March 17, 2002
ATLANTA – Powered by a pair of homers by sophomore shortstop Tara Knudsen and a 12-strikeout gem by freshman pitcher Jessica Sallinger, the Georgia Tech softball team (21-7, 0-0 ACC) swept a doubleheader from Princeton (4-4) Sunday at Glenn Field. The Jackets came back to win game one, 5-4, and were dominant in a 7-0 win in the second game.
In game one, junior second baseman Felicia Coursey, who led off the bottom of the seventh with a triple, scored from third on a wild pitch by Princeton starter Brie Galicinao, giving the Jackets a 5-4 win.
Junior Tiffany Goodman, who allowed just two hits in five innings of work, earned her fifth win of the season.
The Tigers got on the board first, scoring two runs in the top of the first on a double to center field by Galicinao. The Tigers added a run in the second and extended their lead to 4-0 in the third on a home run to center field by first baseman Kristin Del Calvo.
The Jackets scratched in the bottom of the third, as designated player Mimi Utt sent a ball over the left center field fence for the first homer of the season. Her shot cut the deficit to 4-1.
Tech tied the game in the bottom of the fifth on a three-run home run by shortstop Tara Knudsen. First baseman Katie Donovan doubled to center to start the inning. She advanced to third as left fielder Tara Neff reached first on a dribbler sent down the third base line. Knudsen then blasted her sixth homer of the season over the center field wall, tying the game, 4-4.
The game remained knotted from that point until Coursey’s game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh.
Goodman (5-1) entered in the third and allowed one run in relief. Sophomore starter Erin Voeltz allowed three runs on three hits in the first two innings.
Offensively, Neff led Tech with three hits, while Coursey and Utt each added two.
The late-inning rally in game one carried over to the second contest, as the Jackets posted three runs in their half of the second inning. Right fielder Soraya Reddick led off with a double and advanced to second on a Sara Wissmann groundout. Reddick came around to score on a RBI single by Utt. After a single by third baseman Jamie Frost, Donovan doubled to clear the bases and give Tech a 3-0 lead.
The Jackets added a trio of runs in the bottom of the fourth. Utt got the threat started with a single to center field, and she came around to score on a double by Frost. With two on, left fielder Kirin Kumar doubled to right field, scoring Donovan and Coursey and making the count 6-0.
Knudsen’s second homer of the day, a blast to deep left field, extended Tech’s lead to 7-0 in the bottom of the fifth. Her seven homers this season rank as the fourth-best single-season total in Jacket history.
Sallinger went the distance, posting her third shutout of the season. She walked just one and struck out 12, while allowing just four hits, to move to 10-3 in her rookie season. The 12 strikeouts are one short of her own school record of 13. She has fanned at least a dozen batters on three occasions this season and now has 118 strikeouts on the season, just nine short of the Tech single-season record.
Utt and Frost, who each went 3-for-3 in the second game, led the Jackets offensively. Utt was 5-for-6 with two runs batted in and three runs scored on the afternoon.
The Jackets return to action Tuesday when they travel to Auburn for a 5 p.m. doubleheader with the Tigers.
-GT-
