ATLANTA – Georgia Tech softball (29-17, 11-7 ACC) scored five runs in the final two innings, erasing a 4-0 deficit to defeat Georgia State (10-32), 5-4, on Tuesday evening at the Bob Heck Complex in Panthersville, Ga. A three-hit performance from Ella Edgmon along with 3.1 scoreless innings from Kinsey Norton fueled the Yellow Jackets comeback as Tech sweeps the season series against the Panthers.
QUICK HITS: THE TEAM
- The Jackets have swept the season series against Georgia State for the fifth season in a row. Tech has won nine straight games over the Panthers dating back to 2019.
- This was the 15th come from behind victory of the season.
- Today marks just the second time Georgia Tech has won a game in which it was trailing after six innings.
QUICK HITS: THE BATS
- Ella Edgmon tied a career-best with three hits in the game today, including a double.
- It was her sixth-career three-hit performance and her sixth double of the season, a new career best.
- Edgmon drove in her 50th career RBI in the sixth inning. She now owns 51 RBI as a Yellow Jacket.
- Mallorie Black hit a double and came around to score in the sixth inning. It was her 13th double of the season as she becomes the first Yellow Jacket with 13 doubles and 15+ home runs (18) since Kelsi Weseman in 2011.
- She scored her 47th run of the season, the most on the team and the second most by any Jacket in the Morales era (Breanna Roper, 49 in 2019).
- Jin Sileo recorded a hit and came around to score the game-winning run in the seventh inning. The hit extends her hitting streak to a career-best six games.
- Sara Beth Allen led off the three-run sixth inning with a single through the infield. She has now reached base in 15 consecutive games, four shy of her career-best set earlier this season.
- Jayden Gailey recorded her 17th RBI of the season in the sixth inning. It was her 10th RBI this month, the third most on the team behind Black and Allen.
QUICK HITS: THE ARMS
- Black Neleman made her 97th career start, the fourth most in program history, and her 143rd appearance, the second most in program history.
- Kinsey Norton entered the game in the fourth inning, pitching 3.1 innings of scoreless softball to record the win.
- Norton recorded half of her outs via punchout, striking out five GSU batters.
- Norton has been handy with the strikeout in recent games, recording 14 strikeouts in her last three appearances after posting only 27 through her first 26 games.
- The Woodstock, Ga. native has tied Sophia Voyles for the most victories on the team this season, with eight, while lowering her ERA to a team-best 3.05.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Georgia State got on the board first, striking for a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning. While the offense was still revving into gear, the Panthers added two more in the bottom of the fourth, chasing Neleman from the game in the process. The offense finally came to life in the sixth, beginning with a single from Allen and a double from Black to put runners at second and third for Edgmon, who came through with her third hit of the game to cut the deficit to 4-2. Edgmon ran all the way to third on the play, showcasing her excellent baserunning while the Panthers tried, unsuccessfully, to get Black out at the plate. With Edgmon on third, Gailey took advantage, getting a ball in play to score Edgmon and put Tech in striking distance, 4-3, headed into the seventh.
After Norton dispatched of GSU in the bottom of the sixth with a couple more strikeouts, the Jacket bats came up with the seven, eight and nine hole hitters, still down a run. Grace Connelly reached base on a hard-hit ball that was mishandled by the third baseman, putting a runner on base with one out. Sileo came through in the clutch with a single, putting runners at the corners. Black would be walked, leading to a bases loaded two out scenario for Edgmon, who connected for a ground ball that jumped off the glove of the first baseman, allowing two runs to score. Norton took the circle with the lead for the first time in the game, working around a leadoff single to close out the victory with a three-pitch strikeout.
UP NEXT
The Jackets will travel up to Blacksburg, Va. for a three-game series at No. 16 Virginia Tech (32-9-1, 14-4 ACC). The series will run Friday through Sunday beginning Friday, April 19 at 6 pm on ACCNX.
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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