Jackets Defeat Auburn, Split Day at War Eagle Challenge

AUBURN, Ala. – Georgia Tech softball (25-16, 9-6 ACC) launched seven home runs across two games today, taking down Auburn (20-12-1) 10-9, after falling to Louisiana Tech, 10-13, on Saturday at Jane B. Moore Field in Auburn, Ala. Sara Beth Allen hit three home runs in the win over Auburn, becoming just the fourth Yellow Jacket to ever hit three homers in a game, leading the Tech offense to its first victory at Auburn since 2002.

QUICK HITS

• Georgia Tech hit seven home runs today, bringing the Yellow Jacket season total to 72 – the fifth most in program history and the most since 2011.
• This is the third time Georgia Tech has hit seven home runs in a single day – something
• Mallorie Black hit a two home runs in the first game, a three-run home run in the sixth and a grand slam in the seventh, before hitting her third of the day in the win over Auburn.
• Black has now hit 16 home runs this year, tied for the 8th most in program history for a single season.
• The Cumming, Ga native has now driven in 52 runs this year, the most in the ACC. She is the first ACC player to eclipse the 50 RBI mark this year and the fourth fastest to 50 across Division I.
• She set a new career high for RBI in a game with seven vs. Louisiana Tech – tied with Madison Dobbins for the most RBI in a single game since the record was set back in 2017 by Draven Sonnon.
• Allen took control in the second game, tying the program record with three home runs against Auburn.
• She is just the fourth Yellow Jacket to ever hit three home runs in a single game and the first to do so since 2011.
• Allen set a new career high with five RBI in the Auburn win.
• Reese Hunter launched her seventh home run of the season in the third inning of the opening game. It was her 10^th career long ball.
• She extended her hitting streak to a career-best five games. She is leading the team with a .533 average over the last five games posting an OPS of 1.388 over that stretch.
• The Yellow Jackets have now hit five grand slams this year, tied for the second most in program history and the most since 2010.
• Jayden Gailey had a fantastic week at the dish. She went 3 for 6 across both games today, driving in three runs. Gailey has now recorded at least one RBI in her last four games, the longest RBI streak of her career.
• Gailey has driven in six runs over her last four games after having seven RBI through her first 20 games.
• Ella Edgmon scored twice, her team-leading 42^nd and 43^rd runs this season, tied for the second most in a single season by a Yellow Jacket in the Morales era and the most since 2019.
• Jin Sileo scored three runs on top of making a couple of game-saving defensive plays in the seventh inning. She tied a season high with two runs scored in the win over Auburn.
• Tech still leads the all-time series against Auburn, 8-6.
• The Jackets turned an inning-ending double play in the first inning, their ACC leading 21^st of the season.
• Sophia Voyles earned the win over Auburn, her team-leading seventh victory of the year.
• Kinsey Norton notched her fourth save of the season, tied for the third most in program history.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Game 1

The Bulldogs got on the board first, putting up runs in the first and second innings to go ahead, 2-0 after two. Jayden Gailey put Tech on the board with an RBI double before coming home to score on Hunter’s home run. That homer put the Jackets in front, 3-2, a lead they would hold onto until the fifth inning. Louisiana Tech would score 11 runs during the fifth and sixth innings, turning the game on its head and taking the lead, 13-3. Black staved off the mercy rule with a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth. In the seventh, Black connected for a grand slam, putting the Jackets into double digits but GT ran out of outs and would end the game, 10-13.

Game 2

The Yellow Jackets jumped all over Auburn in the second game, starting with a single from Black. Edgmon and Dobbins followed that with two-out singles, Black coming home to score on the base knock from Dobbins. With a 1-0 lead, Gailey stepped to the plate, delivering a double into the gap in left center to clear the bases and give the Jackets another three-run first inning against AU. The defense stepped up in the bottom of the inning, as Tiffany Domingue snagged a line drive before flipping the ball to Gailey to erase the leadoff walk and the Jackets headed to the second with their three-run lead intact. The Jackets added to it when Allen and Black went back-to-back, smashing solo home runs with two outs, to put Tech ahead, 5-0. Those runs came in handy as Auburn responded with a two-run homer in the bottom of the second and the slugfest was on. Auburn made it a two-score game with a run in the bottom of the third, prompting Tech to respond with a three-run top of the fourth. Allen’s second homer of the game drove in Sileo before Domingue drove in Black with a single. The runs made it a 8-3 score halfway through the game. Auburn got one run back in the bottom of the fourth and would cut the lead back to only two runs after the Tigers scored two more in the fifth. With an 8-6 lead, Sileo got the sixth started with a bunt single, jogging around to score off Allen’s third homer of the game as Tech reached double-digit runs scored for the third time in the last four games. Auburn would score again in the bottom of the sixth, giving Tech a 10-7 lead headed into the seventh.

In the seventh inning, the Jacket bats went quietly and Auburn would load the bases with just one out. The Tigers scored a run with a single, making the lead just 10-8, still with only one out and with the bases still full of Tigers. With the game hanging in the balance, Norton induced a pair of ground balls with Sileo ranging over to her left to make a pair of strong defensive plays, flipping the ball over to Abby Hughes at first and successfully fending off Auburn’s comeback attempt, winning the game, 10-9.

UP NEXT­­
The Yellow Jackets return to Mewborn Field for four games next week, starting with a Tuesday midweek against Alabama State at 6 pm, before hosting Louisville for an ACC series (April 12-14). All games will be streamed on ACCNX.

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