March 9, 2010
PANTHERSVILLE, Ga. – The No. 11/8 Georgia Tech Softball team (19-2) scored five runs in the first inning and hung on to beat Georgia State (12-6), 7-3, Tuesday night for its ninth straight win. Sophomore Jessica Sinclair’s three-run home run in the first inning was the difference as the Yellow Jackets escaped several late-inning jams by the Panthers.
Junior Kristen Adkins (5-0) picked up the win as she allowed three runs (none earned) on seven hits and four walks in four-plus innings. She had four strikeouts. With the bases loaded and no outs in a 5-3 game in the fifth, sophomore Jessica Coan came in and got out of the inning without any more damage. Coan completed the game for her first save of the season as she pitched three innings and allowed just one walk and one hit with five strikeouts.
Tech scored quickly as it took advantage of the wildness of Georgia State starting pitcher Alana Thomas. After sophomore Kelsi Weseman doubled to start the game, Thomas walked redshirt senior Jen Yee and freshman Hope Rush to load the bases. After a wild pitch scored the first run, Thomas hit junior Kristine Priebe to re-load the bases and that would be the end of the day for her.
Former Virginia Tech pitcher Heather Lowry came in and quickly got the next two outs with just one run scoring on an Adkins ground out. Lowry got ahead of Sinclair 0-2, but she ripped the next pitch over the fence in dead center field for a three-run home run which put the Yellow Jackets up 5-0.
Lowry settled down and retired the next 12 Yellow Jackets before a Yee single in the fifth inning. Meanwhile, the Panthers took advantage of a couple Tech errors and began to chip away. After single runs in the third and fourth innings made it a 5-2 game, the Panthers had a big chance to at least tie the game in the fifth. With the bases loaded and no outs, Adkins walked Rebecca Roles forcing in a run and that’s when Coan came in.
Coan went 3-0 on the first batter she faced, Tiffany Bess, before striking her out. After striking out the next batter as well, Coan got out of the inning on a lazy fly ball to junior Christy Jones in center.
Tech went on to add insurance runs in each of the sixth and seventh innings on RBI singles by freshman Caitlin Jordan and Adkins to stake Coan with some insurance runs.
The Yellow Jackets return home to host the inaugural Springhill Suites Buckhead Classis this weekend at Mewborn Field. The two-day tournament features Georgia Tech, Fordham, Mercer and Georgia State with the first game beginning Saturday, March 13 at 11 a.m. On Saturday, Georgia Tech will face Mercer at 4 p.m. and then Fordham at 6:30 p.m. Live video, audio and stats will be available at www.RamblinWreck.com.
