April 16, 2003
ATLANTA – Second place in the Atlantic Coast Conference is on the line Thursday when Georgia Tech (31-16, 3-1 ACC) hosts North Carolina (31-16-1, 2-2 ACC) in a 3 p.m. softball doubleheader at Glenn Field. Both teams are hot as Tech was won 18 of its last 23, while the Tar Heels have won 21 of their last 25 outings.
Last time out for the Jackets, Tech swept a doubleheader from Mississippi State at Glenn Field, where the Jackets own a 10-1 record this season and a 30-3 mark over the last two seasons. Tech pounded out 17 hits in the doubleheader, outslugging the SEC’s best hitting team.
The last time the Tar Heels and Jackets met, Tech claimed its first-ever ACC title with a 6-2 victory in the 2002 conference championship game. The Jackets have won four in a row versus North Carolina but still trail the all-time series, 16-15.
The Tar Heel offense, which owns a .281 team average, is led by senior Tiffany Tolleson, the ACC’s leading hitter. She sports a .442 average and also tops the league with 37 stolen bases. Freshman Jaclyn Holden (.386) and junior Emily Price (.339) are also batting above .300. Holden also owns 10 home runs and 39 runs batted in.
Tech’s Tara Knudsen joins Holden with 10 homers. She also is batting .313 with 31 RBI, both team bests. Sophomore first baseman Katie Donovan, who drove in five runs versus Mississippi State, is second on the team with 26 RBI and a .282 average. She is batting .357 over her last 20 games.
Thursday will also mark a meeting between two of the ACC’s pitching staffs as UNC (1.69) and Tech (1.72) rank second and third in the league. Sophomore Jessica Sallinger, who will become Tech’s leader in career victories with a win against the Tar Heels, leads the Jackets with a 1.11 ERA, 17 wins and an ACC-best 252 strikeouts. Freshman Crystal Cox, who is 19-8, leads UNC with a 1.00 ERA and 188 strikeouts. Classmate Alison Yin owns a 12-4 mark and a 1.69 ERA to give the Tar Heels a talented tandem.
Next up for the Jackets is a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday at Gardner-Webb. Tech will then travel to Georgia Southern Monday to make up last week’s games that were rained out. Action will get underway in Statesboro at 3 p.m.
-GT-
