Three Keys for Washington Baseball to beat Georgia Tech
May 21, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; A baseball sits on the field before the Pittsburgh Pirates host the Baltimore Orioles at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
With the Oxford Regional kicking off on Saturday after action on Friday was rained out. The Washington Huskies are chomping at the bit to take the field against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Here are three keys to victory for Washington to beat Georgia Tech on Saturday afternoon.
Don’t let the moment of being in the NCAA Tournament be too much to overcome
The crowd down at Ole Miss is one of the more rabid crowds in all of college baseball. However, since the Huskies are not playing the Rebels in-game one it should be a bit more of a neutral site feel. Washington just needs to have success early like they did in the opener of the Oregon State series and put the pressure on the Yellow Jackets to have to come from behind and burn extra pitching.
Tyler Davis needs to be Tyler Davis and attack the Georgia Tech offense
Davis has done a nice job all season long of working quickly and going after hitters as he has only walked 15 batters in 97.2 innings pitched so far this season. Georgia Tech is an aggressive hitting team as they have struck out over twice as many times as they have walked. If Davis is on point with his control this should play right into the hands of Washington in this matchup.
Attack Georgia Tech offensively as much as possible
The Yellow Jackets are starting right-hand Josh Heddinger who is 4-4 with a 3.64 earned run average and has given up 74 hits in 76.2 innings this season. There will be plenty of opportunities for the Huskies to get runners on base and put their west coast small ball approach into action.
They also can’t leave runners on base like they did in the second game of the Oregon State series when they stranded nine base runners in a 1-0 loss. Both teams are about the same statistically in runs scored so execution by Washington is going to be paramount. Finally, the ability to execute these three keys will go a long way in pushing the Huskies through to the Sunday afternoon winners bracket showdown against most likely Ole Miss.