THE FLATS – Georgia Tech softball (8-5) will look to bounce back in day two of the I-75 Tournament after dropping games on Friday to Kentucky (7-5) and Coastal Carolina (8-2).
QUICK HITS
- Kinsey Norton made her second start of the season, six appearance of the season, in the circle for Tech to take on the Wildcats while made her Sophia Voyles made her fifth start against the Chanticleers.
- Seven Jackets recorded hits across both games, two of which recorded at least one hit in both games (Gracyn Tucker, Paige Vukadinovich).
- Camden Anders made her second appearance of the season against Coastal Carolina and tied her career high for innings pitched (2.1).
- Sydnie Watts made her third career appearance late in game two against the Chanticleers.
- Paige Vukadinovich currently stands with an eight-game reached base streak, the second highest of the season just behind Grace Connelly who held a nine-game reached base streak.
- The first game against Kentucky on Friday was the first home game Tech has had in series history against Kentucky.
- Friday’s evening game against Coastal was the first time Tech had lost to the Chanticleers at Mewborn Field.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game one vs. Kentucky
- Norton started in the circle for Tech and pitched all 5.0 innings against the Wildcats.
- Kentucky got on the board in the third inning as two fielding errors brought in three runs for the visitors.
- Norton recorded her first strikeout of the game to close out the third as she caught one Wildcat swinging.
- Tech’s infield tried to shutdown Kentucky’s offense in the fourth, but a solo homerun over right center extended the Wildcats’ lead.
- The Wildcats put the game out of reach in the fifth as a pair of hits, a wild pitch, and a fielding error.
- Norton was able to hold the Wildcats to a .208 batting average which trailed in comparison to the Yellow Jackets’ .222.
Game two vs. Coastal Carolina
- Voyles began in the circle for Tech and got her first batter out swinging in the first inning. The senior occupied the circle until she was relieved by Anders in the top of the fifth.
- With one away and one on second, Coastal scored its first run in the first inning as a double down the left field line advanced the runner occupying second.
- After a scoreless second inning for both teams, the third inning saw two runs for both Coastal Carolina and Tech respectively. The Chanticleers scored in the top of the inning as a homerun to right field also brought home the runner on second. Tech scored its first runs of the game in the bottom half of the inning as Grace Connelly hit a single down the third base line to scored Ella Edgmon before Connelly came home off Gracyn Tucker’s double to center field.
- Anders checked in the for the Yellow Jackets to start the top of the fifth inning and would remain in the circle for the remainder of the game.
- Both the Chanticleers and the Yellow Jackets posted no runs in the fourth but the visitors would bring home one runner from second with a single up the middle.
- Tech brought the game within one run as Addison Leschber came home off a single to left field from Willer.
- Coastal tallied five final runs as a grand slam and a single to third forced Tech to trail, 9-3, going into the bottom of the seventh.
- Sydnie Watts relieved Anders late in the seventh and faced one batter.
UP NEXT
Tech remains at home to continue hosting the I-75 Tournament and will have rematches against both Kentucky and Coastal Caroline Saturday afternoon. Both games are set to be streamed on ACCN.
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.
