Jackets Split Day Two in Iowa City

IOWA CITY, IOWA – Georgia Tech softball (25-22, 8-10 ACC) went 1-1 during day two of the Dr. Christine Grant Classic after falling 6-0 to South Dakota State (21-23, 5-4 Summit) before finishing the day with an 8-0 six-inning win over Iowa (22-18, 5-10 Big Ten).

QUICK HITS

• Sydnie Watts made her 11th start of the season, 19^th appearance of the season to get things started in game one of the day. The sophomore went on to record two strikeouts against 15 batters faced across 3.0 innings pitched.
• Tymber Harris was called on for her second relief appearance, ninth appearance of the season, to relieve Watts in the fourth inning after the starter faced the first two batters of the inning. Harris went on to record two strikeouts against nine batters across 2.0 innings of work.
• Kenley Hilleary made her 22^nd relief appearance of the season, 24^th appearance of the season, to relieve Harris in the sixth. She went on to also collect two strikeouts against nine batters faced in the final 2.0 innings pitched.
• Hilleary remains Tech’s go to relief pitcher as she leads the team in relief appearance (22) while being second for ERA (3.65) and strikeouts (43) and being third for innings pitched (53.2).
• Despite Tech dropping game one, the Yellow Jackets outhit the Jackrabbits 10-7 with seven Yellow Jackets recording at least one hit. Paige Vukadinovich led the pack with three hits while Gracyn Tucker was just behind her with two.
• After recording multiple hits Friday against Iowa and Saturday against South Dakota State, Vukadinovich now sits with eight multi-hit games. Tucker’s pair of knocks on Saturday against South Dakota State brought her to 14 multi-hit games, the third most of any Yellow Jacket this season.
• Madalyn Johnson made her 25^th start, 31^st appearance of the season, on Saturday in game two. Johnson went on to collect her 13^th win of the season after recording six strikeouts against 23 batters faced across 6.0 innings pitched.
• Of her 31 total appearances, and 25 starts, Johnson has pitched a combined 137.2 innings, earned 13 wins, and thrown six shutouts in 10 complete games.
• Alyssa Willer proved to be a problem for the Hawkeyes as she went 3 for 3, all of which were doubles, good for six total bases.
• Her three doubles brought her to 16 multi-hit games this season and marked her fourth game recording three or more hits.
• The rematch against the Hawkeyes saw four Yellow Jackets record home runs; Addison Leschber, Reese Hunter, Tucker, and Emma Simon.
• Tucker continues to lead the team in home runs this season with 14 while Leschber now has 12, Hunter now has eight, and Simon now has four.
• Tech has recorded multiple home runs in 19 games now this season including three games that saw four or more home runs.
• After reaching in each of Tech’s two Saturday games, Leschber continues to hold Tech’s longest safely reached streak of 19 games.
• The Saturday 8-0 win was Tech’s second 8-0 run-rule victory over Iowa in the now nine game series history and its first ever win over the Hawkeyes while playing at Bob Pearl Softball Field. The shutout win is also third time the Yellow Jackets have kept the Hawkeyes off the board completely.
• After blanking Iowa in game two of the day, Tech now has nine shutout wins which is the most under coach Morales and the most since 2021 season where the Yellow Jackets recorded 11. The nine shutouts surpass the 2018 and 2022 seasons which both saw eight shutouts.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Game One:

• The Jackrabbits got on the board early with one run in the first after the batter was walked with the bases loaded.
• South Dakota State was able to extend its lead in the top of the fourth with a pair of home runs that saw three runs come across.
• Tech was able to hold off the South Dakota State offense through the fifth inning but saw the Jackrabbits stack another two runs, on one hit, and two errors.

Game Two:

• Tech’s game two shutout performance began with Willer’s first run of the day as she was able to come home off of Leschber’s sac fly out to right field with one out on the board. Willer was able to get home successfully after her double put her in scoring position before a passed ball put her 60 feet closer to home.
• Despite a scoreless second inning for both teams, Tech stacked four runs on three hits and no errors to extend its lead to four runs. All of Tech’s runs came across on a pair of home runs from Leschber and Hunter, with Leschber’s slap over right bringing Willer home with her while Hunter took her lap solo style.
• The Yellow Jackets saw another two runs come across in the top of the fifth as Willer once again enjoyed the jog around the bases, this time with Tucker who sent a home run deep over left field.
• Simon put the nail in the coffin with her solo leadoff home run in the top of the sixth which put the Hawkeyes in position for the six-inning loss. Johnson went on two catch two Hawkeyes looking while Leschber took care of the final out of the game over at first.

UP NEXT
The Yellow Jackets will wrap up its time in Iowa City, Iowa on Sunday against South Dakota State before returning to The Flats to host Georgia Southern on Wednesday night.

Purchasing 2026 Tickets

All tickets can be purchased online at https://ramblinwreck.evenue.net/list/SOFTBALL or by calling the Georgia Tech Ticket Office at 888.TECH.TIX (Hours: M-F, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM).

2026 Softball Group Experiences and Video Board Messages!

Georgia Tech Softball is also offering special experiences for the 2026 softball season, including group postgame photos and special videoboard messages! Click the links below to purchase your experience today!

Click HERE to purchase videoboard messages!

Click HERE to purchase postgame photos!

On field Anthem Buddies experiences, for groups of 10-15 kids, ages 8-14, are also available for the 2026 season! To learn more, email gtmarketing@athletics.gatech.edu!

Want your special message on the board at Mewborn field for the 2026 season? 2026 video board messages are available for purchase now for $30!

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.