April 27, 2018
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech softball (26-22, 11-8 ACC) overcame an early deficit to take game one against Virginia Tech (20-28, 6-15 ACC) 3-2 at Mewborn Field on Friday night.
Head coach Aileen Morales says: “It’s always good to open the series with a win. We knew we had a job to do today and I’m proud of the way we responded each time Virginia Tech scored. We saw some good at bats from Lilly Hooper and Malea Bell to get us the win. Now it’s time to carry that momentum into tomorrow and the rest of the series.”
How it happened:
The Hokies got on the board early in the first. Facing senior Emily Anderson, Virginia Tech utilized two errors by the Jackets to score an unearned run to go up 1-0.
The Jackets stole the lead in the bottom of the second. Trailing 1-0 with one out, freshman Breanna Roper drew a walk to reach base. Senior Kelsey Chisholm reached on a fielder’s choice with Roper out on the play. With two outs and Chisholm on first, senior Malea Bell knocked her first home run of the season over left field, giving the lead to the Jackets at 2-1.
The score would stay at 2-1 heading into the sixth. The Hokies knotted the game at 2-2 with a home run over left field.
Georgia Tech responded in the bottom of the sixth. With one out on the board, sophomore Rebecca Prairie doubled to right center. A sacrifice fly off the bat of freshman Lilly Hooper brought around Prairie from second to give the Jackets back the lead at 3-2.
Anderson held on in the top of the seventh to come away with the win for the Jackets.
Up next:
The series continues Saturday with a 1 p.m. matchup on ACC Network Extra. The game serves as the Yellow Jackets’ senior day with a pregame ceremony at 12:45 p.m.
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