THE FLATS – Georgia Tech softball (36-15, 11-13 ACC) is set to begin ACC tournament play as the No. 7 seed against No. 10 seed NC State (33-22, 7-17 ACC) on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. at Vartabedian Field in Pittsburgh. The winner will advance to face No. 2 seed Duke in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 5 p.m.
2022 ACC Softball Championship Schedule
Wednesday, May 11
Game 1: #8 Louisville vs. #9 Syracuse, 1 p.m., ACCN
Game 2: #7 Georgia Tech vs. #10 NC State, 3:30 p.m., ACCN
Thursday, May 12
Game 3: #1 Virginia Tech vs. Winner Game 1, 11 a.m., ACCN
Game 4: #4 Notre Dame vs. #5 Clemson, 1:30 p.m., ACCN
Game 5: #2 Duke vs. Winner Game 2, 5 p.m., ACCN
Game 6: #3 Florida State vs. #6 Virginia, 7:30 p.m., ACCN
Friday, May 13
Game 7: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 1 p.m., ACCN
Game 8: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 3:30 p.m., ACCN
Saturday, May 14
Game 9: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 1 p.m., ESPN2
TV
All tournament competition will be broadcast live on ACC Network up to the championship, which will be aired on ESPN2.
Storylines
- Georgia Tech has outscored its opponents 288-167 to date.
- The White and Gold won their first 11 straight home games, tying the 1991 Yellow Jackets for the best home start in program history.
- Since, the Yellow Jackets have gone 36-15 for the best start since 2011. That squad started 44-8, winning the ACC regular season title and advancing to an NCAA regional.
- Tech owns a 25-2 record against nonconference opponents for the best nonconference winning percentage in program history.
- The Jackets are also 24-6 record in all home contests, the most victories on The Flats in a single season in program history.
- Georgia Tech has won 20 of its last 26 games, going on two nine-game win streaks. Both tears this season mark the program’s highest win streak since claiming 12 straight in 2012. The Jackets have also won 11 of their last 15.
- The White and Gold won four ACC series, topping Louisville, claiming their first ACC series sweep of the season against Syracuse, taking two of three over Boston College and earning their second ACC series sweep over NC State.
- The Jackets dominated four of their last five opponents in NC State, Troy, Georgia State and Charlotte, outscoring them 46-11 through eight games.
- The White and Gold added their fourth walk-off victory and fourth extra-inning triumph of the season over Charlotte, 3-2 in 10 innings.
- Leading the way in the field and at the dish through that week, sophomore shortstop Jin Sileo earned ACC Co-Player of the Week honors after batting .533, going 8-for-15 with a pair of doubles and RBI, seven runs scored, three walks and five stolen bases. The Dacula, Ga., native posted a .611 on-base percentage as well as a .667 slugging percentage with the effort, not to mention highlight reel plays in the field, including a barehand flick tabbed No. 3 in the NCAA’s top plays of the week.
- Graduate first baseman Tricia Awald took sole possession of first place in career doubles in Tech history against Charlotte, moving up to 55 and counting as she also leads the country in walks per game (0.96).
- Junior catcher Emma Kauf continues to climb in program history as she’s currently second all-time in doubles through a season with 22, a mark that places her second in the nation.
- Kauf was a near flawless 7-for-8 with two doubles and a triple in the regular season series against NC State, earning ACC Player of the Week for her efforts.
- Junior hurler Chandler Dennis is now up to a team-high 16 victories on the year, previously putting together a 4-0 week that resulted in ACC Co-Pitcher of the Week honors.
- Against Boston College in game two, the White and Gold piled up a season-high 16 hits on their way to their eighth mercy-rule victory on the year, 14-2 in five innings. The 14 runs were the second highest tally of the season for Tech.
- Georgia Tech owns four walk-off victories this season over Penn State, Dartmouth, Syracuse and Charlotte (excluding by way of mercy-rule).
- The Yellow Jackets have won nine games by mercy rule this season, including seven in just five innings.
- The White and Gold went a perfect 6-0 against in-state opponents this season after defeating Mercer, Georgia State twice, Georgia and Kennesaw State twice.
- The Yellow Jackets have shut out eight opponents this season.
- Tech is undefeated at 29-0 when holding opponents to two runs or less.
- The Jackets are 25-6 when scoring first and 31-4 when out hitting opponents.
- Tech touts six wins tallying double digit runs on the year.
- The White and Gold own four extra-inning victories of the season.
- Georgia Tech claimed its second ranked victory of the year in its series opener against No. 25 Notre Dame, using a four-run rally in the top of the seventh to come out on top, 9-8. The two ranked wins mark the most for the program in a single season since 2015.
- The victory marked the Jackets’ first road victory over the Fighting Irish in the history of the series. Tech also tallied 34 runs in the series, the most in a single series this season.
- Georgia Tech picked up its first ranked win of the season over then No. 16 Georgia. Previously, the most recent ranked win for the Jackets came a season ago, downing No. 15 Virginia Tech on the road.
- Tech owns 66 ranked wins all time, including six top-10 triumphs, two top-five victories and one top-three win in the history of the program.
- Junior designated player Caroline Davis belted Tech’s second grand slam of the year against the Bulldogs following Awald’s same feat against Villanova (Feb. 12). The grand slam marked Davis’ first of her career as she’s up to six dingers this season and seven through her career.
- Awald has gotten a hit in 37 games and reached base in Tech’s first 19 games this season. She’s reached in 47 of the Jackets’ 51 games on the year.
- Junior Blake Neleman tossed a career-high 13 strikeouts in the season opener against Saint Joseph’s, fanning 12 of the 13 batters on the way to a complete game win. Neleman nearly matched that total against Mississippi State with 12 punchouts in another complete game win over Mississippi State and recently hurled nine straight innings against Boston College, sitting down 10 batters as Tech came out on top in extras.
- With five strikeouts in game two against Louisville, Neleman surpassed 300 career punchouts as well as her previous career high of 111 sit downs in a season. She owns 188 total this season and 376 throughout her career.
- Neleman owns nine complete game wins, two shutouts and a 13-8 record with four saves in 38 appearances on the year.
- The Jackets are currently among the nation’s most efficient at the plate and near the top of the league in multiple categories – second in the NCAA and leading the ACC in walks (221) and 20th in the land and third in the league in on-base percentage (0.397).
- In the field, Tech is currently third in the league and 19th in the nation in fielding percentage at 0.974 to date.
- Awald is among the nation’s best at the dish, currently fourth in the country and leading the conference in on-base percentage (.579) while leading the nation in walks per game (0.96). Similarly, she’s been dinged the third most times in the league with a 0.24 average of getting hit by pitches per game.
- Already Georgia Tech’s program leader in career walks with 166 to date, Awald has moved up to third in Tech history in walks in a season with 49 this year.
- Junior catcher Emma Kauf has excelled in hits for extra bases, sitting in second in the NCAA and atop the ACC in doubles (22) to move to second in program history in doubles through a season. She’s also second in the conference in hits (66) while ranking third in the league in total bases (110), leading the squad in both.
- To date, Neleman is second in the conference in strikeouts (188). She’s also 17th in the country and third in the conference with four saves.
Series Notes
- Georgia Tech leads NC State 34-20 in the all-time series.
- The White and Gold hold a 20-7 advantage at home and lead the series 3-1 in neutral site games.
- Tech owns the longest streak of the series, winning 14 straight from 2009-13.
- The Yellow Jackets most recently swept the Wolfpack (33-22, 7-17 ACC) during the regular season, coming away with a mercy-rule victory in game two and outscoring NC State 17-2 over the course of the series.
- At the plate, Awald roped a pair of dingers while Kauf was a near flawless 7-for-8 with two doubles and a triple.
- Dennis led the way for the White and Gold in the circle, posting a flawless ERA with 13 strikeouts and a .091 batting average against, including a complete game one-hitter in game three.
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
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