Jack Coombs Field was virtually silent this week, with steady rain relegating the baseball team indoors and forcing Wednesday's game against East Carolina to be postponed. But come tonight there ought to be plenty of "ping" in the air as No. 5 Georgia Tech buzzes into town.
The first-place Yellow Jackets (25-6, 5-1 in the ACC) enter this weekend's three-game series with ACC cellar-dweller Duke (13-19, 0-8) on a blistering offensive tear, scoring 10.2 runs per game since they were knocked from the nation's top ranking nearly a month ago after losing their first game - a feat that took them 18 tries.
The Blue Devils, meanwhile, have lost six in a row by an average of nearly seven runs each time out while succumbing to unforced errors on the mound, playing sloppy defense and leaning heavily on their precious few hot bats.
"We need to go out and start playing good baseball," said senior catcher and cleanup hitter Troy Caradonna, who currently stands tied for second on the team in runs batted in with 21. "It doesn't matter what else happens. Obviously we've been playing pretty bad the last couple of weeks, so we've just got to come out and get ourselves together to play as best we can, and that's all we can ask of ourselves."
Since being swept by Miami two weekends ago in the heart of a small mid-season slump, it's the Ramblin' Wreck who have been playing their best of late, taking two out of three from North Carolina last Friday and Sunday thanks to those clanking metal bats.
Leading their torrid offense are all-American candidate catcher Mike Nickeas, streaking left fielder Matt Murton, do-everything shortstop Tyler Greene and slugging designated hitter Micah Owings - a fearsome foursome that has combined for 33 home runs this season; Duke as a team has mustered only six.
The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Owings will also take the mound in tonight's opener at 7 p.m., squaring off against Jeff Alleva, who looked lost last Friday in the Blue Devils' 9-6 loss to N.C. State, walking, hitting and throwing at batters' feet after a refreshing start to the season.
A measure of precision, on the other hand, has been Tech's pre-season all-American Kyle Bakker, a crafty lefty known for his control.
His counterpart in Saturday's 5 p.m. pitching match-up, Duke's Kevin Thompson, has been inconsistent as well since coming off last season's shoulder rehabilitation.
The junior, who stands at 2-6 on the year, insisted he wouldn't change his approach despite facing the powerful Yellow Jacket lineup, just another fierce ACC force that has become a regularity in another strong year for the conference.
"Any time you come out and you're playing against a top-caliber team like Georgia Tech and you play well, you're going to get plenty of respect, and obviously that's what we're going for," Thompson said.
"But you're fighting for that respect all the time in the ACC, because it's the type of conference where you're going to play a good team every weekend. So hopefully this weekend we'll come out and start playing better than we have been and really get back on track."
The most effective way for teams to take the Ramblin' Wreck down so far this season has been to push them to a hard-fought slugfest.
The Hurricanes capped off that sweep by trading Tech blow-for-blow Mar. 30, responding to a nine-run outburst in the second inning with 10 runs of their own in the next two en route to a 17-16 win.
Though the Blue Devils continue to emphasize limiting walks and errors, Tech has lived and died by its bats ever since the days of Nomar Garciaparra, Jay Payton and Jason Varitek.
"Obviously they're going to score, but we're just going to have to limit it as much as we can," said Caradonna, who, along with sluggers Brian Patrick, Tim Layden and this year's surprise standout Senterrio Landrum, might have the only say in keeping this weekend close.
The inclement weather could still hold up at least the start of Friday's game if not force a double header on what is supposed to be a balmier weekend (Sunday's starters are to be announced).
But Duke has had a week of April showers to build up what is surprisingly flowering confidence for a team that has lacked much pop, let alone ping, all spring long.
"We're looking for anything to build on," chirped hopeful freshman shortstop Adam Murray. "But with that being said, anybody can beat anybody, and we'd be pretty upset if we didn't come out of this with a win. I mean this is your home field."
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