Feb. 14, 2013
Game Notes | Tournament Central
THE FLATS – The No. 24 Georgia Tech softball team is set to host the Georgia Tech Classic this weekend when it welcomes Indiana, Marshall and Miami (Ohio) to Mewborn Field. The tournament features 10 games over the three-day span.
Tournament Schedule
Friday, February 15
10:30 AM –Indiana vs. Miami-OH
12:30 PM – Marshall vs. Indiana
3:30 PM – Georgia Tech vs. Marshall
5:30 PM – Miami-OH vs. Georgia Tech
Saturday, February 16
10:30 AM – Indiana vs. Marshall
12:30 PM – Georgia Tech vs. Indiana
3:30 PM – Miami-OH vs. Georgia Tech
5:30 PM – Marshall vs. Miami-OH
Sunday, February 17
11:00 AM – Miami-OH vs. Marshall
1:00 PM – Indiana vs. Georgia Tech
(Home team appears second on schedule)
Live Coverage
Live stats will be available for all games. The Georgia Tech contests will be broadcast via a free internet stream on www.RamblinWreck.com in addition to the live stats.
No. 24 Georgia Tech
The Yellow Jackets cracked the nation’s Top 25 after Tech cruised to a 5-0 record in its opening weekend at the GT-Kennesaw State Invitational. Tech ranks No. 24 in the ESPN.com/USA Today poll and is receiving votes in the USA Softball/NFCA Coaches poll.
Senior Hope Rush went a perfect 3-0 in the circle for Tech on the weekend. In the team’s season opener she pitched a one-hit shutout against Eastern Michigan. Her ERA for the weekend is just 1.40, allowing four earned runs on 11 hits in 20.0 innings pitched. At the plate, she went 6-for-15 (.400) with three runs, 12 RBI and two home runs.
The Georgia Tech offense tallied 57 runs on 54 hits for an average of 11.4 runs per game over the weekend. Freshman Morgan Taylor leads the team with a .583 batting average and junior Alysha Rudnik scored a team-high nine runs and drew eight walks.
Indiana (2-3)
The Hoosiers opened up the 2013 season at the Kajikawa Classic in Arizona, going 2-3 with wins over Bradley (15-7 in five innings) and Portland State (7-0), and suffering losses at the hands of No. 4 Arizona State, No. 21 Stanford and No. 3 California.
Breanna Saucedo and Brianna Meyer posted averages of .500 going 9-for-18 and 6-for-12 at the plate, respectively. Freshman Kassi Farmer went 6-for-15 (.400) in her first collegiate weekend with five RBI, two doubles and a homerun for a .733 slugging percentage.
In the circle, Meaghan Murphy (1-1) tossed 5.0 innings in the win against Bradley, striking out five and allowed just three earned runs. Lora Olson (1-1) picked up her third career shutout in Indiana’s win over Portland State.
Marshall (2-3)
The Thundering Herd kicked off 2013 at the USF-Demarini Tournament in Tampa, Fla. Marshall defeated Florida Atlantic twice (3-1, 2-1 in eight innings) for its first two wins of the season.
Senior Ashley Gue led the way for the Herd with a .357 batting average, five hits and five stolen bases. In the circle, senior Andi Williamson posted a 2-2 record with a 2.66 ERA. She allowed 13 runs on 22 hits with 19 walks and 29 strikeouts in 29.0 innings of work.
Miami (Ohio)
The Redhawks play their first game of the season this weekend. Miami returns 12 letterwinners from last season’s record-setting squad that went 41-20 overall and won the MAC East Division with a 16-6 record. The RedHawks won the 2012 MAC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Regionals in Knoxville, where they shocked fifth-ranked Tennessee, 1-0, in the opening game.
Rudnik Named ACC Player of the Week
Junior Alysha Rudnik was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week. She helped Tech to a 5-0 opening weekend and totaled nine runs and eight walks, both team-highs. The Lawrenceville, Ga. native, drove in the second most runs on the team with 10 RBI, went 6-for-11 for a .545 batting average and stole three bases.
Recognition Rushes In
College Sports Madness named Hope Rush theMadness ACC Softball Player of the Week. In addition, Rush was named to the College Sports Madness Preseason All-American Second Team and the website’s ACC Preseason Field Player of the Year.
Ashley Thomas was selected to the College Sports Madness Preseason All-ACC First Team, Alysha Rudnik and Chelsie Thomas were named to the second team.
ACC Stats
Georgia Tech and Florida State are the only two ACC teams that swept the competition in week one of the season. The Yellow Jackets lead the league in 14 batting categories. Individually, Hope Rush (12), Alysha Rudnik (10) and Courtney Ziese (9) are the top three in the lead in RBI.
Catch Us If You Can
The Yellow Jackets ranked No. 25 in the country a 1.58 average stolen bases per game last season. Tech swiped 18 bases on 20 attempts last weekend to lead the league. Sophomore Chelsie Thomas is tops in the ACC with seven stolen bases, followed by Ashley Thomas (5-6) in second and Alysha Rudnik (3-3) is tied for third.
Solid Slate
The Yellow Jackets are scheduled to play a solid slate in 2013. The schedule features 15 teams from the 2012 NCAA Tournament field, including four teams that advanced to the super regionals and one WCWS team. Nine opponents are ranked in the preseason Top 25.
