Jack Coombs Field may be deemed historic by the Duke faithful, but it will be Georgia Tech that will be making history this weekend when two Olympians come to town.
The 20th-ranked baseball team host a crucial three game series versus the eighth-ranked Yellow Jackets this weekend. The series winner will grab third place in the Atlantic Coast Conference race, a factor that will be very important come tournament time.
Leading Georgia Tech are a pair of U.S. Olympians, junior Jason Varitek and sophomore Nomar Garciaparra. Both Varitek and Garciaparra were preseason All-American candidates.
Varitek, a catcher, was chosen as team Most Valuable Player last season, after hitting .406 with 11 homeruns and 52 RBIs.
Garciaparra, Tech's shortstop, was named a freshman All-American and ACC Rookie of the Year during his first season in college after he batted .363 with 51 RBIs. He became the first player ever to make Team USA after going through the walk-on tryouts.
Duke is coming off of its 30th win of the season with a 6-1 victory over UNC-Ashville on Wednesday. Yet the competition should be a lot steeper over the weekend as Tech brings in an established baseball program, one that had held the top spot in the national polls earlier in the year.
"They've got tremendous talent," head coach Steve Traylor said. "Five of their starting position players were picked as the All-Conference player in their position, so they're putting an All-ACC team on the field . . . .We know we're facing one of the premier teams, not only in our conference but in America."
Joining Varitek and Garciaparra in the preseason All-ACC infield is third baseman Brandon Hensley. Hensley, a sophomore, moved to third from being the back-up to Varitek, and adjusted well to his new position. Last season, he batted .291 with 34 RBIs.
Tech's last two preseason All-ACC position players are found roaming the outfield grass. Sophomore Jay Payton batted .302 last season after becoming a starter in center and left field early in the season. He was ranked 16th among Baseball America's Top 25 freshmen last year.
Joining Payton is sophomore Michael Smith. Smith hit .304 last year, with eight home runs and 33 RBIs, despite the fact that he became a starter halfway through the season. Smith was named a freshman All-American by Baseball America last season, and was ranked 16th in the magazines list of outfield prospects.
Anchoring the pitching staff for the Yellow Jackets is another pre-season All-ACC choice, sophomore right-hander Brad Rigby. Rigby was 8-3 last year with a 2.94 earned run average. Joining Rigby in the starting rotation are senior David Albert and junior Buck Hall.
In the bullpen, Tech will rely on junior Brett Binkley. Binkley was 9-3 last season with an impressive 1.80 ERA. He also notched three saves for the Yellow Jackets, showing he's capable of finishing games.
Overall, Tech has a very impressive team that contains many young, outstanding ballplayers. The Blue Devils will counter with their own brashness with the successful, young arms of freshmen Scott Schoeneweis and David Darwin.
"I really can't wait to throw against Georgia Tech," Darwin said.
Traylor noted that if the team played it's usual tough baseball that they would have a good chance to take the weekend series and place themselves in the upper echelon of the ACC.
"We're confident we can come out and play our game." Traylor said. "It should be a great series, and I look for three very competitive, tough games."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.