Baseball not chosen for NCAAs
By Brian Casey/ Student Publications
Matt Wieters makes a play in a game against FSU. The junior was recently named to the All-American team for the second time.
This season, the Tech baseball team missed the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1999. The Jackets had a 32-25 record, 15-14 in the ACC. Since 1985, the Jackets have missed the tournament just twice. The Jackets compiled a 38-20 record in the 1999 campaign.
Tech's exclusion from the tournament came as a surprise to many. Larry Templeton, selection committee chairman, held a post-selection chat and explained some of the justifications for the notable teams that were left out and the bubble teams that did make it in.
"The committee struggled a long time with teams from the ACC. At the end of the day, we're trying to figure out if there was another ACC team we wanted to take off the board to put there, even though the number of teams from each conference was not part of our criteria.... I think their non-conference RPI and their last fifteen games along with their No. 7 ranking in the ACC just did not get them over the hump. I would say it's not a criterion that the number of teams can or can't be in from a certain conference. Subconsciously, we had a difficult decision at the very end when we compared [Tech] with teams across the country," Templeton said.
While Tech lost eight out of their last nine games, the Jackets played against some of the toughest competition in the country.
To finish the season, the Jackets played four games against North Carolina (Tech went 2-2 against the No. 3 national seed in the NCAA tournament), three against Florida State (three losses against the No. 6 national seed), one against Virginia (another national seed), and one against N.C. State (another NCAA team). Most of the other bubble teams' strength of schedules were much lower.
According to boydsworld.com, the Jackets' had an RPI rating at No. 29. Tech is the second-highest team in these rankings to miss the tournament. Oklahoma, ranked ahead of Tech at No. 27, had a losing record in their conference at 11-16.
According to the same site, the Jackets also had a No. 57 ranked strength of schedule. Meanwhile, teams like Troy and Memphis, squads that received at-large bids, were ranked No. 88 and No. 93 on the same list.
Wrapping up the Jackets' final games of the season in the ACC Tournament, Tech finished with a record of 1-2 in tournament play, facing off against North Carolina, N.C. State and Virginia.
After their upset of North Carolina, Tech lost the next two games. If Tech had won against UVA, they would have finished 2-1 and would have held the tiebreaker to get to the championship game.
