Georgia Tech 3, Louisiana-Monroe 2 Arkansas 3, Georgia Tech 2
MONROE, La. (Feb. 17) – The Georgia Tech softball team earned a split of its two games to open the weather-shortened Mardi Gras Classic Feb. 17. The Yellow Jackets (4-2) came from behind to defeat the host Louisiana-Monroe by a 3-2 score in the first game and were unable to rally in the second game and fell to Arkansas by a matching 3-2 score.
Monroe (7-1) jumped on the scoreboard first in the top of the opening inning. Lori Tande reached base on a single and then stole second and was driven in by an RBI triple by Casey Goodman to give the Indians a 1-0 lead.
Tech answered in the bottom of the second inning, as freshman Tasha Waugh led off the inning with a double, and later scored on a RBI sacrifice fly by sophomore Lindsay Wood.
ULM jumped back on top in the third inning, as Lori Tande had a single to center field and then scored on a three-base error on the same play to give the Indians a 2-1 advantage.
After an inning and a half of scoreless play, the game was suspended for just over an hour in the top of the fifth inning due to a blown fuse that caused the stadium lights to go dark.
When play resumed, Tech took advantage in the bottom of the sixth inning as Waugh struck with her second double of the game to score Jamie Frost, who led off the inning with a triple, and Erin Hawley, who reached on an error. Waugh led the Jackets by going 2-for-3 with a run scored and the two RBI.
Freshman Erin Voeltz (2-1) picked up the win for Tech, by striking out six and walking two, while scattering eight hits. For the Indians, Ashley Bellew (1-1) was saddled with her first loss of the year after striking out three and walking only one.
In the second game, Arkansas raced to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, by taking advantage of three Yellow Jacket errors. In the frame, both Stephanie Hunter and Erin Stokey scored on Tech errors. The Razorbacks struck again in the top of the second, as Nicole Deeter scored on an RBI triple by Cortney Mitchell to give Arkansas a 3-0 lead.
In the bottom of the third, the Yellow Jackets put a pair of runs on the board as both, freshman Sara Wissmann and junior Kori Jacobson scored on a two-RBI single by senior Erin Hawley.
Tech was unable to plate another run on Razorback starter Heather Schlichtman (5-1), who recorded nine strikeouts and had only one walk in a complete game win. Jacket sophomore Tiffany Goodman (2-1) lost her first decision of the year, allowing only one earned run and just five hits.
The Yellow Jackets will continue play in the Mardi Gras Classic on Sunday, February 18, 2001, with games scheduled for 10 a.m., 12 p.m. and 2 p.m., against a yet to be determined opponents.
