ATLANTA (Feb. 29) – Georgia Tech’s softball team will look to return to winning ways as it hosts arch-rival Georgia Thursday, March 2, at Glenn Field for a 2 p.m. doubleheader. The Yellow Jackets then welcome Radford to Glenn Field for a 12 noon doubleheader on Saturday, March 4.
Tech (8-8) will be looking to regroup after going 0-5 in the Bama Bash Tournament last weekend and will be trying for a measure of revenge against Georgia after losing twice to the Bulldogs a year ago. The Jackets are winless in four games against Georgia in this brief series, but hold a 4-0 series record against the Highlanders.
“We need to regroup and get our focus back toward winning very quickly,” said head coach Kate Madden. “We played three nationally ranked teams last weekend, which gave us a high level of competition, but still we did not play as we as we are capable of doing. We have our top rival on Thursday and need to start playing well at home.”
The Jackets will be looking toward senior catcher Anne Knobbe (Brea, Calif.) to lead the offense, as she is currently first on the team with a .442 batting average. She is the team leader with 23 hits, five home runs, 18 RBI and a .788 slugging percentage. Knobbe was selected to the Bama Bash All-Tournament team after hitting three home runs and driving in six runs while going 6-for-13 at the plate. Second baseman Ellen Styer (Dublin, Calif.) is second on the team with a .354 batting average and she led the team in the Bama Bash by going 7-for-13 at the plate. Senior first baseman Beth Warren (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) and right fielder Kori Jacobson (Candler, Ariz.) continue to hit the ball well as both are hitting .349 (15-for-43). Left fielder Heather Sumrow (Humble, Texas) leads the team with 10 runs scored and has a .340 batting average.
Tech will be looking for pitchers Jamie Smith (Sr., Salem, Ore.) and Tiffany Goodman (Fr., Pleasanton, Calif.) to settle in this week after a rough stretch last weekend. Both players have 4-4 overall records but as a staff have a combined ERA of 5.01.
