Feb. 8, 2007
ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech softball team will host Georgia Southern on Saturday, Feb. 10, in its season opener at Glenn Field. The non-conference doubleheader is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. and can be followed on www.ramblinwreck.com.
“We are excited to get the season underway this Saturday against the defending SoCon champs Georgia Southern,” said first-year Tech coach Sharon Perkins. “The players have put in hard work during the offseason and the coaching staff is looking forward to seeing that hard work pay off during the course of the season.”
The Jackets and Eagles have met 53 times, with Tech holding a 40-13 advantage. The Rambling Wreck have won eight straight games in the series, last tasting defeat on March 3, 2004, where the Eagles stunned the Jackets, 3-1, at Glenn Field.
The Yellow Jackets are coming off a 48-22 season and finished 12-9 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. Tech advanced to its fifth straight NCAA Tournament, falling to No. 4 Alabama, 7-2, in the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional final. Preseason All-American sophomore Whitney Haller returns to the lineup after shattering five ACC records, including home runs (24), RBI (72), total bases (171), slugging percentage (.799) and saves (6).
Senior Caitlin Lever also returns for the Jackets after earning All-ACC honors for the second consecutive season last year. Lever smashed a career-high 10 home runs and led Tech in the postseason with a .429 batting average. A native of Amherst, N.Y., Lever finished the year third on the team with a .352 season average.
Tech returns 12 letterwinners, seven position starters and three pitchers. Senior Sarah Wood and junior Whitney Humphreys look to lead the Jackets in the circle. Wood led the team with a 20-8 record, finishing with a 2.87 earned run average and 98 strikeouts. Humphreys went 18-7, with a 2.87 ERA and fanned 88 batters.
Tech will remain at home as they host Troy for a single non-conference game on Wednesday, Feb. 14. That game is slated for 4 p.m.
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