THE DUKE-GEORGIA TECH GAME

May 16, 10:00 a.m., Fort Mills, S.C.
Game 55

Opponent: Georgia Tech

Series: The Blue Devils head into the ACC Tournament as the fifth seed and face the fourth seeded Yellow Jackets. The teams face each other at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday.

Records: Georgia Tech is 39-16 overall and 13-11 in the ACC. Duke is 23-31 overall and 10-13 in the ACC.

Rankings: Georgia Tech is ranked is ranked in both Baseball America in the Collegiate Baseball polls. Duke is not ranked.

Coaches: Duke is coached by Bill Hillier, who is in his second year with the Blue Devils. He is 137-257 overall and 40-72 at Duke. Georgia Tech is coached by Danny Hall who is 342-136 with the Yellow Jackets and 550-269 overall.

Last Meeting: The two teams met for a three game set in Durham ealier this season. The Yellow Jackets took two of three from Duke.

All-Time Series: Georgia Tech leads the all-time series 55-22.

A Quick Look at the Blue Devils: The Blue Devils snapped a four-game losing streak on Sunday by knocking off nationally-ranked Florida State 8-7 at Jack Coombs Stadium.

Duke, 23-31 overall, has reached the 20-win mark for the first time since the 1999 season. The Blue Devils, who finished 10-13 in the ACC, won 10 conference games in a season for the first time since 1994. They have won two of their last three ACC series, taking two of three games from in-state rivals North Carolina, North Carolina State and falling two games to one to ACC leading Florida State.

The Blue Devils are batting .298 on the season and have a 5.99 ERA through 54 games. Although, injuries have taken their toll, the Blue Devils continue to improve as the season wears on.

The Blue Devils, who were the ninth seed in last season's tournament, will enter the ACC Tournament as the five seed.

A Look at Duke in Recent ACC Baseball Tournaments: Last season, the Blue Devils played in the play-in game as the number nine seed in the tournament. The Blue Devils defeated Maryland 6-4, then fell to Georgia Tech, 9-3 and North Carolina 13-7. Duke is 16-44 all-time in the ACC Tournament. Here's a look at the Blue Devils record in the ACC Tournament since 1990. Year -- ACC Tourn. Record
2000 -- 1-2
1999 -- 0-1
1998 -- 1-2
1997 -- 2-2
1996 -- 1-2
1995 -- 0-1
1994 -- 0-2
1993 -- 1-2
1992 -- 1-2
1991 -- 0-2
1990 -- 0-2

How the Blue Devils Fared: The Blue Devils, who face Georgia Tech in the opening round of the ACC Tournament have taken care of business against teams ranked in bottom half of the conference, while teams in the upper half of the league have been a test for Duke. Here's a look at the season series against all ACC opponents:

Team -- Season Record
Florida State -- 1-2
Wake Forest -- 1-2
Clemson -- 0-3
Georgia Tech -- 1-2
Virginia -- 1-2
N.C. State -- 2-1
North Carolina -- 2-1
Maryland -- 2-1

Blue Devils Reach 10 ACC Victories on the Season: Duke has reached 10 conference wins for the first time since 1994. The Blue Devils defeated each team in the ACC at least once with the exception of Clemson. Duke knocked off Wake Forest, Georgia Tech and Florida State all of whom were nationally ranked. The Blue Devils won the regular season series against Maryland, N.C. State and North Carolina.

The Blue Devils finished fifth in the ACC and are the five seed in this week's tournament. The Blue Devils were picked to finish eighth in the ACC in the pre-season poll.

Year -- ACC Record
2001 -- 10-13
2000 -- 5-19
1999 -- 4-18
1998 -- 8-15
1997 -- 9-14
1996 -- 9-14
1995 -- 4-20
1994 -- 16-8

A Look Back at the Final Two FSU Games Game Two: The Duke baseball team dropped the second game a three game set to Florida State on Saturday night, 12-4. The Blue Devils, who have one more regular season game remaining on the schedule, drop to 22-31 overall and 9-13 in the ACC. The- Seminoles improve to 40-14 overall and 20-3 in the conference.

The Seminoles took advantage of Blue Devil miscues early. In the top of the first FSU led off with back to back walks and with one out Mike Futrell singled, bringing in one run. In the top of the second inning, the Seminoles led off with a single, had a hit batter and scored and run on a fielder's choice.

The Blue Devils got on the board in the bottom of the fourth when freshman Drew Jerdan led off with a single. Sophomore Larry Broadway then doubled to score Jerdan to make the score 2-1.

Florida State got some breathing room in the top of the sixth when John-Ford Griffin hit his third home run of the series to right field to put the Seminoles up 4-1 after six innings. FSU added two more runs in the sixth scoring a run on a fielders choice and a balk.

Senior David Mason doubled off the left center wall in the bottom of the seventh. Mason then scored on a fielders choice by junior Gideon Thompson. Freshman Bryan Smith reached on a walk and was driven home by junior Kevin Kelly. The Blue Devils trailed 6-3 after seven innings.

FSU added another run in the top of the eighth on a sacrifice fly to left field and five more in the top of the ninth. The Blue Devils tacked on another run in the bottom of the ninth.

Freshman Justin Dilucchio started on the hill for the Blue Devils. The Paoli, Pa. native pitched six innings, allowed eight hits and four earned runs. He falls to 2-4 on the season.

"Florida State is a very good team and they've shown that the past two days," said head coach Bill Hillier. "We've got to eliminate some mental mistakes and try to get our pitchers some more run to work with."

Game Three: Kevin Kelly's two-run single in the bottom of the eighth inning lifted Duke to an 8-7 win over seventh-ranked Florida State in ACC baseball action on Sunday afternoon at Jack Combs Stadium in Durham, N.C.

The Blue Devils improve to 23-31 overall and 10-13 in league play while the Seminoles fall to 40-15 overall and 20-4 in conference action.

With the score tied 6-6 in the bottom of the eighth, Bryan Patrick singled with one out. Adam Loftin followed with a ground ball to Seminole pitcher Daniel Hodges, who threw late to second base to put runners on first and second. Scott Grossi then flew out to left field, with both Patrick and Loftin advancing up a base. Florida State then brought in reliever Justin Lord, who yielded the two-run single to Kelly.

In the top of the ninth, Tony Richie drove in Karl Jernigan with a two-out single to pull the Seminoles within 8-7, but Jeff Alleva got Scott Toole to fly out to end the game.

Florida State jumped on top 2-0 in the first inning when Ryan Barthelemy singled in a run and later scored on a Duke error. The Blue Devils responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first on Troy Caradonna's two-run double.

In the top of the second, Mike Futrell walked with the bases loaded to give the Seminoles a 3-2 advantage, and Nick Rogers added a run-scoring single for a 4-2 lead. Florida State added a run in the fourth when Barthelemy doubled, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Rogers. One frame later, the Seminoles threatened with runners at second and third with two outs, but Jeff Alleva struck out Barthelemy to end the inning.

The Seminoles pushed a run across in the sixth on back-to-back doubles by Futrell and Rogers. Duke then responded with four runs in the bottom of the sixth to knot the score at 6-6. Patrick highlighted the frame with a two-run double while Loftin and Kelly also drove in runs.

Jeff Alleva (4-2) earned the win with 5 1/3 innings of solid relief work. The sophomore right-hander gave up six hits and two earned runs while fanning two and walking one. Florida State's Hodges (3-2) took the loss after surrendering four hits and one earned run in 2 1/2 innings of action.

Duke starter Greg Burke worked 3 2/3 innings, allowing seven hits and three earned runs while walking four and striking out five. For the Seminoles, starter Robby Read tossed 5 1/3 innings and gave up four hits and three earned runs with two walks and six strikeouts.

Kelly, Caradonna, Patrick and JD Alleva each had two hits for the Blue Devils, with Kelly adding three RBI. For the Seminoles, Richie went 4-for-5 at the plate while Rogers contributed two hits and three RBI. John-Ford Griffin, who hurt the Blue Devils with three home runs in the first two games of the series, was 0-for-2 with two walks and one hit by pitch.

A Look at the Duke-GeorgiaTech Series: The Blue Devils and Yellow Jackets will meet for the fourth time this season. Tech won two of the first three games which were at Jack Coombs Stadium earlier this season.

The two teams met in the ACC Tournament last season. Tech defeated the Blue Devils 9-3. The two teams have met seven times in the ACC Tournament with GT holding a 5-2 advantage. The last Blue Devil victory against the Yellow Jackets in the ACC Tournament was in 1998, when Duke won 4-0. The Yellow Jackets lead the all-time series with the Blue Devils 55-22.

Mason Continues Solid Play: Senior David Mason, a candidate for First-Team All-ACC Honors, has had a tremendous season in 2001. The Alexandria, Va., native, leads the Blue Devils in batting at .378. He continues to improve his average in the heart of the ACC schedule at a time when most hitters are tiring.

Mason leads the Blue Devils in hits with 76, RBI with 39 and ranks fourth in runs scored with 36. He's played in all 54 games for the Blue Devils and made 52 starts.

Mason earned ACC Player of the Week honors for the Week of April 30th, when he batted .750 on the week helping the Blue Devils take two fo three games from N.C. State. Mason is also a National Finalist for Academic All-America honors.

Blue Devils have Faced Stiff Competition: Thus far in 2001, the Blue Devils have not shied away from good competition. After opening the season against a good Elon squad, Duke headed to Tempe, to face the then sixth ranked Arizona State.

East Carolina was ranked 21st when they came to town when the Blue Devils visited Greenville, the Pirates were ranked in the top-15.

Duke opened up ACC competition at Wake Forest who has been in and out of the top-25 all season long. The Deacs are currently 23rd in the Baseball America poll and 24th in the College Baseball poll.

The Blue Devils took a game from Georgia Tech at Jack Coombs Stadium behind the arm of sophomore pitcher Kevin Thompson, 8-7. Tech was ranked third in both major polls at the time.

A trip to then 17th-ranked Clemson was on the ACC schedule next for the Blue Devils. Overall, Duke has played in 15 games against top-25 opponents.

When the Seminoles visited Durham last wekend, they were the third ranked team to face the Blue Devils in Jack Coombs Stadium. FSU was ranked 15th in the Baseball America poll and 7th in the Collegiate Baseball poll when they visited Durham.

Youth Making Major Contributions: Several Blue Devil underclassmen are making major contributions for Duke this season.

Sophomore Kevin Thompson has emerged as the ace of the pitching staff and leads the Blue Devils in wins with seven.

Sophomore Troy Caradonna has been solid behind the plate all season. Besides a .330 batting average, the Tampa, Fla. native has improved his arm and his ability to call a game since his freshman season.

Freshman Drew Jerdan has seen most of his action as the team's designated hitter. The Marietta, Ga. native is batting .333 on the year and recently hit two home runs in one game against Davidson on last Monday.

Sophomore Doug Bechtold is playing consistent in left field. The Lancaster, Pa. native is batting .301 on the season and has played in all 54 games for the Blue Devils.

Broadway Back After Arm Surgery: Sophomore Larry Broadway made his return to the diamond on Friday after having surgery on his throwing arm four weeks ago.

The Wellington, Fla. native made the most of his return going 2-for-4 in Friday's game against the Seminoles including a home run and a single. In Saturday's game, Broadway went 2-for-4 again with a double and single. He sat out Sunday's game against FSU.

Saving the Best for Last: Sophomore pitcher Jeff Alleva began the season as the team's third starter. The Durham, N.C. native, has turned out to be a valuable asset out of the pen.

Alleva leads the Blue Devils in saves with seven and ranks third in the conference in the category. He has pitched 48.1 innings and has a 6.14 ERA. Alleva has racked up three saves on the season. He ranks third in the ACC with seven saves, two of which helped to close out games against North Carolina and enable the Blue Devils to win the series 2-1.

This past weekend, Alleva earned his fourth win of the season against the Seminoles after pitching the final five and a third innings, allowing six hits and two runs.

Blue Devil Ace Slowed by Arm Stiffness: Sophomore Kevin Thompson has not only emerged as the leader of the Blue Devil pitching staff, but is also one of the best in the ACC.

The right hander is currently 7-3 with a 4.56 ERA. He leads the Blue Devils with 48 strikeouts, one complete game and ranks second in starts with 13. Opponents are batting .277 against the Evans, W.V. native.

Thompson will pitch this week after missing his start this past weekend against FSU.

Geography 101: If one wants to brush up on their geography one way to do it would be to look at the Duke baseball roster. The Blue Devils have representatives from 12 different states. There are six Blue Devils from Florida, four from New Jersey, three from North Carolina, two from Pennsylvania and one from Oklahoma, Tennessee, New York, Georgia, Iowa, W. Virginia, South Carolina and Virginia.

Dilucchio Delivers: Freshman pitcher Justin Dilucchio, looks like he has put himself in a solid position to be the Blue Devils third starting pitcher.

The Paoli, Pa. native is currently 2-4 on the season with a 5.68 ERA.

His most impressive outing came in the series finale against North Carolina. He went five and two-thirds innings and only allowed three hits on the afternoon to earn his second win of the season.

Dilucchio also pitched well this past Saturday against Florida State. The freshman went six innings, allowed eight hits and allowed four runs against the ACC and nationally ranked Seminoles.

Alleva Solid on the Corner: Junior JD Alleva has done a little bit of everything for the Blue Devils in 2001. The Durham, N.C. native, is third on the team in hitting, batting at a clip of .332.

Alleva, a switch hitter, has done his best work at the plate during the ACC season. Against the Seminoles this past weekend, Alleva went 5 for 13 with seven total bases a run and three RBI.