Feb. 19, 2002
ATLANTA – Off to its best start since the 1991 season, the Georgia Tech softball team (5-1, 0-0 ACC) hosts Georgia State for a doubleheader Wednesday at Glenn Field at 2 p.m.
Tech enters the contest on a three-game winning streak, having swept Georgia Southern on Saturday in Statesboro. The Jackets held the Eagles scoreless, winning game one, 1-0 in nine innings, and taking the second game, 6-0. Freshman pitcher Jessica Sallinger tossed her second no-hitter in three career starts in game two.
Tech’s hurlers have been a constant in the early season, as the staff sports an ACC-best 0.67 earned run average and has fanned 42 batters in 42 innings pitched. Opponents are batting just .160 against the Jackets.
Offensively, Tech has been much improved over last season. As a team, the Jackets are batting .266, which is tops in the conference, compared to a .213 mark a year ago. Sophomore shortstop Tara Knudsen leads the league with a .579 average. She also leads the ACC in slugging percentage, on-base percentage and runs batted in.
The Panthers enter Wednesday’s match-up with a 3-4 record. Cindy Gillies leads the squad with a .375 batting average, while Yolanda McRae and Cheryl Bodziony are also hitting above .300. Lindsey French leads the pitching staff with a 1.40 earned run average and 23 strikeouts in 20 innings pitched.
This series has been competitive in the past, with the all-time mark standing even at 17-17. Tech took three games from the Panthers a year ago, sweeping Georgia State on February 21 and topping the Panthers 10-7 in the Georgia State Invitational on March 2.
-GT-
