Furman To Face ACC Champion Georgia Tech Friday In NCAA Atlanta Regional

May 30, 2005

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Southern Conference Tournament champion Furman Paladins (30-27) will open 64-team NCAA Baseball Tournament play against the No. 2 national seed and Atlantic Coast Conference champion Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (42-16) this Friday at Tech's Russ Chandler Stadium.

With first pitch scheduled for 4:00 p.m., the contest will highlight the NCAA Atlanta Regional, which will also feature regional No. 2 seed South Carolina (38-21) from the Southeastern Conference and No. 3 seed Michigan (41-17) from the Big Ten. The Gamecocks and Wolverines will open the Atlanta Regional with a Friday noon contest. All games in the regional will be televised by ESPNU.

"We're delighted to be playing baseball in June because 10 days ago we were a long shot to be in this position," said Furman head coach Ron Smith, whose team captured the SoCon tournament championship with a 5-4 win over Georgia Southern on Saturday in Charleston, S.C. "In Georgia Tech we'll be facing one of the premier teams in the country and a program that has ranked among the best in college baseball for years, so it will be important for us to play well and within ourselves to have a chance to be successful."

The regional will continue Saturday with games slated for noon (loser's bracket) and 4:00 p.m. (winner's bracket). Sunday's games are also scheduled for noon and 4:00 p.m., with the latter being the first possible championship game. If a second championship game is necessary, it will be played Monday at 6:00 p.m.

The winner of the Atlanta Regional will be matched up with the champion of the Knoxville Regional, hosted by Tennessee and featuring Winthrop, Wichita State, and Austin Peay, in an NCAA Super Regional, scheduled for June 10-12 or 11-3 at a campus site to be determined.

The NCAA Tournament appearance will be the fifth for the Paladins, who advanced to post-season play in 1965, `69, `76, and `91 prior to this year.

Winners of seven straight, Furman needed a three-game sweep of Davidson (May 20-22) in the final regular season league series just to qualify as the SoCon Tournament's No. 8 seed. Once in Charleston, however, the Paladins won four straight to claim the title, whipping No. 1 seed and nationally 20th-ranked College of Charleston 9-7, No. 4 seed Elon 6-3, and No. 2 seed Georgia Southern twice -- 4-1 on Friday and 5-4 in Saturday's championship game.

Sophomore righthander Nick Hollstegge (HOLE-steg-E) earned SoCon Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors after earning saves in all four games. In 4 1/3 innings of work, the West Chester, Ohio, product surrendered no runs and only two hits while recording three strikeouts.

Furman owns four wins over nationally-ranked teams in 2005, including a pair of victories over regional participant South Carolina, who the Paladins defeated 6-2 in Greenville on May 4 and 11-5 in Columbia on May 11. Furman also edged Tennessee 3-2 in Knoxville on April 27 and College of Charleston on May 25 in SoCon Tournament first round action.

Tournament ticket books for the NCAA Atlanta Regional are on sale now at www.ramblinwreck.com (or at 1-800-TechTix), and can be also purchased in person at the Georgia Tech Office, Tuesday through Thursday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., or at the gate, beginning Friday at 10:30 a.m.

Tournament books, including tickets for all seven sessions, are priced at $84 for a reserved chairback seat, $70 for a reserved bench seat between first and third base.

Single-game tickets, if available, will go on sale on the day of the game only and are priced at $12 for a a reserved chairback seat, $10 for a reserved bench seat between first and third base, $8 for a general admission bleacher seat, and $6 for a general admission student ticket.

All Furman games will be carried live over Upstate radio station WGOG-FM 96.3 FM and through the internet at sports.yahoo.com