March 12, 2003
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
ATLANTA – Senior second baseman Felicia Coursey went 4-for-6 with three runs batted in, and sophomore Jessica Sallinger picked up two victories as the Georgia Tech softball team (16-11) swept a doubleheader from Georgia State (6-15) Wednesday at Bob Heck Field. The Jackets won game one, 5-1, and took the second contest, 7-3.
The Jackets took game one behind the pitching of Sallinger (9-7), who allowed just two hits, one walk and one unearned run in the complete game victory. She also fanned seven Panthers in the first contest. In game two, she entered a tied game in the fifth and tossed the final three innings to earn her third consecutive win.
Tech also had several solid offensive performances, but Coursey was the catalyst, reaching base six times from the top of the lineup. In the second contest, she went 3-for-4 with three RBI and a double. Coursey, who leads the team with a .325 average, was 1-for-2 with two walks in game one. She also scored one run and stole a base on the day.
Game two was also highlighted by a monstrous home run by junior Tasha Waugh. The shot to left center hit the roof of the Panthers’ indoor practice facility beyond the outfield fence and gave Tech a 3-2 lead in the sixth.
In the opening game, Tech scratched first when sophomore first baseman Katie Donovan scored from third on the second wild pitch of the second inning by the Panthers’ Andrea McNary. Donovan led off the frame with a single up the middle and took second on a sacrifice bunt by Waugh before moving to third on McNary’s first wild pitch.
The Panthers equaled the score at one in the bottom of the third on a RBI double to left by center fielder Lauren Morlock.
The Jackets got that run back in the top of the fourth, as junior shortstop Tara Knudsen doubled in the right center gap to open the inning and later came home on an error by GSU second baseman Katie Blue to give Tech a 2-1 advantage.
Tech broke the game open with three runs in the fifth. Knudsen doubled off the right field fence to score two. Coursey, who walked, and sophomore left fielder Kirin Kumar, who reached on a bunt single, both came home on the hit, which chased McNary from the game. Knudsen later took third on a wild pitch and scored on a single through the left side by Waugh, extending the lead to 5-1.
McNary went four innings, allowing five runs on six hits and four walks. She falls to 3-4 with the loss.
Donovan went 3-for-4 in game one, while Knudsen was 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles, two runs scored and two runs batted in. Coursey was on base three times in the game, with a single and two walks.
Georgia State took an early one-run lead in the second game when third baseman Meghan McCoy singled down the left field line to score Blue, who led off the game with a double to center.
In the top of the second, Coursey gave Tech a 2-1 lead with her second hit of the game, a double to center that scored two. Kumar and third baseman Tara Neff got the rally started with infield singles and both scored on Coursey’s third base hit of the day.
Blue tied the score at two in the bottom of the third with a solo homer to left off Tech starter Erin Voeltz, who allowed two runs on four hits and two walks in four innings. She also struck out five Panther batters.
The game remained tied until Waugh’s memorable homer in the sixth, her second of the season. The Jackets added two more runs in the frame, as Coursey roped a single to right center that scored right fielder Amy Hosier. Coursey then rounded first and got caught in a rundown but alertly stayed alive long enough for Neff to score, pushing the Jackets’ lead to 5-2.
The Panthers trimmed the margin to 5-3 in the sixth on a solo home run by McCoy off Sallinger, who entered to start the fifth. Tech tacked on two more in the seventh, highlighted by a RBI single by catcher Lauren Schlechte.
In addition to Coursey’s trio of hits, Neff went 3-for-3 with two runs scored in game two. Sallinger allowed one run in three innings, while fanning five to earn the victory.
Next up for Tech is a Sunday doubleheader with Princeton at Glenn Field. The Jackets and Tigers are scheduled to start game one at 1 p.m.
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