April 8, 2012
ATLANTA – Kelsi Weseman scored three runs and Hope Rush pitched her seventh shutout of the season as the Georgia Tech softball team blanked Maryland 5-0 to earn the ACC series sweep.
Tech (27-16, 9-3 ACC) won its 20th-straight game over Maryland (20-17, 0-6) and remained perfect in the Sharon Perkins era (17-0) with the victory.
Sunday’s game was also Tech’s annual “Pink Game”. The day marked the conclusion of the team’s month long campaign to raise money for alum Amy Hosier in her fight against breast cancer. Over $2,500 was raised during this stretch with nearly half of that money coming in at Sunday’s game. The Georgia Tech softball team would like to thank its great fans for their generosity over the course of the season.
With the victory, Rush picked up her 18th win in 2012 and her seventh shutout throwing all seven innings, allowing just four hits and no runs and striking out four in the outing. She also notched one of Tech’s three hits, which drove in a run.
Alysha Rudnik tallied the other two Yellow Jacket hits launching a rocket to right center that just missed going out of the park for a triple and beating out an infield single on a 2-for-4 effort. Kelsi Weseman scored three of Tech’s five runs walking twice in the outing.
Tech got its first run of the day in the first inning of play. After Maryland starter, Kendra Knight hit Kelsi Weseman with a pitch and walked Alysha Rudnik and Hope Rush, Knight then beaned Kate Kuzma in the back to push the runner across. The hit-by-pitch was the 12th of the season for Kuzma who also earned her 24th RBI of the season.
Tech added to its lead in the fifth inning, batting around for the second time this series. Weseman started the action off with a walk, coming around to score from first as Alysha Rudnik notched Tech’s first hit of the game with a triple to right centerfield. Rudnik came home in the next at bat, sneaking her way into the plate to give Tech a 3-0 lead. Kaitlin Kates, who pinch ran for Rush, stole a base to move to second and headed to third on a wild pitch, coming home after a failed pickoff attempt at third sailed into left field for a 4-0 Tech advantage.
Weseman scored her third run of the day in the fifth, walking, moving to second on a wild pitch, going to third on an infield single by Rudnik and home on a bloop single to right by Rush. The run gave Tech a 5-0 advantage and the ultimate win.
Tech is back in action on Tuesday night with a double header against cross-state rival, Georgia Southern. First pitch is slated at 4 p.m.
Keep up to date with the Georgia Tech Softball team all season long at www.RamblinWreck.com as well as twitter.com/GaTechSoftball and facebook.com/GTSoftball
