Feb. 7, 2003
ATLANTA – The 19th-ranked Georgia Tech softball team opens defense of its first-ever Atlantic Coast Conference title Saturday at the University of South Carolina’s Gamecock Invitational in Columbia, S.C. The Jackets lead off the event against Boston College at 9 a.m. followed by a 3 p.m. tilt with the No. 20 Gamecocks (2-0) at Beckham Field.
Tech concludes pool play against UNC Greensboro on Sunday at 9 a.m. The tournament concludes with the top two seeds meeting at 1 p.m. Sunday followed by the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds playing at 3 p.m.
The Jackets have not played any of the three other teams in the Gamecock Invitational field since head coach Kate Madden took over the program prior to the 1999 season. However, the Jackets’ most familiar foe in the tourney is South Carolina. USC owns an 18-0 all-time mark versus Tech, but the two teams have not met since Madden was an assistant for Tech in ’98. The Gamecocks swept a doubleheader in that season, winning 8-0 and 6-3 in Columbia on March 11.
Tech owns a 3-1 all-time mark against UNC Greensboro, with the Jackets taking a 7-1 decision in the last meeting at the Triangle Tournament in Raleigh, N.C. on February 22, 1997. The Yellow Jackets and Boston College will be playing for the first time.
The Jackets, who return 12 letterwinners from the most successful team in program history, have fared well on opening day, posting a 20-12 all-time record. Tech has won five of its last six games on the first day of the season.
Headlining Tech’s returnees this season are junior All-American shortstop Tara Knudsen, sophomore pitcher and last year’s conference rookie of the year Jessica Sallinger and All-ACC catcher Lindsay Wood.
Fans will be able to follow all the action live this weekend via Gametracker, which is linked from www.ramblinwreck.com. Additionally, an audio broadcast of Tech’s game(s) with South Carolina is available at www.uscsports.com.
The entire tournament schedule is as follows:
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULESaturday, February 8No. 19 Georgia Tech vs. Boston College 9 a.m.Boston College vs. UNC Greensboro 11 a.m.UNC Greensboro vs. No. 20 South Carolina 1 p.m.No. 20 South Carolina vs. No. 19 Georgia Tech 3 p.m.Sunday, February 9No. 19 Georgia Tech vs. UNC Greensboro 9 a.m.No. 20 South Carolina vs. Boston College 11 a.m.No. 1 Seed vs. No. 2 Seed 1 p.m.No. 3 Seed vs. No. 4 Seed 3 p.m.
-GT-
