April 14, 2009
ATLANTA – Redshirt junior Jen Yee was 2-for-4 with a solo home run, while senior Tiffany Johnson had two doubles and two RBI as the No. 21 Georgia Tech softball team (32-11) defeated Kennesaw State (17-21), 8-6, Tuesday night at Mewborn Field. Johnson, as well as senior Blair Shimandle and freshman Kelsi Weseman scored two runs apiece for the Yellow Jackets. Sophomore Kristen Adkins added a double and three RBI for Tech.
The Yellow Jackets led 8-0 after three innings but saw Kennesaw State come back and make things interesting with a run in the fourth and then five in the seventh.
The Yellow Jackets wasted no time in jumping out quickly on Kennesaw State pitcher April Harper. Redshirt junior Jen Yee led off the inning with an opposite field home run, her eighth of the season. After senior Blair Shimandle and freshman Kelsi Weseman both reached on errors, senior Tiffany Johnson made it a 2-0 game with a RBI double to the gap in left-center field. A RBI single off the bat of senior Whitney Haller and a sacrifice fly by sophomore Kristen Adkins accounted for the third and fourth runs as Tech batted around against Harper.
Kennesaw State brought in a new pitcher, Amanda Burns, for the second inning but Tech scored three more runs. Johnson added her second RBI double of the game, while Adkins hit a two-run double off the wall in right field. Tech then scored another run in the third inning when Weseman drew a bases loaded walk. The Jackets had a chance for more with the bases loaded and nobody out, but Burns was able to get out of it.
Johnson pitched the first three innings for the Yellow Jackets and then freshman Jessica Coan came into the game for the fourth. Johnson allowed one hit and two walks while striking out four.
In the top of the fourth Kennesaw State broke through in the scoring column on a RBI single by Kelsey Kulk. It was Kulk who doubled off Johnson for the only hit she allowed.
Kennesaw shut down the Jackets offensively for the rest of the game as every healthy Tech player got in and then the Owls made things interesting in the top of the seventh inning. With a run already in, Jenna Closner hit a three-run home run off Coan and after Catherine Tarvin followed with a solo homer it was an 8-6 game all of the sudden. Coan came back, however, to retire the final two batters and hang on for the win.
Coan (4-3) gets the win as she allowed six earned runs on five hits. She walked three and struck out six.
Georgia Tech hits the road for an ACC series at Virginia this weekend. The Yellow Jackets and Cavaliers will play a doubleheader on Saturday, April 18 at 1 p.m. and then conclude the series Sunday, April 19 at 1 p.m. Live audio and stats for all three games will be available at www.ramblinwreck.com. Georgia Tech has won all four of its ACC series’ thus far in 2009 and seven straight dating back to last year.
