March 10, 2005
ATLANTA – The 19th-ranked Yellow Jacket softball team (21-5, 0-0 ACC) will host North Carolina (15-8, 1-2 ACC) in their Atlantic Coast Conference opener this Saturday and Sunday, March 12-13, at Glenn Field. Tech and UNC will play a doubleheader on Saturday at Noon and a single game on Sunday beginning at Noon.
The Jackets and Tar Heels have met 34 times with each school winning 17 of those match-ups. Tech is the hotter team entering the weekend, winning eight of its last nine ballgames. The Yellow Jackets have hit six home runs in their last six contests and are hitting .314 as a team, while holding opponents to a .157 team average.
Leading the Jackets at the plate is junior shortstop Christine Sheridan. The Pasadena, Md., native is hitting .468, with 16 runs batted in, four home runs and two doubles. Sheridan also has six stolen bases in eight attempts.
Senior pitcher Jessica Sallinger bounced back from a tough 5-3 loss to Ohio State on March 6 to toss her fifth complete-game shutout against Boston University on March 9. The Kennesaw, Ga., native is currently 12th all-time in the NCAA with 1,166 career strikeouts. Sallinger is currently 11-3 in the circle, with a 1.08 earned run average.
Freshman second baseman Aileen Morales leads the ACC with 19 stolen bases. The Columbus, Ga., native was just a senior last semester at Hardaway High School and is now hitting .329 and ranks second on the squad with 16 RBIs. Morales leads the team with 19 runs scored so far this season.
The Jackets will hit the road after this weekend to travel to Orlando, Fla., for Central Florida University’s Tournament, March 18-20. All Georgia Tech softball games can be followed via live stats at www.ramblinwreck.com.
-GT SOFTBALL-
