Feb. 25, 2017
THE FLATS – The Georgia Tech softball team (6-9) split a pair of games on Saturday afternoon against Radford (5-4) on the second day of the I-75 Challenge at Mewborn Field. The Jackets fell in game one, 4-0, before shutting out the Highlanders, 3-0.
How It Happened
Game 1: Radford 4, Georgia Tech 0
The Highlanders jumped out to a 2-0 lead on two hits in the opening stanza. Radford added a single run in each of the fourth and sixth innings on two solo home runs for the 4-0 advantage.
Tech threatened to score in both the fourth and fifth innings, but left five runners on base through those two frames, unable to capitalize.
Brooke Barfield (2-4) suffered the loss, allowing four runs on nine hits with five strikeouts in a complete-effort.
Radford’s Abby Morrow (4-2) earned the win, throwing a complete game and scattering four hits.
Game 2: Georgia Tech 3, Radford 0
In game two, it was Tech’s turn to jump to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Samantha Pierannunzi drew a walk, and Malea Bell and Kendall Chadwick each singled to load the bases. Kelsey Chisholm’s sacrifice fly to left brought in Pierannunzi to put the Jackets on the board.
Freshman Rebecca Prairie stepped into the box with two outs and two on base and roped a double to left to score Bell.
The Jackets tacked on an additional run to go up 3-0 thanks to a solo shot over the left-field wall off the bat of Bell for her fourth long ball of the season.
Starter Emily Anderson and reliever Jenna Goodrich (4-2) combined to throw a one-hit shutout. Anderson pitched the first two innings before Goodrich came into the game to throw five innings with three strikeouts.
Radford’s starter Kayla Huffman (0-1) suffered the loss throwing 4.1 innings with three runs on six hits.
Quote
“I’m proud of Jenna [Goodrich] for coming in and setting the tone and pitching her game,” head coach Shelly Hoerner said. “She did a great job. We played great defense behind her. We took one game and we have to come back with an aggressive mentality tomorrow against Illinois.”
Quick Hits
– Sophomore Kaylee Ellebracht caught two runners stealing in game one
– Bell went 3-for-6 with two runs and a home run on the day
– Chisholm was 2-for-5 with an RBI on the day
– Pierannunzi scored a run and drew three walks
– Drew Puckett walked twice in game two
Up Next
The Jackets wrap up the I-75 Challenge on Sunday with a 1 p.m. game against Illinois on the ACC Network Extra.
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