March 4, 2014
THE FLATS – The Georgia Tech softball team (11-4) continues a 21-game home stand Wednesday against Troy (9-9-2). First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Mewborn Field and is free admission.
Live Coverage
Fans can follow Wednesday’s action via Gametracker available on www.RamblinWreck.com.
Georgia Tech (11-4)
The Jackets are 7-3 in their last 10 games and look to pick up a victory against the Trojans, before continuing conference play this weekend with a home series against No. 24 Notre Dame. Most recently, Tech went 1-2 in its opening ACC series against Boston College.
As a team, Tech is hitting .311 and five Yellow Jackets are hitting over .300 (min. 10 at bats). Senior Hayley Downs leads the team and is second in the ACC with a .436 batting average. Senior Ashley Thomas is batting .413, and leads the team with 18 runs on 19 hits and five home runs.
Junior pitcher Kylie Kleinschmidt is 8-1 in the circle with a team-best 0.68 ERA. She won her first eight starts before suffering her first loss against Boston College.
Series History vs. Troy
Wednesday marks the 24th meeting between the two teams. The Jackets fell, 4-2, to the Trojans in the teams’ most recent meeting on Feb. 14, 2007 in Atlanta. The series dates back to 1994 and the teams had played each other at least twice every year between the years of 1998-2005.
Stealing Records
>> Ashley Thomas is climbing Georgia Tech’s career charts for stolen bases.
>> The senior currently has 102 career stolen bases on 122 attempts.
>> The attempts are second on Tech’s all-time career list and Aileen Morales’ 173 attempts top the all-time career list.
>> Thomas’ 102 swiped bases are third on the all-time list and she needs eight more to tie Laura Williams’ 110. Morales’ is tops on the career chart with 154 stolen bases (2005-08).
Laying Downs The Sac Bunt
>> Hayley Downs bats second in the lineup and for good reason.
>> Downs is second in the ACC with six sacrifice bunts, which is a good thing since leadoff hitter Ashley Thomas gets on base more than 50 percent of the time.
Turn Two
>> Georgia Tech is tied for third in the ACC in turning double plays. The Jackets have six DPs so far this season.
>> In the 2-1 victory against No. 21 Tulsa on Feb. 22, the Jackets turned three double plays.
>> Arguably the most impressive double play on the day of the season is courtesy of centerfielder Hayley Downs, an 8-1 fly out double play.
>> Karly Fullem is tied for third the ACC in fielding double plays with five.
>> Last season, Tech ranked No. 8 in the nation in double plays turned, averaging .48 per game.
What A Difference A Year Makes
>> Last season Kylie Kleinschmidt compiled a 7-7 record with a 6.42 ERA and pitched 48 innings with 47 strikeouts.
>> This year, the junior is 8-1, surpassing her season-high win total and she is second in the ACC with a 0.68 ERA. She is tied for third in the ACC with eight wins and she has 55 strikeouts through 62.0 innings pitched.
