Hutts' death brings Georgia Tech players closer

ATLANTA (AP) -The mention of Michael Hutts caused Charlie Blackmon to pause, swallow hard, and look at the ground for a few seconds before responding.

The pain felt by Blackmon and his Georgia Tech teammates following Hutts' April 11 death is still sharp and obvious. Blackmon said players turned to each other when seeking comfort after the pitcher's sudden death.

"We all just feel like at that time we needed to spend time with people who were important to us,'' Blackmon said. "It brought us together. We started hanging out together with more team activities, and it's really helped us on the field.''

Players and coaches wear Hutts' No. 40 on their caps, and a white 40 is painted on the grass in front of the Yellow Jackets' dugout at Russ Chandler Stadium.

"The first weekend was real bad seeing it,'' said junior Luke Murton. "It really tugged at my heart.

"Now when I see the 40 on our hats and on the field, I try to think of Michael and the good times and the fun we had with him and he had with us. I just think how good of a person he was. I try not to think about what happened as much as how much fun we had while he was here.''

The cause of Hutts' death remains unknown. Coroner's investigator Mike Alsip said there was no obvious violent cause of death.

A spokeswoman for the Fulton County Medical Examiner's office said Wednesday the results of Hutts' toxicology tests could come "any day.''

Hutts' roommate and baseball teammate, Ryan Tinkoff, told police Hutts and friends had been drinking before Hutts was visited by a friend who "was known to use heroin, possibly with Mr. Hutts.''

The devastation felt by the Georgia Tech players was immediately obvious.

Miami swept three games from the lethargic Yellow Jackets by a combined margin of 34-13 in a series that began on April 12. Tech lost two of three at Maryland in its next Atlantic Coast Conference series.

The Yellow Jackets have recovered to win four of their last five games.

"Everything definitely changed with our team,'' Murton said. "We've definitely come closer together as a team. We've learned to depend on each other more and we value each other more just because we don't know how much longer we'll be with each other. We want to enjoy every minute we have together.''

Since the Miami series, Georgia Tech is hitting .361 and averaging 11 runs per game.

"It's been tough but we're a team and we're coming together and just trying to get back to the norm, playing baseball like we know how,'' said third baseman Brad Feltes. "That's just what we need to do for people to get back together.''

Georgia Tech, 31-13 overall and unranked, is only 12-12 in the ACC. Tech will play a home nonconference weekend series against Coastal Carolina, No. 20 in the Baseball America poll, beginning on Friday. Tech plays at No. 11 Georgia on Wednesday.

Coach Danny Hall said the players are focused on earning a spot in the NCAA tournament, and he said winning the series against Coastal Carolina (36-9) would help.

"To me it's a major deal,'' said Hall of the weekend series. "A lot of people feel Coastal Carolina could be a top 16 national seed. If we were to win this series it would give us a leg up if it came down to one of us getting that seed.''

Hall said the team "definitely'' now again can focus on baseball as it seeks a strong finish to the regular season.

"I don't think anything prepares you for what these guys have been through,'' Hall said. "There isn't a day that goes by that you don't think about what happened. You can't let it get you down but it's something that to me it will always be in my mind.

"It's one of life's lessons, I would say.''