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Jackets Split Day One of Bulldog Kickoff Classic

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Central Arkansas Box Score Southern Illinois Box Score Season Stats

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Georgia Tech softball (6-1) split its first doubleheader of the Bulldog Kickoff Classic, dropping its first game of the season to Central Arkansas, 7-4, before downing Southern Illinois, 5-2. Despite bringing the tying run to the plate with no outs in the bottom of the seventh, the Yellow Jackets succumbed to a strong fifth inning by the Bears made up of five unearned runs. The White and Gold rallied back against the Salukis, taking the lead in the first inning and never trailing throughout.

Tech’s one-two punch at the top of the order in graduate senior first baseman Tricia Awald and junior catcher Emma Kauf led the way at the plate on the day with nearly identical stat lines, both going 4-for-7 with a pair of runs scored. Awald knocked her second homerun of the season and picked up a double while Kauf torched two doubles through the day.

Game One: Central Arkansas (2-4) got on the board first in the top of the first frame, but Georgia Tech quickly answered with three runs of its own in the bottom half. Following a leadoff double by Kauf and a subsequent single by sophomore third baseman Mallorie Black, sophomore designated player Sara Beth Allen cranked a three-run shot for her first career homerun. With the Jackets leading 3-1, a stalemate ensued for the next three innings. The Bears struck again in the fifth, first loading the bases and driving in a run on a walk before a grand slam put Central Arkansas on top for the first time on the day, 6-3. Georgia Tech trimmed the lead to two in the bottom of the frame by scoring on a wild pitch, but the Bears got the run back on a sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth. With their backs against the wall in the bottom of the seventh, the Yellow Jackets rallied with a single from pinch hitting senior Kennedy Cowden and a following double by Kauf as both reached scoring position with no outs. Tech was unable to capitalize on the opportunity in the end, falling 7-4.

Game Two: Awald got the Yellow Jackets going early, blasting a solo shot over the right-field wall in the bottom of the first. Tech kept rolling in the third out to a 3-0 advantage, adding a pair to its lead thanks to a two-RBI single by freshman second baseman Grace Connelly. Southern Illinois (2-3) shaved down the Jacket lead in the top of the fourth with an RBI double, but the White and Gold responded with two more scores off the bat of Allen in the bottom half. The Salukis kept battling, drawing near with an RBI single in the top of the fifth, but Tech would maintain its distance, cruising through the final two innings behind the steady presence of junior pitcher Chandler Dennis from the circle for a 5-2 win.

Game Notes

  • Allen’s three-run dinger marked her first collegiate homerun.
  • Awald picked up her second homerun of the season. The slugger has maintained consistency throughout the season at the plate with a hit in every game this season.
  • Kauf was a perfect 4-for-4 against Central Arkansas, a career high.
  • Dennis tallied six strikeouts as she tossed her second complete game win of the season over Southern Illinois, previously controlling the game from the circle against Villanova for the same achievement
  • On the season, Dennis owns a 1.65 ERA through 17 innings of work with 17 strikeouts.

Up Next

Georgia Tech will return to action facing Southern Illinois at 10 a.m. CT and Mississippi State at 12:30 p.m. CT on Saturday for day two of the Bulldog Kickoff Classic at Nusz Park. The Jackets’ matchup with the Bulldogs will be broadcast on SEC Network+.

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