March 10, 2013
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia hit two home runs in the fourth inning en route to a 4-2 victory against Georgia Tech in the series finale Sunday at The Park. With the loss, Tech fell to 13-12 overall and 2-1 in ACC play, while the Cavaliers improved to 9-10 on the season and 1-2 in conference action.
Tech had a 2-1 advantage heading into the fourth frame when Virginia’s Marcy Bowdren and Karli Johnson launched solo home runs to give the Cavaliers a 3-2 lead.
The Yellow Jackets scored their two runs in the first inning courtesy of Ashley Thomas, Alysha Rudnik and Hope Rush. Ashley Thomas singled to start things off and Rudnik hit her sixth double of the season. Rush crushed her fourth double of the season to score both Thomas and Rudnik.
The Cavaliers managed to push another run across the plate in the sixth inning. With one out, Georgia Tech starter Ashley Clifton issued two walks and Kylie Kleinschmidt entered the game, ending the day for Clifton. Virginia strung together two singles, as the first hit loaded the bases and the second scored Lauren Didlake.
Clifton (2-3) suffered the loss for Tech and allowed four runs on five hits in 5.1 innings of work.
Melanie Mitchell (7-6) tossed a complete-game effort with two runs on eight hits. Mitchell became Virginia’s all-time career strikeout leader with three strikeouts in the contest for 934 in her career. The record was 932.
The Jackets are back in action Wednesday when they host the Georgia Bulldogs at 7 p.m. at Mewborn Field. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 with Richard Musterer on the call and Roddy Jones as the analyst.
