March 23, 2010
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Score | Updated Stats
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HOUSTON, Texas – Junior Kristine Priebe hit two home runs, including a grand slam, as the No. 11/8 Georgia Tech Softball team (25-5) split a doubleheader at Houston (16-13) Tuesday night at Cougar Softball Stadium. The Yellow Jackets won game one 7-1, but lost the night cap by a 2-1 score.
Priebe was 2-for-4 with five RBI in game one with her two home runs. Sophomore Kelsi Weseman and freshman Caitlin Jordan also hit home runs for the Yellow Jackets. Tech scored all seven runs in the first two innings of game one and that was all freshman Hope Rush (13-3) would need. She allowed one unearned run on three hits and two walks while striking out seven.
In the first inning, Priebe gave Tech a 1-0 lead with a solo home run to the opposite field. Then in the second inning, the Yellow Jackets put the game away with six runs. With one out, Jordan homered to left field making it a 2-0 game. Later in the inning, walks to sophomore Jessica Sinclair and redshirt senior Jen Yee, as well as an infield single by junior Christy Jones loaded the bases with one out. After an infield single by sophomore Kate Kuzma made it 3-0, Priebe hit her second grand slam in four games off the scoreboard in right field to make it 7-0 Yellow Jackets.
Tech had some scoring chances the rest of the game and chances to maybe enforce the run rule, but Houston pitcher Bailey Watts settled down and kept Tech off the scoreboard.
The Cougars loaded the bases with nobody out in the seventh inning after a single and two walks, but Rush got out of the inning allowing just the one unearned run.
Jordan, Priebe and Sinclair each had two hits in game one for the Yellow Jackets.
Game two was a pitcher’s duel between Tech junior Kristen Adkins and Houston’s Amanda Crabtree, but it was Cougar shortstop Brooke Lathan who stole the show. The Yellow Jackets out-hit Houston 4-3, but two of the Cougars’ hits were solo home runs off the bat of Lathan. She also made a great defensive play which prevented the tying run from scoring.
In the second inning, Lathan hit her first home run with two outs. She got down in the count to Adkins 0-2, before hitting a 2-2 pitch out to the opposite field in right.
In the third inning, Yee doubled with one out and the Jackets eventually had the bases loaded with two outs after Priebe singled and Rush walked. Weseman hit a line drive which was smothered by Houston third baseman Holly Anderson who stepped on the third base bag for the final out of the inning.
After Lathan homered again in the fifth inning, Tech finally got on the board in the top of the sixth. Rush tried to get a one-out rally going as she hit a smash up the middle which was ticketed for center field. Lathan, however, was shading her up the middle and dove to her left and threw out Rush from her knees. That turned out to be a huge play as the next batter, Weseman, hit a home run to left field cutting the lead in half at 2-1.
That would be it for Tech though as Crabtree finished the sixth and worked a 1-2-3 seventh inning to preserve the win for Houston. She improved to 6-6 on the year and struck out nine Jackets.
Adkins (5-1) suffered her first loss of the season as she gave up just the two runs on three hits in 5.1 innings. She walked three and struck out three. Sophomore Jessica Coan pitched two-thirds of an inning and struck out both batters she faced.
The Yellow Jackets continue their spring break trip in Texas tomorrow night at No. 22/20 Texas A&M. First pitch in College Station is set for 7:30 p.m. (ET). Live audio and stats will be available at www.RamblinWreck.com.
