March 27, 2007
ATLANTA – The 24th-ranked Georgia Tech softball team (29-10, 3-3 ACC) will visit No. 18 Georgia (28-12, 4-4 ACC) this Wednesday for a non-conference doubleheader. The games are scheduled to start at 4 p.m. and can be followed on www.ramblinwreck.com.
The Yellow Jackets are coming off a series win over No. 23 NC State last weekend, sweeping day one 11-10 and 4-1, before dropping the series finale 9-6. Tech handed the Wolfpack their first series defeat in over a year. The Jackets are currently tied for fourth in the Atlantic Coast Conference softball standings.
Last season in Atlanta, the Jackets and Bulldogs split, with Tech capturing game one 6-4, before dropping the nightcap 15-7. The Yellow Jackets trail in the all-time series 5-15.
The last time the Yellow Jackets went to Athens for a regular season game, Tech won a thrilling 4-3 decision. The Jackets then returned to Athens as a No. 3 seed in the 2005 NCAA Athens Regional, where UGA defeated Tech 2-1 in the Regional Championship game.
Caitlin Lever continues to lead the Jackets and the ACC in most offensive categories. Lever, a senior from Amherst, N.Y., is batting .552, with a career-high 12 doubles, eight home runs and lifetime-best 48 runs batted in. She carries a league-best .622 on base percentage and an impressive .914 slugging percentage.
In the circle, the Jackets are led by sophomore Tiffany Johnson. Johnson, a native of Atlanta, Ga., leads the team with 12 victories, fourth best in the ACC, and has an ERA of 2.20.
The Bulldogs are led by senior pitcher Kasi Carroll, who comes into the series with an 18-4 record and an ERA of 1.79. Carroll has struck out a total of 132 batters in 125.0 innings of work. Senior All-American Kellie Middleton leads the team with a .398 batting average, 31 runs scored, 26 runs batted in and a .568 slugging percentage.
The Jackets continue to have one the nation’s most potent offenses. Tech leads the ACC in batting average (.327), on base percentage (.407), slugging percentage (.534), runs scored (273), hits (349), doubles (52), triples (11), home runs (49), RBI (249), walks (126) and have the most stolen bases (59).
