April 24, 2010
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score | Updated Stats
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Sophomore Danielle Dike was 4-for-6 with three home runs as the No. 8/6 Georgia Tech Softball team (42-8, 15-2 ACC) split a doubleheader at No. 24/20 Florida State (39-13, 10-7) on Saturday afternoon at JoAnne Graf Field. Georgia Tech won Game One 14-1 behind five home runs before a five-run sixth inning led FSU to a 6-2 win in Game Two.
Redshirt senior Jen Yee hit her 25th home run of the season to break Whitney Haller’s Tech and ACC single-season record. Haller hit 24 long balls in 2006. The Jackets also broke the 2007 team’s record for home runs in a season. The 2007 squad hit 97 home runs and Tech has now hit 99 this year. Yee was on base seven times in her nine plate appearances and drew four more intentional walks.
Dike hit two home runs in the first game for her second career multi-home run game. Sophomore Kate Kuzma had five RBI in Game One, including a grand slam, while Yee and freshman Hope Rush also went deep for Tech in the game.
Georgia Tech and Florida State wrap up the three-game series with a Noon game tomorrow. Live audio and stats will be available at www.RamblinWreck.com. A win would clinch the second straight ACC regular season title for the Yellow Jackets.
Game One started off as a pitcher’s duel between Rush and FSU senior Terese Gober. Yee put Tech on the board first with a solo home run in the top of the third inning, but FSU responded right back in the bottom half of the frame to tie the game on a RBI single by Morgan Bullock.
Solo home runs by Dike and Rush in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively, put the Yellow Jackets on top 3-1. With Rush cruising in the circle, The Yellow Jackets exploded for 11 runs in the final two innings to break the game wide open.
Dike led off the sixth with her second home run of the game and then a two-run double by junior Kristine Priebe later in the inning busted the game open at 6-1. RBI singles by freshman Caitlin Jordan and Kuzma accounted for the final two runs in the inning as Tech opened up an 8-1 advantage.
In the seventh, the Jackets loaded the bases with one out against relief pitcher Lauren Varsalona. After Priebe struck out, Rush came through with a two-run single making it a 10-1 game. After Jordan reached on an error to re-load the bases Kuzma made it 14-1 with a grand slam.
Rush improved to 23-5 on the season with the complete game win. She gave up one earned run on four hits to go along with four walks and six strikeouts. Gober (19-7) took the loss as she was charged with six earned runs on nine hits and three walks in five-plus innings. She had nine strikeouts.
Game Two was also a pitcher’s duel and scoreless until the bottom of the fifth inning. Tech junior pitcher Kristen Adkins worked out of a couple of jams early, including second and third with one out in the first inning, but a wild pitch in the fifth gave FSU the lead 1-0. It could have been worse but she escaped any further damage with a runner on third and one out getting a strikeout and a pop up.
FSU starting pitcher Sarah Hamilton had cruised through the first five frames as she held Tech to just a pair of singles.
The Jackets quickly answered in the top of the sixth inning as Priebe led off with a solo home run. It was her 14th round-tripper of the season and tied the game at one. Later in the inning, Dike’s third home run of the day put the Jackets on top for the first time in the game at 2-1. After walking sophomore Jessica Sinclair, Gober relieved Hamilton with two outs and got junior Jessica Weaver to pop up and end the inning.
FSU came right back and took control of the game with a six-run bottom of the sixth inning. An error, infield bunt single and a walk loaded the bases for the Seminoles with no outs and Rush came into the game for Adkins.
Kristie McConn out FSU on top with a two-run double to right field and FSU tacked on two more runs in the frame to open up a 6-2 lead.
A one-out double in the top of the seventh inning by Yee was the 45th of her career tying her atop the all-time Tech charts with Tara Knudsen but she was stranded there. Gober recorded the next two outs as Florida State evened the series at one game apiece.
