March 13, 2008
ATLANTA – Fresh off a doubleheader split at Kennesaw State Wednesday, the Georgia Tech softball team (9-16, 1-2 ACC) will host ACC preseason favorite #24 Virginia Tech (17-8, 0-0) in a three-game series this weekend at Glenn Field. A rematch of last year’s ACC Championship game, the Yellow Jackets and Hokies will play a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 11:00 a.m. and then a single game Sunday at 1:00 p.m. The first 50 fans to game one on Saturday will receive a free Chick-fil-a chicken sandwich.
All three games will be broadcast on www.ramblinwreck.com with Seth Gerard on play-by-play beginning approximately 10 minutes before the scheduled first pitch. Live stats will also be available via the Gametracker link. Fans who want to listen to the broadcast will need to register for a free Georgia Tech All-Access pass.
“We are excited for Virginia Tech to come to Atlanta this weekend,” head coach Sharon Perkins said. “I have seen a lot of positive things in the last few weeks and now we get a chance to play three home games against the team picked to win our league. I am hoping a lot of fans will come out to enjoy some nice weather this weekend and see some top-level collegiate softball and what makes our game so great.”
Georgia Tech is 8-8 all-time against Virginia Tech. The Hokies won three out of four games between the two teams last year including a 2-0 decision in the ACC Championship game. Since joining the ACC in 2005, Virginia Tech is 6-4 against Georgia Tech. Last year, the Hokies took two out of three games of their series in Blacksburg. Behind All-American pitcher Angela Tincher, Virginia Tech won games one and two by scores of 3-0 and 3-1, but the Jackets won the third game 21-1. Tincher also pitched the ACC final.
This year, the 24th-ranked Hokies are 17-8 on the season. Tincher, who broke the all-time school wins record with her 11th career no-hitter Wednesday night against UNC-Greensboro, is 9-4 this season with a 0.35 ERA. She has 202 strikeouts in 99.2 innings.
After hitting a three-run home run Wednesday night against Kennesaw State, Tech senior catcher/designated player Savannah Brown now just needs four RBI to break the all-time school record. Junior first baseman Whitney Haller recorded her third career multi-home run game against the Owls and is now four round-trippers away from the Tech record. Senior shortstop Aileen Morales leads the team in batting at .329 and is a perfect 16-for-16 in stolen base attempts. Freshman left fielder Christy Jones is second on the squad with a .296 average, while junior right fielder Blair Shimandle is hitting at a .278 clip. Jones and Shimandle have combined for 23 stolen bases giving Tech’s top three hitters in the line-up 39 stolen bases. Shimandle also hit her first home run in two years against Kennesaw State Wednesday night.
In the circle, senior Whitney Humphreys is 4-8, but has a 1.63 ERA. She is coming off a three-hit shutout with seven strikeouts against Kennesaw State earlier this week.
