Jackets Fall on Day 2 of Buzz Classic

THE FLATS – Georgia Tech softball (1-2) couldn’t muster enough runs on Friday at Mewborn Field, dropping a doubleheader to No. 11 Alabama (3-0), 3-1, and Villanova (2-2), 5-2. The Yellow Jackets utilized five pitchers throughout the day, holding opposing hitters to just eight hits (.174 Avg.) across 14 innings of work in the losses.

QUICK HITS

• Junior RHP Sophia Voyles made her first start of the season and 10^th of her career in the first game against Alabama.
• Senior RHP Blake Neleman entered in relief in both games, pitching a team-high 6.2 innings, striking out 10 while giving up only one earned run and two hits.
• Freshman LHP Makayla Coffield made her collegiate debut in the circle for the final inning of the game against Villanova, pitching a scoreless inning with the only baserunner reaching by an error.
• Junior OF Ella Edgmon recorded two hits in both games today, batting second in the lineup. She has recorded five-straight multi-hit games dating back to last season, the longest streak of her career.
• Edgmon also recorded a stolen base in the Alabama loss, bringing her season total to two, the only Jacket with multiple steals through three games.
• Senior INF Mallorie Black hit the first Georgia Tech homerun of the season in the 7^th inning against Alabama. It was her first of the year and 10^th of her career.
• Senior DP Sara Beth Allen made three hits across both games. She has recorded a hit in all three games to start a season for the first time in her career.
• Sophomore INF Jayden Gailey recorded hits in both of her pinch-hit opportunities today. She has recorded hits in back-to-back games for the first time in her collegiate career.
• Senior UTL Abby Hughes hit a double against Villanova, giving her two on the year already after hitting five doubles across 43 games last season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Game 1 vs. Alabama

Sophia Voyles made her 2024 season debut in the circle pitching 2.2 innings of scoreless softball before a double broke the scoreless streak. The Tide managed to scratch across two more runs in the fourth, both off doubles, putting Alabama in front, 3-0 at the midway point. Blake Neleman made her 2024 debut in the fifth, pitching three scoreless innings while only allowing two baserunners and striking out four to keep the Jackets in the game.

Tech did a great job of battling in the early at bats, with Grace Connelly working a 13-pitch walk in the second inning, but couldn’t manage to string together enough for a run until the seventh, when Mallorie Black delivered an opposite field homerun with one-out to cut the lead to 3-1. Jayden Gailey reached base with a single in her first at bat of the new year to bring the tying run to the plate but the comeback was not to be as the Tide finished off their third win of the weekend.

Game 2 vs. Villanova

Chandler Dennis made her first start of the new year but was forced to leave the game after surrendering a two-run homerun before the end of the first inning. Neleman took over from there, racking up six strikeouts over the next 3.2 innings, helping the Jackets reach the 5^th inning with just the one run deficit, 3-2. The Wildcats added two more insurance runs in the sixth inning thanks to a pair of doubles and an error from the Jackets to secure their fourth and fifth runs by the end of the sixth inning. Coffield kept the bats quiet in her debut in the circle, with the only baserunner reaching via error in the 7^th inning.

Tech responded immediately in the first inning with senior Jin Sileo reaching with a bunt out of the leadoff spot. Edgmon would follow, dropping another perfect bunt and leading to an errant throw from Villanova. Sileo would come all the way around from first to score as the throw rolled into foul territory behind first base, Edgmon scurried to third on the play and would score one batter later on a ground ball from Madison Dobbins. The Jackets threatened again in the 7^th, getting the first two batters on thanks to a double from Hughes and a pinch-hit single from Gailey, but the bats couldn’t take advantage with the tying run at the plate, falling by a final score of 5-2.

UP NEXT
With inclement weather in the forecast for tomorrow, Georgia Tech and Alabama have agreed to move the start time of their game to 3 p.m. tomorrow at Mewborn Field. The game will be streamed live on ACCNX.

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