Feb. 17, 2004
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
ATLANTA – All-American shortstop Tara Knudsen (Thornton, Colo.) and junior Liz Bartle (Coral Springs, Fla.) each drove in two runs as the Georgia Tech softball team shut out Furman, 8-0 and 2-0, this afternoon at Glenn Field. Tech pitchers Erin Voeltz (Westlake, Calif.) and Jessica Sallinger (Kennesaw, Ga.) each tossed one-hitters while senior outfielder Soraya Reddick (Tampa, Fla.) delivered a game-winning two run home run in the fifth inning in the nightcap for the sweep. The Yellow Jackets improve to 5-1, while Furman falls to 1-6.
“I thought we came out with a lot of intensity in game one and did a lot of things well,” said head coach Ehren Earleywine. “We lost a bit of our intensity in the second game and weren’t as focused. We had great pitching performances in both games, but we were not aggressive in game two. It was nice to get back on the diamond and I was pleased with the end result.”
In game one, the Jackets took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning. Reddick led off the inning with a walk and stolen base. Sophomore outfielder Amy Hosier (Colorado Springs, Colo.) then hit a ball over the left fielder’s head for a RBI double.
Tech tallied two more runs in the third inning as Knudsen smacked a two-run homer after a Reddick single as the Yellow Jackets led 3-0.
Bartle came up to bat in the bottom of the fifth inning with the bases loaded and sent a drive off the top of the center field fence to score two Jackets and increase the lead to five. Junior second baseman Katie Donovan (Marietta, Ga.) followed Bartle’s double with a RBI single up the middle as Tech led 6-0. Senior Tasha Waugh (Talala, Okla.) then pinch hit for the Yellow Jackets and hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Bartle and push the Yellow Jackets’ lead to seven.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, senior outfielder Sara Wissmann (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) singled to right field with the bases loaded to end the game after 5 1/3 innings of play, 8-0.
Voeltz (2-1) threw five innings for the Rambling Wreck, retiring 11 straight and striking out six, allowing just one hit in the ballgame. Freshman pitcher Sarah Wood (Marietta, Ga.) threw a scoreless sixth inning for Tech, allowing one hit and struck out one.
Tech scored eight runs, on 11 hits and had one error, while Furman had no runs, on two hits and had no errors.
The nightcap featured a pitcher’s dual between Sallinger (3-0) and Furman’s Kristy Goodrich (1-2). Neither pitcher surrendered a run through the first four innings of play, as the Jackets left four runners on base in that stretch.
The Yellow Jackets broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth inning on a two-run home run by Reddick after Wissman was hit-by-a-pitch as Tech led 2-0.
Sallinger retired 19 batters in a row after letting the leadoff batter of the game for Furman reach on an error. The Lady Paladins’ Joni Lockridge ruined Sallinger’s bid for her fifth no-hitter in her career with a one-out single off the end of the bat to left field in the seventh inning. Sallinger then recorded her 10th strikeout of the game and induced a ground out to end the game.
The Jackets scored two runs, on five hits and committed two errors, while the Lady Paladins had no runs, on one hit and one error.
Leading Tech offensively was Knudsen, Bartle and Reddick. Knudsen was perfect on the day, going 4-for-4, with two RBIs, a home run and three walks. Bartle went 2-for-5, with two RBIs and Reddick finished 2-for-5, with a walk, stolen base and a game-winning home run.
The Rambling Wreck will remain in Atlanta as they head to Georgia State for a softball tournament, Feb. 21-22. The Yellow Jackets will open up with tournament host Georgia State at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning. All the games can be followed on www.ramblinwreck.com.
-GT SOFTBALL-
