GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Georgia Tech softball (37-16, 11-13 ACC) is gearing up for its first NCAA postseason play in a decade, heading the Gainesville Regional, hosted by No. 14 national seed Florida Friday through Sunday at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
Tech enters as the No. 2 seed, squaring off against No. 3 seed Wisconsin (28-19, 12-11 Big Ten) on Friday at 2 p.m. to open the Regional. The two squads are joined by host and top seed Florida (43-16, 13-11 SEC) as well and fourth-seeded Canisius (32-16, 16-4 MAAC), who will also face off in the opening round. The winners and losers of each game will advance into appropriate brackets given the Regional’s double elimination format.
Schedule
Game 1 – Georgia Tech vs. Wisconsin – Friday, 2 p.m. – ESPNU
Game 2 – Florida vs. Canisius – Friday, 4:30 p.m. – ESPN+
Game 3 – TBD –Saturday, 3 p.m.
Game 4 – TBD – Saturday, 5:30 p.m.
Game 5 – TBD – Saturday, 8 p.m.
Game 6 – TBD – Sunday, Noon
Game 7 – TBD – Sunday, 2:30 p.m. (if necessary)
TV
Georgia Tech’s duel with Wisconsin will be broadcast live on ESPNU. Remaining broadcasts involving the Yellow Jackets are to be determined based on results.
Regional History
- Georgia Tech is making its 12th Regional appearance, its first since 2012.
- The Yellow Jackets first advanced to a Regional in 2002 after winning the ACC tournament.
- The White and Gold advanced to 11 straight Regionals or better from 2002-12 before the decade-long drought entering the season.
- Tech has advanced to Super Regionals once in program history in 2009.
- Georgia Tech previously played in Gainesville Regional in back-to-back seasons in 2007-08, winning one game at each.
- Tech’s selection marks its fifth time being a No. 2 seed all time, currently going 5-3 as the second seed.
- Overall the Yellow Jackets are 19-17 in Regional play throughout program history.
- The Regional appearance marks the White and Gold’s first under the tutelage of skipper Aileen Morales as a head coach. Morales was also on staff as a student assistant in Tech’s lone NCAA Super Regional appearance in 2009 before serving as an assistant coach in three straight NCAA Regional appearances from 2010-12.
Season Storylines
- Last week, three Yellow Jackets garnered All-ACC honors in graduate first baseman Tricia Awald (First Team All-ACC), junior catcher Emma Kauf (First Team All-ACC) and freshman outfielder Auburn Dupree (ACC All-Freshman Team).
- The White and Gold also picked up a win in the ACC tournament for the third consecutive time, topping NC State. Prior to 2019, Tech hadn’t won an ACC tournament game since 2012.
- Senior outfielder Kennedy Cowden was named to the ACC All-Tournament Team after exploding at the dish, unloading two home runs against No. 9 Duke and tallying four RBI through both contests against the Blue Devils and NC State. Cowden finished 4-for-7 with a pair of runs scored to bat .571 on the week, slugging at a gaudy 1.429 clip and averaging a .571 on-base percentage in the tournament.
- Sophomore shortstop Jin Sileo once again made headlines thanks to her defensive prowess, appearing on SportsCenter’s Top 10 for the second time this season after making a diving catch over the middle in the ACC tournament quarterfinals against Duke. She’s also made three appearances on the NCAA’s Top Five Plays of the Week this season.
- Georgia Tech has outscored its opponents 298-178 to date.
- The White and Gold won their first 11 straight home games, tying the 1991 Yellow Jackets for the best home start in program history.
- Since, the Yellow Jackets have gone 37-16 for the best start since 2011. That squad started 44-8, winning the ACC regular season title and advancing to an NCAA regional.
- In doing so, the White and Gold are ranked No. 23 in RPI and No. 27 in strength of schedule, also receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll (3) and the ESPN/USA Softball poll (4).
- Tech owns a 26-3 record against nonconference opponents for the best nonconference winning percentage in program history.
- The Jackets are also 24-6 record in all home contests, the most victories on The Flats in a single season in program history.
- Georgia Tech has won 21 of its last 28 games, going on two nine-game win streaks. Both tears this season mark the program’s highest win streak since claiming 12 straight in 2012. The Jackets have also won 12 of their last 17.
- Graduate first baseman Tricia Awald took sole possession of first place in career doubles in Tech history against Charlotte, moving up to 55 and counting as she also leads the country in walks per game (0.94).
- Junior catcher Emma Kauf continues to climb in program history as she’s currently second all-time in doubles through a season with 24, a mark that places her second in the nation and top the ACC.
- Three Jackets have earned ACC weekly honors this season in Kauf (ACC Player of the Week), junior pitcher Chandler Dennis (ACC Co-Pitcher of the Week) and sophomore shortstop Jin Sileo (ACC Co-Player of the Week).
- The Yellow Jackets have won nine games by mercy rule this season, including seven in just five innings.
- The White and Gold went a perfect 6-0 against in-state opponents this season after defeating Mercer, Georgia State twice, Georgia and Kennesaw State twice.
- The Yellow Jackets have shut out eight opponents this season.
- Georgia Tech’s two ranked wins over then No. 16 Georgia and previously No. 25 Notre Dame mark the most for the program in a single season since 2015.
- Awald has gotten a hit in 39 games and reached base in Tech’s first 19 games this season. She’s reached in 49 of the Jackets’ 53 games on the year.
- Junior Blake Neleman has tossed a career-high 13 strikeouts twice this season, most recently in a complete game two hitter in the ACC tournament opening victory over NC State.
- Neleman approaches 400 career punchouts behind her career-high 204 K’s this season. She’s currently fifth in program history in single-season strikeouts and second in the ACC.
- The Jackets are currently among the nation’s most efficient at the plate and near the top of the league in multiple categories – fifth in the NCAA and second in the ACC in walks (224) and 19th in the land and third in the league in on-base percentage (0.396).
- In the field, Tech is currently third in the league and 21st in the nation in fielding percentage at 0.974 to date.
- Awald is among the nation’s best at the dish, currently third in the country and leading the conference in on-base percentage (.579) along with her top mark in the nation in walks per game. Similarly, she’s been dinged the third most times in the league with a 0.23 average of getting hit by pitches per game.
- Already Georgia Tech’s program leader in career walks with 167 to date, Awald has moved up to third in Tech history in walks in a season with 50 this year.
- Junior catcher Emma Kauf has excelled in hits for extra bases as evidenced by her historic doubles mark, also sitting second in the conference in hits (68) while ranking third in the league in total bases (114), leading the squad in both.
Tickets
General Public can order All-Session Regional Passes – no guarantee reserved seats will be available Wednesday, May 18 at 9 a.m. (ET) and Single Game tickets beginning Thursday, May 19, at 9 a.m. (ET).
To order, visit https://floridagators.com/sports/2016/11/10/softball-tickets.aspx, call the Gator Ticket Office at (352) 375-4683 or toll free (800) 344-2867 or visit the Gator Ticket Office, located between Gates 1 & 2 of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
MOBILE TICKETING & FLORIDA GATORS APP
As a reminder, mobile ticketing is required. There will be two ways to access your tickets: 1) through the Florida Gators app from your mobile device or 2) through FloridaGators.com/myaccount. Fans will also be able to transfer or sell your tickets easily within the app or online.
For a smoother entry on game-day, we encourage fans to add their tickets to their Apple Wallet or Google Pay account. You may also learn more about mobile ticketing by tapping here.
2022 Gainesville All-Session Regional Pricing Per Ticket
Section 101-105 – $40.00
Section 106-107 – $30.00
Berm General Admission – $15.00 (no limits)
2022 Gainesville Single Game Regional Pricing Per Ticket
Section 101-105 – $15.00
Section 106-107 – $15.00
Berm General Admission – $5.00 (no limits)
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
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