Baseball to Open Athens Regional vs. Georgia on Friday

ATHENS, Ga. – Army West Point Baseball opens the NCAA Athens Regional Friday with a 1:00 p.m. first pitch against the No. 7 national seed Georgia Bulldogs.

ESPN+ will broadcast Friday's game from Foley Field. Tickets in Army's allotment remain available for both Friday and Saturday's games. Broadcast information for Saturday remains to be determined.

The Black Knights will face either UNC-Willington (No. 2 regional seed) or Georgia Tech (No. 3 regional seed) on Saturday, depending on Friday's results. Should Army defeat Georgia, Saturday's game would be at 6:00 p.m. An Army loss to the hosts Friday sends the Black Knights to the 12:00 p.m. elimination game Saturday in the double elimination bracket.

Notes and Storylines

» The Black Knights punched their ticket to the NCAA Baseball Regionals with its 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 seen Georgia or Georgia Tech in program history. The club did face UNC-Wilmington in the 2013 Charlottesville Regional, falling 9-5 in the loser's bracket elimination game.

» Army won the Patriot League Championship Series, two games to none over arch rival Navy on May 19-20. The Black Knights took Game 1 May 19, 11-8, behind at least one hit and one run from each participating position player. After falling behind 2-0 in the first inning, Army scored seven runs in the second and never trailed again in the series.

Army secured the series and the automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals in Game 2 May 20, with a 3-0 win. Matthew Ronnebaum pitched eight shutout innings and struck out nine batters. He tied his existing career-highs in both categories, previously set at Navy last year in a regular season game April 23. The sides had just two hits each in Game 2. Army extended its advantage in the all-time series vs. Navy to 133-131, taking a lead in the overall series for the first time since 1974.

The program is 14-3 in its past 17 games against Navy. Army has also won 17 of its past 21 games over Navy and Air Force.

» The Black Knight pitchers possess the following:
- A Patriot League-leading team ERA of 4.28, a mark which is also 17th nationally.
- A conference-best .240 opponent batting average.
- Four complete-games.
- Four shutouts.
- A 1.42 WHIP, best in the league and 33rd in the country.
- Just 8.11 hits allowed per nine innings, a league-leading mark and 17th-best in the country.
- Had its starting pitcher go five innings or longer in all but seven league contests (out of 29 total games, 24 in the regular season).

» Offensively, Army led the Patriot League in: Home runs (57), batting average in league games (.301), RBIs (312), total bases (722), and sacrifice bunts (32).

Behind Enemy Lines

Host Georgia stands at 39-15, with a 17-13 SEC record and a third place finish in the SEC East. The Bulldogs boast superstar Charlie Condon, who leads Division I college baseball in both batting average (.443) and home runs (35).

UNC-Wilmington snagged the No. 2 seed, claiming the Coastal Athletic Association's automatic bid as conference tournament champions. The Seahawks finished 39-19, with a 20-7 conference record, placing them second in the regular season standings.

No. 3 seed Georgia Tech secured an at-large berth to the regional, finishing 31-23 and 15-15 in the ACC. The Yellow Jackets slotted fourth in the ACC Coastal Division standings.

Follow the Black Knights

Follow Army Baseball on X @ArmyWP_Baseball and on Instagram @armywp_baseball. Fans can also like Army West Point Athletics on Facebook and learn more about baseball and other programs at goarmywestpoint.com.

Baseball to Open Athens Regional vs. Georgia on Friday

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Players Mentioned

Matthew Ronnebaum

Army West Point Athletics