4.57 ERA. David Teasley is tied for the team lead with five saves as he has pitched in 41 games with a 5-1 record and a 4.57 ERA. J.T. Odom is tied with Teasley with five saves as he is 2-2 with a 3.82 ERA.

Prediction

1. Georgia Tech
2. Elon
3. Mercer
4. Alabama