CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Georgia Tech softball (22-12, 8-4 ACC) came up short on Sunday afternoon, falling to North Carolina (22-8, 4-5 ACC), 7-2, at Anderson Stadium. The Yellow Jackets allowed seven unanswered runs across the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to fall to 3-2 for the week.
QUICK HITS
- Tech is now 8-4 in conference play, still the best record through four ACC series under Coach Aileen Morales.
- It’s the best record through the first 12 ACC games since 2012.
- Tiffany Domingue brought home both GT runs with a bases loaded double in the top of the third, bringing her season total to 33 RBI, the sixth most in the ACC.
- The double extends Domingue’s hitting streak to four games, the longest active streak on the team.
- It was also her ninth multi-RBI game of the season, the fourth most on the team.
- Jayden Gailey recorded a single to extend her on-base streak to four games, one shy of her career best, set last season.
- Gracie Hillman recorded her fourth-career stolen base in the top of the third, before coming around to score her sixth run of her freshman campaign.
- The Jackets drew four walks today, bringing their season total to 132, the most in the ACC.
- Blake Neleman made her 94th start, tying her with Emily Anderson for the fourth most in program history.
- Makayla Coffield came into the game in the third inning with two on and one out, getting a flyout and her third-career strikeout to keep UNC off the board. It was her first appearance since February 17 and sixth of the season.
- Coffield’s strikeout came against UNC’s sixth-year senior, Abby Settlemyre in an epic nine-pitch battle, just the fourth strikeout of the year for the UNC batter.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams went down in order in the first inning, with Neleman taking care of business while tacking on her first of four strikeouts. She punched out two more in the bottom of the second as both teams struggled to find offensive consistency. The Jackets needed only one hit to score two runs in the top of the third, Hillman worked a walk before stealing second. Just a few pitches later, Jin Sileo joined her on the base paths with a walk of her own. After a pair of strikeouts, Allen loaded the bases with a walk, setting up Domingue for the two RBI double down the line in left. The Jackets went to the bottom of the third, up 2-0.
In the bottom of the third, Neleman snatched her fourth strikeout to start things off before walking the next two batters, leading to a pitching change. Coffield entered and got the first batter on her first pitch, forcing a to flyout to Hillman in left. Next, Coffield successfully struck out sixth-year senior Abby Settlemyre on nine pitches, including three straight full-count strikes. It was just the fourth strikeout of the season for Settlemyre, who couldn’t catch up to Coffield’s fastball in an epic at bat to get out of the jam.
Unfortunately, the Jackets didn’t have much luck after that as the Tar Heels scored seven unanswered runs over the next three innings to take the lead, 7-2. Tech only mustered two hits after the RBI double from Domingue, falling by five on the road.
UP NEXT
The Yellow Jackets return to Georgia for a trip up I-75 to play Kennesaw State (10-20) on Tuesday, March 26 at 6:30 pm. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of the development of Yellow Jackets that thrive academically at the Institute and 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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