April 10, 2010
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ATLANTA – Redshirt senior Jen Yee was 4-for-5 with two home runs and was on base in seven of her eight plate appearances as the No. 10/6 Georgia Tech Softball team (34-6, 10-1 ACC) swept Virginia (23-16, 7-3) Saturday afternoon at Mewborn Field. After winning Game One 5-2, the Yellow Jackets scored three times in the bottom of the seventh inning in Game Two to win 5-3 and clinch their 14th straight ACC series.
Yee led off the seventh inning of the night cap with a game-tying solo home run and then after sophomore Kelsi Weseman doubled with one out, junior Kristine Priebe hit a walk-off two-run homer giving Tech the win. Yee now has 21 home runs this season after hitting one in each game today and becomes the fourth player in school history to hit at least 20 home runs in a season joining Whitney Haller, Savannah Brown and Brittany Barnes. Haller’s 24 round-trippers in 2006 are still the ACC and Georgia Tech single-season records. The one time Yee was retired today snapped a string of 11 straight plate appearances in which she had reached base.
Priebe had four RBI on the day for Tech and it was her two-out, two-run single in the fifth inning of Game One which broke a scoreless tie. Freshman Hope Rush, who picked up her 19th win in the circle in Game One, had two RBI on the day as well and hit her 12th home run of the season in Game Two.
Game One was a pitcher’s duel between Rush and Virginia freshman Melanie Mitchell. The Yellow Jackets had just one hit until the fifth inning when they finally broke through against Mitchell for three runs, all with two outs. Junior Christy Jones got the rally going with a one-out single and then stole second base. After Yee walked, a long fly out by sophomore Kate Kuzma to the warning track in right field moved Jones to third base with two outs.
After Yee stole second base putting runners at second and third, junior Kristine Priebe continued her hit clutch hitting by lining the first pitch she saw by Mitchell into left field for a two-run single. Rush followed with a RBI double and the Jackets took a 3-0 lead into the sixth inning.
In the top of the sixth, Virginia battled right back as a two-run, two-out single by Alex Skinkis made it 3-2. With the tying run at second base, junior Kelly Eppinger made a running catch to end the inning and preserve the slim Tech lead.
The Yellow Jackets got the two runs right back in the bottom of the sixth inning to give Rush some insurance. Sophomore Jessica Sinclair led off with a triple to right field and scored two batters later on a sac fly by Jones. Yee made it a 5-2 game when she took the first pitch she saw from Mitchell out to left-center field for her 20th home run of the season.
Rush (19-4) closed out the Cavaliers in the seventh and gave the Jackets a win in Game One of the doubleheader. She was charged with two earned runs on six hits. She did not walk a batter and struck out eight.
In Game Two, Georgia Tech got on the board first in the second inning when Rush led off with a home run to left-center, her 12th of the season.
The Yellow Jackets got another run in the bottom of the third inning to make it a 2-0 game. Yee singled to lead off the inning and after stealing second base, she scored on a double down the left-field line by Kuzma.
Stephanie Coates relieved Mitchell for the fifth inning and retired Yee on a fly ball to begin the inning. Yee had reached base in 11 straight plate appearances.
Adkins cruised through the first five innings, but ran into trouble in the sixth. After two singles and a walk, Virginia had the bases loaded with nobody out. Adkins walked Giannina Cipolloni on four pitches to load the bases and then followed by walking Lauren McCaskey on four pitches making it a 2-1 game.
Sophomore Jessica Coan entered the game in relief of Adkins and got ahead of Nicole Koren 0-2 before she flew out to right field for a sac fly which tied the game. Coan then fell behind Sarah Tacke 3-0 before coming back to strike her out. A passed ball by junior Jessica Weaver with Alex Skinkis at the plate gave UVA its first lead of the day, but Coan struck her out eventually to minimize the damage.
A 1-2-3 inning by Coan with two more strikeouts in the seventh inning would set the stage for Yee and Priebe’s dramatics.
Coan improved to 9-1 with the win as she struck out four of the six batters she faced and did not allow a hit. Adkins got a no decision and was charged with three runs (two earned) on four hits and two walks. She fanned two.
On “Strikeout for the Cure Day,” Yellow Jacket pitchers recorded 14 strikeouts. Fans could pledge amounts for every strikeout or make a flat donation.
Georgia Tech and Virginia will close out their three-game series tomorrow at Mewborn Field. First pitch will be 1 p.m. and free live video, audio and stats can be found at www.RamblinWreck.com.
