April 13, 2004
ATLANTA – Junior Jessica Sallinger (22-6) fired her third no-hitter of the season this afternoon to lead No. 22 Georgia Tech (35-11) over No. 13 Alabama, 1-0, at Glenn Field. The Yellow Jackets overcame being no-hit by Alabama’s Stephanie VanBrakle by manufacturing a run in the third inning on a walk, stolen base, sacrifice and attempted double steal.
Tech broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the third inning after an hour-and-15 minute rain delay as sophomore catcher Lauren Schlechte scored on a double steal attempt with junior third baseman Kirin Kumar. Schlechte walked after the delay and stole second base. Kumar sacrificed her over to third base and reached on an error by the pitcher. The Crimson Tide decided to take the out at second base, allowing the Jackets to take a 1-0 lead.
Senior Sara Wissmann made a diving catch in the seventh inning to preserve Sallinger’s no-hitter for the first out of the last inning. Sallinger took the game from there striking out the next two batters to give Tech a 1-0 win. Sallinger finished with 10 strikeouts, eclipsing the 10 for the 15th time this season.
The Crimson Tide’s VanBrakle (11-7) finished the game with eight strikeouts, four walks and one earned run. Game two of the doubleheader was cancelled due to time constraints.
Tech (1-3) will hit the road for two pivotal ACC match-ups at NC State (2-2) on April 17 and North Carolina (5-1) on April 18.
