THE FLATS – Cameron Stanford hit her second home run of the season, Bailee Zeitler drove in two runs and starter Blake Neleman pitched five innings of one-run ball as Georgia Tech defeated Rider, 5-1, to cap off the I-75 Challenge, Sunday at Mewborn Field.
How it Happened: Zeitler cashed in the first run of the game for the Yellow Jackets with an RBI single to score Breanna Roper in the second. Tech scored another in the third on some smart base running, completing a double steal, with Stanford taking home while Kennedy Cowden stole second. Tricia Awald followed by driving in Cowden with a single to put the Jackets up 3-0. After Rider got on the board with one in the fifth, Stanford answered with a solo shot to left to put the Jackets up 4-1. Zeitler added insurance in the sixth with an RBI single that scored Roper again, and Brooke Barfield closed the door with two scoreless innings, earning her first save of the season. Blake Neleman was excellent again for the Jackets, striking out four while allowing just one run in five innings to earn her sixth win of the year.
Up next, Georgia Tech travels to Athens for a midweek match up with No. 14 Georgia on Wednesday, with a 6 p.m. first pitch.
Game Notes
- Freshman Blake Neleman won all four games she started this week, striking out 32 batters while finishing with an ERA of 0.85 and holding opponents to a .161 average.
- Freshman Caroline Davis started three games this weekend, hitting her first career home run while going 5-for-8 at the plate.
- Crosby Huckabay hit her first two home runs of the season and drove in five runs to lead Georgia Tech this weekend.
- Georgia Tech finished the week 4-2.
Multimedia
Time for lineups and first pitch!!
📺 https://t.co/7t3PNaGddA
📈 https://t.co/oyywSXPveG#BeGold ||| #404institute pic.twitter.com/xFUE3TNHvz— GT Softball 🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇 (@GaTechSoftball) March 1, 2020
B2 | Zeitler's RBI single scores Roper and Tech takes the lead, 1-0! pic.twitter.com/BCOpVMa9mN
— GT Softball 🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇 (@GaTechSoftball) March 1, 2020
B3 | Double steal!! Cowden takes second and Stanford steals home! 2-0! pic.twitter.com/LTeGshnHTG
— GT Softball 🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇 (@GaTechSoftball) March 1, 2020
B3 | Awald's single drops in to score Cowden! 3-0! pic.twitter.com/PhIp9BXdv2
— GT Softball 🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇 (@GaTechSoftball) March 1, 2020
Mid 5 | Neleman gets her fourth strikeout to retire the Broncs in the fifth!
Due up – Kauf, Stanford, Cowden
GT – 3, RIDER – 1 pic.twitter.com/2bDia44upM
— GT Softball 🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇 (@GaTechSoftball) March 1, 2020
Cameron Stanford hits a solo shot to extend the Jackets’ lead
Tech caps the weekend with a W!!#BeGold pic.twitter.com/uUTknmZBxD
— GT Softball 🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇 (@GaTechSoftball) March 1, 2020
Cameron Stanford had a DAY!
2-for-3 at the plate with a 💣 !!#BeGold ||| #404institute pic.twitter.com/vD5g2j5amJ— GT Softball 🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇 (@GaTechSoftball) March 1, 2020
5️⃣-for-8️⃣ at the plate and her first collegiate home run! What a weekend for @carolineadavis !! #BeGold ||| #404institute pic.twitter.com/UVWQ0KmfA8
— GT Softball 🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇 (@GaTechSoftball) March 1, 2020
NOTE: ACC Network Extra (ACCNX) programming is available online via the ESPN app or WatchESPN.com. Viewers must subscribe to a cable/satellite/digital provider that carries the ACC Network to view ACCNX programming.
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 A-T Fund’s Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes, and Athletics Initiative 2020, Georgia Tech athletics’ ongoing $125 million initiative to allow Tech to recruit the nation’s most elite student-athletes, build a better student-athlete once they arrive on The Flats and, ultimately, win! To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on Twitter (@GaTechSoftball), Facebook (Georgia Tech Softball) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.
