Eight-Inning Thriller Against No. 20 Duke Ends in 14-13 Loss for Tech

THE FLATS – Georgia Tech softball (17-15, 5-5 ACC) came up short with a 14-13 eight-inning loss to No. 20 Duke (20-10, 6-1 ACC) on Friday night at Mewborn Field.

QUICK HITS

• Tech’s five home runs on Friday are the most in a single game so far this season and the most home runs in a single game since the Yellow Jackets’ five home runs in March of the 2019 that lifted Tech to a 10-7 win over Virginia Tech.
• Paige Vukadinovich, Holly Medina, Addison Leschber, and Gracyn Tucker all cleared the fences of Mewborn Field during Tech’s game one battle against the Blue Devils. Tucker led the group with two home runs with her first one coming in the seventh and her second in the eighth.
• Vukadinovich not only hit her first home run of the season, but slammed her first career grand slam in the bottom of the second to give Tech a four-run lead. The senior finished the day with one run, one hit, and a career high four RBI.
• Medina’s first inning home run was the very first of her career.
• With her pair of home runs, Tucker now helps lead the team with seven home runs this season alongside Alyssa Willer and Reese Hunter. Leschber sits just behind the group with six home runs this season.
• The Friday grand slam was Tech’s third of the season and the second of the season by a senior after Jayden Gailey claimed Tech’s first grand slam of the season during the Buzz Classic.
• Madalyn Johnson made her 16^thstart of the season, 21^st appearance, on Friday evening and recorded two strikeouts across her 4.0 innings pitched.
• Johnson continues to lead Tech’s pitching staff in appearances (21), starts (16), strikeouts (77), and innings pitched (91.1).
• Kenley Hilleary made her 15^threlief appearance, 17^th appearance of the season, recording three strikeouts across 4.0 innings pitched.
• Friday’s appearance marked Hilleary’s fourth appearance in each of Tech’s last four games.
• With three hits each, Medina now sits with 10 multi-hit games this season while Tucker sits just behind her with nine multi-hit games.
• Tucker’s team-high six RBI bring her to four multi-RBI games while Medina’s two RBI Friday also brought her to four multi-RBI games. Vukadinovich sits with three multi-RBI games after finishing Friday with four RBI.
• Tech has recorded a home run in 20 of its 32 total games so far this season. Of those 20 games, the Yellow Jackets have recorded multiple home runs in 13 games.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After forcing the Blue Devils to go scoreless through the top half of the first, Tech saw two runs come across off of Medina’s home run over right center field.
• Duke responded with a home run over left field that tied things up in the top of the second.
• Georgia Tech wasted little time being tied as Vukadinovich hit her first career grand slam to return the lead to Tech. Tucker added another two runs to the board off a triple that sent both Willer and Medina running home.
• The Blue Devils were able to cut the Yellow Jackets’ lead in half as they stacked two runs on a home run over left field in the top of the fourth.
• Duke was able to score three runs on three hits and one Tech error to force the Friday game into extra innings.
• In extra innings, Duke took a four-run lead with the first run coming off a sac fly out to center field with no outs. The sacrifice was followed by a home run over left field that advanced the runners on first and second.
• Despite already having two outs, Tech was able to score three final runs off Tucker’s second home run of the game in the bottom of the eighth.

UP NEXT
The Yellow Jackets remain at home to host No. 20 Duke in two more games March 21-22 at Mewborn Field. Saturday’s game can be streamed on ACCNX while Sunday’s game can be watched on ACCN.

Purchasing 2026 Tickets

All tickets can be purchased online at https://ramblinwreck.evenue.net/list/SOFTBALL or by calling the Georgia Tech Ticket Office at 888.TECH.TIX (Hours: M-F, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM).

2026 Softball Group Experiences and Video Board Messages!

Georgia Tech Softball is also offering special experiences for the 2026 softball season, including group postgame photos and special videoboard messages! Click the links below to purchase your experience today!

Click HERE to purchase videoboard messages!

Click HERE to purchase postgame photos!

On field Anthem Buddies experiences, for groups of 10-15 kids, ages 8-14, are also available for the 2026 season! To learn more, email gtmarketing@athletics.gatech.edu!

Want your special message on the board at Mewborn field for the 2026 season? 2026 video board messages are available for purchase now for $30!

Full Steam Ahead

Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.

For the latest information on the Georgia Tech softball team, follow us on Twitter (@GaTechSoftball), Facebook, Instagram (@GaTechsoftball) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.