March 3, 2008
ATLANTA – After a month on the road, the Georgia Tech Softball Team (6-12, 0-0 ACC) plays its first games of the season at Glenn Field this week when Virginia (4-11, 0-0) visits for a mid-week ACC series. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Tuesday, March 4 beginning at 1:30 p.m. and then a single game Wednesday, March 5 at 3:00 p.m. Admission to Glenn Field located at Mecaslin and 14th Streets is free and live stats will be available via Gametracker at www.ramblinwreck.com.
“I’m excited to finally play at home,” head coach Sharon Perkins said. “We are finally back at full strength with our roster after dealing with some injuries and ready to start to next segment of the year with the beginning of ACC play.”
Tech is 21-31 all-time against Virginia, but has won 10 of the last 12 games in the series. Last season, the Jackets scored 38 runs in a three-game sweep of the Cavaliers in Charlottesville. They hit 11 home runs in the three games including four by Savannah Brown and three off the bat of Brittany Barnes. Barnes was also 6-for-10 with 10 RBI in the series as Tech hit .456 as a team.
Barnes, who missed nine games this year with an injury, returned to the line-up last weekend at the NFCA Leadoff Classic and blasted two homeruns. She leads the team batting .320 and has a .720 slugging percentage. Blair Shimandle is hitting .304 with two doubles, two triples, six RBI and is 10-for-11 in stolen base attempts. The Jackets have stolen 31 bases in 34 attempts.
Whitney Humphreys leads the pitching staff with a 1.02 ERA, but has just a 2-5 record to show for it. Humphreys snapped a personal five-game losing streak in Tech’s 7-2 win over Hofstra last weekend. The seven runs scored by the offense were more than in all of her previous six starts combined.
Tech will then host the Buzz Classic this weekend at the Twin Creeks Complex in Woodstock, Ga. The Jackets will play Mercer, Elon, Minnesota and Western Michigan in pool play Friday, March 7-Saturday, March 8. Bracket play takes place on Sunday, March 9.
