Feb. 22, 2004
PANTHERSVILLE, Ga. – Jessica Sallinger (5-0) threw five shutout innings and struck out 12 batters and Georgia Tech scored seven runs in the fifth inning to claim the Georgia State Tournament title this afternoon, 8-0 (5 inn.), over Georgia State at Bob Heck Field. The Yellow Jackets did not allow a run in the entire tournament and set a school record with 44.0 consecutive innings without allowing a single run. Tech pushes its winning streak to seven games and stands at 9-1 on the season.
“I thought we pitched and played defense very well,” said head coach Ehren Earleywine. “We had one let down offensively in the tournament, and in order to get to the level we want to be at, we must do all three things well. We cannot afford to have let downs against the top tier teams that we will face next weekend.”
Junior designated hitter Liz Bartle started the bottom of the second inning with a double. Junior second baseman Katie Donovan followed with a single to give Tech runners at the corners with no outs. After a pair of fielder’s choice outs, freshman first baseman Kristina Hull drove in her first run of the season with a single up the middle to give the Jackets a 1-0 lead.
Sophomore third baseman Lauren Schlechte and senior catcher Tasah Waugh began the bottom of the fifth inning with consecutive singles and advanced to second and third on a sacrifice bunt. Junior left fielder Kirin Kumar then singled through the right side collecting two Yellow Jackets to push the score to 3-0. Senior center fielder Soraya Reddick then singled up the middle to score another run for Tech and teammate Amy Hosier singled for another run as the lead was pushed to six. Schlechte singled for the second time in the inning to score another run for Tech and Waugh ended the game with a fielder’s choice as Tech rolled, 8-0 (5 inn.).
Bartle, Donovan and Schlechte led the Jackets offensively. Bartle went 2-for-3, with one RBI and Schlechte went 2-for-3 with one RBI. Donovan drove in one run for the Rambling Wreck and finished the game 2-for-3.
Sallinger pitched 12.0 straight innings without allowing a base hit and finished the game with her fourth shutout of the season, going five innings, allowing just two hits.
Georgia Tech scored eight runs, on 11 hits and had no errors, while Georgia State had no runs, on two hits and had no errors.
Tech will remain on the road as the Yellow Jackets travel to Boiling Springs, N.C., for a non-conference doubleheader against Gardner-Webb on Tuesday, Feb. 24. The contests are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
