Athens Regional field breakdown

Despite situations Army’s players find themselves in during their game Friday (1 p.m., ESPN+) against Georgia in the opening round of the Athens Regional, the Black Knights' head coach Chris Tracz said the task will be nothing like what they’ll face in the future.

“This weekend they get to be baseball players and be like everybody else for a while. But I think their daily work, what they go through prepares them for pressure situations,” Tracz said. “As much as this is going to be a huge environment for them, they’re going to face some more stressful and bigger events in their lives as leaders in the Army.”

Sobering words indeed.

Life at West Point is not for the weak, or weak-minded. A strict regiment is part of the everyday routine. Yet, for a team that earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by winning the regular season title in the Patriot League and the subsequent conference tournament, Tracz said his team is thrilled to be spending the weekend in Athens.

“What our guys go through, being on the road and being able to sleep in … I think it was seven or eight guys who just graduated from West Point,” Tracz said. “When you think about their day starting at 6:30 in the morning and going until 10:30 or 11 o clock at night for four years … and these guys going through it year by year … this time of year is awesome.”

Army is no stranger to the NCAA Tournament. The Black Knights are making their fifth straight trip to the tournament and 12th in school history. However, it is just the second time Army has played in a regional hosted by an SEC team.

“They’ve been here before, but the hard part is getting back from a one-bid league. If you don’t win the conference tournament, you don’t get to come back,” Tracz said. “That adds a lot of expectations to our regular season and our conference tournament. Our guys dealt with it really, really well. It’s not as easy as it was in previous years, but to come out of it with a regular season title and a conference championship title and get to head to Athens is pretty cool.”

Tracz understands his team is a big underdog against the seventh-seeded Bulldogs (39-15). However, that fact does not faze the Black Knights. Thursday’s workout at Foley Field was loose and carefree, as players took the opportunity to get used to their surroundings for their first-ever meeting against the Bulldogs.

The goal is to get here, and once we’re here, we get nine innings against Georgia. We’ll see what happens. For us, it’s great,” Tracz said. “It’s like the 1 versus 16 in the basketball tournament. The percentage of winning is so low, but our guys are pretty good, too. You get a good start, and you never know what might happen. We get a couple of good offensive plays, and you never know where we might be at the end of the game, but we’re well aware of how good Georgia is.”

Tracz joked he’s already warned his wife where not to park.

“They said for my wife not to park in the parking lot over there because they might smash some windows,” Tracz said. “But no, obviously the power numbers are staggering. The offense is as good as there is in the country. It’s a tall task.”

Tracz said his team knows what it’s getting into.

“This is the payoff, to go out and play one of the top teams in the country. And if you’re going to play one of the top teams, they’re going to be from the SEC,” he said. “We had a feeling going in that we were going to be somewhere in the Southeast, and we got this draw which was great.”

HEAD COACH: Chris Tracz, 2nd year

2024 RECORD: 32-21 (Patriot League regular-season and tournament champions)

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Hitters – INF Chris Barr (.329-1-19), OF William Parker (.328-13-62), C Derek Berg (.301-15-37), INF Sam Ruta (.284-14-51); Pitchers – RHP Andrew Berg (5-3, 2.53 ERA), RHP Steven Graver (4-1, 2.85), RHP Matthew Ronnebau (6-3, 3.91), RHP Bryce Brownlee (4-2, 3.57)

NEWS AND NOTES:

…The Black Knights punched their ticket to the NCAA Baseball Regionals with their sixth consecutive Patriot League Tournament Championship. Army possesses the longest active streak of consecutive conference tournament titles in NCAA Division I Baseball.

… Army has been a regular participant in the NCAA Regionals. 2024 marks its sixth consecutive tournament appearance. The Black Knights play in their 12th regional in program history, as well as their 13th overall NCAA Tournament (Army played in the '97 NCAA Play-In Series at Harvard). Army plays in the Athens Regional for the first time and at an SEC host site for just the second time (Baton Rouge, 2004).

…The Black Knights have not played Georgia or Georgia Tech in program history. The club did play UNC-Wilmington in the 2013 Charlottesville Regional, falling 9-5 in the loser's bracket elimination game.

HEAD COACH: Randy Hood, 6th year

2024 RECORD: 39-19 (Coastal Athletic Association Tournament Champions)

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Hitters – OF Trevor Marsh (.372-14-49), 1B Tanner Thach (.328-27-74), INF Jac Croom (.297-9-39), OF/INF Aiden Evans (.293-1-22), OF Alec DeMartino (.288-8-39): Pitchers – RHP RJ Sales (10-3, 3.70), RHP Jacob Shafer (4-5, 5.50), RHP Zane Taylor (3-0, 3.86), LHP Luke Craig (4-1, 2.19, 7 saves), RHP Connor Kane (1-2, 3.54, 3 saves)

NEWS AND NOTES:

… For UNCW, the second seed, it will be its 12th regional appearance overall and the fourth in the last six tournaments.

… The Seahawks last played in Athens during the 2004 season and split a pair of midweek games. … UNCW and Georgia Tech have split four games but haven't played since 1987. The Seahawks and Army have met once, the last time during the 2013 Charlottesville Regional. UNCW knocked off the Black Knights, 9-5 in an elimination game.

HEAD COACH: Danny Hall, 31st year

2024 RECORD: 31-23 (4th in the ACC’s Coastal Division)

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Hitters – OF Drew Burress (.379-23-65), INF Trey Yunger (.345-5-29), OF Cam Jones (.325-5-34), C Matthew Ellis (.318-16-58), Payton Green (.317-12-42), OF Parker Brosius (.306-2-28); Pitchers – LHP Cam Jones (3-2, 5.85, 3 saves), RHP Aeden Finateri (5-4, 6.52), RHP Tate McKee (4-5, 7.60), RHP Carson Ballard (2-2, 4.41)

NEWS AND NOTES:

… Georgia Tech baseball makes its 35th appearance in the NCAA Tournament when it heads to the Athens Regional, joining Georgia, Army, and UNC Wilmington on May 31- June 2.

… All-time against the field, Tech holds a 168-219-2 record against UGA, a 2-2 record against UNC Wilmington, and a 2-1-1 against Army.

… The Jackets hold a 69-58 record in the Regionals round of the NCAA Tournament and will be returning to Foley Field for the first time since 2008.

… Tech will be led by ACC Freshman of the Year Drew Burress who's hit a team-best .379 for 78 hits, 14 doubles, 23 homers, and 65 RBI. He's also drawn more walks (52) than strikeouts (34). Burress is the sixth Jacket to be named the ACC's rookie of the year, joining Matt Wieters, Micah Owings, Mark Teixeira, Nomar Garciaparra, and Jason Varitek.