March 25, 2017
THE FLATS – Playing a total of 16 and a half innings, Georgia Tech softball (10-21) split Saturday’s doubleheader with North Dakota State (11-21) on StrikeOut Cancer pink day. The rubber game is set for Sunday at 12 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.
The pink jerseys worn for Saturday’s games are currently up for auction on RamblinWreck.com. The jerseys come autographed by the entire team and net proceeds benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The auction ends April 1 at 12 p.m. Click here to bid.
Quote
“I’m proud of our resilience in the second game,” head coach Shelly Hoerner. “We executed in critical situations. We had some great production off the bench from Kendall Chadwick, Crosby Huckabay and Rachael Bonitatibus. When you have execution off the bench and on the field it’s a great day. We need to stay sharp and bring our ‘A’ game tomorrow.”
How It Happened
Game 1: NDSU 8, GT 6 (12)
Down 5-2 headed to the bottom of the seventh, Tech rallied for three runs with two outs sparked by the solo shot to left off the bat of freshman Rebecca Prairie. Kendall Chadwick followed with a walk and Kaylee Ellebracht singled to set the scene for Kelsey Chisholm, who tripled to right, tying the game at five.
The Bison got ahead in the top of the eighth, 6-5, but Katie Krzus led off the bottom of the inning with a double and scored on an errant throw by the centerfielder on the same play to knot the game again, 6-6.
The teams took it all the way to the 12th inning but it was North Dakota State that plated two runs in the top of the inning and held the Jackets to win 8-6.
Brooke Barfield pitched the first 7.1 innings with a career-best eight strikeouts before Jenna Goodrich (4-6) entered in relief. Goodrich threw 4.2 innings and was pinned with the loss.
Jacquelyn Sertic (9-15) pitched the full 12 innings for NDSU with eight walks and six runs on 11 hits.
Game 2: GT 5, NDSU 4
The Bison struck first, plating three in the first inning 3-0. The Jackets pulled within one thanks to a two-run home run from Malea Bell in the third inning to score Jessica Kowalewicz, her fifth home run of the season.
The Jackets tacked on a pair of runs with Bell coming in clutch again in the fifth frame. With two outs, Kowalewicz singled and Krzus drew a walk. Bell singled, scoring both runners to make it a 4-3 game in Tech’s favor.
Tech added an insurance run in the sixth inning to extend its lead 5-3. Ellebracht drew a walk and Rachael Bonitatibus entered to run and eventually score thanks to a walk drawn by Kendall Chadwick and an RBI single off the bat of pinch hitter Crosby Huckabay.
NDSU rallied in the top of the seventh to get within one, 5-4, and had the bases loaded with one out threatening at the door. Back-to-back fly outs secured the 5-4 win for Tech.
Goodrich (5-6) got the win pitching a complete-game with four runs on four hits. NDSU’s KK Leddy (2-6) suffered the loss, giving up five runs on five hits in six innings pitched.
Quick Hits
– Sam Pierannunzi drew three walks in game one
– Draven Sonnon had two walks and two RBI in game one
– Krzus and Chisholm also had a pair of hits in game one
– Bell went 2-for-3 with four RBI in game two
– Kowalewicz scored a pair of runs in game two
– The Jackets picked off a runner in game and lead the league with five pickoffs
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on Twitter (@GaTechSoftball), Instagram (@GaTechSoftball), Facebook (Georgia Tech Softball) or by visiting www.ramblinwreck.com.
