STARKVILLE, MISS. – Georgia Tech softball (7-3) capped its time in Starkville, Miss on Sunday afternoon with losses to North Texas (8-2) and No. 19 Mississippi State (9-1). The Jackets head back to Atlanta after going 3-2 in the Snowman Tournament which saw wins for Emma Minghini, Sophia Voyles, and Sydnie Watts while Paige Vukadinovich made a statement on offense with seven runs, eight hits, three doubles, three RBI, 11 total bases along with a .700 batting average, .667 on base percentage, and a .846 slugging percentage.
QUICK HITS
• Voyles made her third start of the season in the circle for Tech to begin the day.
• Despite dropping game one, Tech had superior bats compared to North Texas with a .269 batting average versus the Mean Green’s .214. The Jackets also bested the opposition as far as batting with two outs (.333-.300) and batting with runners in scoring position (.250-.167).
• Defensively against the North Texas, Tech threw more strikeouts (76-60). As a pitching staff the Jackets also struck out more batters than the Mean Green (6-4).
• Makayla Coffield made her first career start in the circle for the Yellow Jackets, which was against No. 19 Mississippi State.
• Maddie Furniss and Sydnie Watts made their second appearances respectively in Sunday’s second game against the Bulldogs. Both freshmen pitched 1.1 innings each
• Eliana Gottlieb and Paige Vukadinovich recorded back-to-back multi-hit games on Sunday. Gottlieb recorded her third and fourth multi-hit games of the season with two hits, while Vukadinovich had her second and third, also with two hits.
• Gracyn Tucker extends her hitting streak to six games following Sunday’s contests while Vukadinovich extends hers to five games.
• Tucker also leads the team with a seven-game reached base streak, the second highest of the season after Grace Connelly’s set earlier this season.
Tech’s game against No. 19 Mississippi State was the first game against a ranked opponent in the 2025 season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game one vs. North Texas
• Voyles began in the circle for Tech and recorded four strikeouts against 10 batters in 2.0 innings pitched.
• Tucker got the Jackets’ offense started in the first inning with a single up the middle that advanced Gottlieb home from third.
• Ella Edgmon added one more to the board in first, advancing home all the way from first off Addison Leschber’s double to left center.
• Gottlieb found her stride in the second inning as she slammed her first triple of the season to right center to send Vukadinovich home before coming home herself on a wild pitch.
• Voyles faced her final batter of the game in the third inning before she was relieved by Norton who went on to strikeout two batters in the next 4.2 innings.
• North Texas scored its first runs of the game in the top of the third with a double to left center that brought in two, only with help from a Tech throwing error.
• The Mean Green brought the game within one as the runner on third advanced off a Tech fielding error.
• With two outs and a two-run lead for North Texas following a double and a walk, Coffield relieved Norton, tossing the final 0.1 innings and helping Tech get the final out via rundown.
Game two vs. No. 19 Mississippi State
• In her first start of the season for Tech against the Bulldogs, Coffield struck out one batter in her 1.0 innings pitched.
• The hosting Bulldogs scored one run off a double to left center before a home run over right center added another two runs to the board.
• Tucker gave Tech its first runs of the game as she dinged a single up the middle that advanced both Simon home from third and Vukadinovich home from second.
• With the bases loaded, Mississippi State scored one run as the Yellow Jackets targeted the runner advancing to second and got the first out of the inning.
• Mississippi State tallied two more runs in the third with a sacrificed fly to center field and a single to center that advanced the runner on third.
• Tech trailed 10-2 in the bottom of the fourth after the Bulldogs hit a grand slam over center field.
• Vukadinovich came home for her second run of the day with some extra time to get there after a Mississippi State fielding error.
• The Bulldogs came home for the final time as a hit batter advanced all runners on base.
UP NEXT
Tech will play Troy in one final road contest on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Alabama before returning home to Mewborn Field to serve as a host in the I-75 Tournament Feb. 21-23. The Jackets will face off against Kentucky and Coastal on Friday and Saturday and finish the weekend with a double header against Dayton.
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.
