THE FLATS – Georgia Tech softball (4-7) utilized the long ball once again, scoring six unanswered runs to defeat Georgia State (2-10) by a final score of 9-4 on Wednesday evening at Mewborn Field. The Jackets rattled off three more home runs while junior Kinsey Norton threw three scoreless innings in relief to defeat the cross-town Panthers and earn their fourth win of the year.
QUICK HITS
- The Yellow Jackets hit three home runs today courtesy of freshman Gracyn Tucker (2nd of the year), sophomore Reese Hunter (4th of the year) and senior Mallorie Black (4th of the year).
- Tech has hit 19 home runs over its last seven games, the most in a seven-game stretch in 13 seasons (20 HR – March 4-13, 2011).
- The Jacket bats have hit multiple home runs in seven consecutive games for just the 2nd time in program history. They are one game away from tying the program record (8) set back in the 2011 season.
- Tucker connected for a solo home run in the third inning, coming off the bench and delivering her second home run of the year and second in as many at bats at Mewborn Field.
- Tucker went 3 for 3 today with the home run and two runs scored. She has reached base safely in each of her last eight at bats on The Flats, dating back to Feb. 11, going 7 for 7 with two home runs, three RBI and five runs scored.
- Hunter blasted a solo homer in the fifth inning to tie the game, 4-4. It was her fourth home run of the year, setting a new career high for HR in a season after hitting three all of last season.
- Hunter has now hit four long balls in her last 16 at bats after hitting three in her previous 72.
- Reigning ACC Player of the Week, Black hit a two-run go-ahead home run in the sixth inning to begin what would be a five-run sixth for Tech.
- It was her fourth home run of the year and 14th as a Jacket as she extended her on-base streak to eight games, tied for the second longest of her career 2022 and 2022/21 (10 games)
- The White & Gold have hit eight of their 20 home runs this season in their final inning at bat.
- Junior Sophia Voyles made her fourth start of the season, going 4.0 innings – her third outing of the year with at least 4.0 innings pitched.
- Norton entered the game in the fifth, pitching 2.2 perfect innings before giving up her only baserunner of the day in the 7th, the fewest baserunners allowed with at least 3.0 innings pitched in her collegiate career.
- She needed only seven pitches to collect three outs in both the fifth and sixth innings, dominating the Georgia State lineup and allowing the offense to take over the game.
- Norton’s fantastic outing in the circle earned her the win, the first of her career.
- Sophomore Paige Vukadinovich maintained her hot streak at the plate, going 2 for 3 with an RBI double, her first RBI of the year.
- She has now hit four doubles this season and three in her last two games, earning a three-game hitting streak in the process.
- Graduate Senior Tiffany Domingue extended her hitting and RBI streak to four games with a 2 for 4 day, driving in a run in the 6th She is 6 for 11 with 7 RBI in her current four-game streak.
- Junior Bailey Chapin got her first hit and first RBIs of the year with a two-run single in the sixth. She brings her career total to 5 RBI on one swing of the bat.
- Junior Ella Edgmon did her job, reaching base twice throughout the game and stealing second twice, her fourth career game with multiple steals.
- Sophomore Brionna Condon came around to score as a pinch runner in the 6th, her second run of the season.
- Tech has now won eight games in a row over Georgia State by a combined score of 65-16 and leads the all-time series, 55-25.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Sophia Voyles made her team-leading fourth start of the season, working the first four innings and allowing four runs on four hits while striking out two. Norton entered the game in the fifth inning and immediately silenced the Panther bats, throwing just seven pitches in both the fifth and sixth innings, keeping GSU off the bases and taking on a strikeout. After getting the first two outs of the seventh in 10 pitches, she surrendered her only hit of the night, quickly bouncing back to force the game-ending groundout just three pitches later.
Norton took over while Georgia State was leading, 3-4, muffling the Panthers bats over the next three innings to earn her first collegiate victory.
The bats came alive in the second inning thanks to another double from Vukadinovich, her third double in her last four ABs dating back to last game. Vukadinovich brought home Domingue and pushed Abby Hughes to third, where she would score off a wild pitch. The Jackets loaded the bases twice in the second inning but only managed two runs, tying the score, 2-2, after GSU scored twice in the first. Tucker put the Jackets in front with her solo homer in the third, only for the Panthers to take the lead once more in the fourth. That lead would only last into the fifth, when Hunter blasted her solo HR to tie the game once more, 4-4.
In the sixth inning, Edgmon got the ball rolling with a leadoff walk, advancing into scoring position with a stolen base. She came around to score on the Black home run, putting Tech in front, 6-4. Hunter worked a full-count walk directly after Black’s blast, being pinch-run for by Condon, who advanced to second off a single from Tucker and came around to score off the Domingue single. With two outs and Tucker and Domingue on base, Chapin came off the bench, connecting for a single up the middle to drive in two more insurance runs, 9-4. Norton slammed the door in the top of the seventh and the Jackets pocketed their fourth win of the season.
UP NEXT
The Jackets will play six games against four opponents this weekend in the I-75 Challenge, beginning with a 2 pm game against UNC-Greensboro on Friday, Feb. 23 at Mewborn field. All six games will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra. Tickets for the weekend are available at buzz.gt/SBTickets
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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