May 10, 2002
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Designated player Tasha Waugh’s bases-loaded single in the bottom of the ninth broke a scoreless tie and gave Georgia Tech (47-16, 6-2 ACC) a 1-0 win over Maryland in the opening round of the 2002 ACC Softball Championship at the Seminole Softball Complex. With the victory, the Jackets move on to face the winner of North Carolina and Florida State at 1 p.m. Saturday.
All-ACC catcher Lindsay Wood started the extra-inning rally with her conference-record 24th double of the season to right field. Speedy reserve Kirin Kumar then entered to pinch run, and walks to center fielder Sara Wissmann and right fielder Soraya Reddick by Maryland reliever Monica Cyphert loaded the bases.
Terp starter Amanda Bettker then reentered to face Waugh, who roped the ball to center to end the game.
Tech starter Jessica Sallinger, the ACC Rookie of the Year, was dominant as usual, setting an ACC Championship record with 13 strikeouts in the game. She now has ten double-digit strikeout games this season and moves to 23-7 with the win. She went nine innings, allowing just four hits and three walks.
The game shaped up as a pitchers’ dual from the start, as Sallinger and Bettker allowed a combined three hits through five innings. Sallinger had limited the Terps to one safety, while the Jackets had managed just two hits off Bettker.
The Terps threatened in the top of the sixth, as a Samantha Sweeney single and a walk to Casey Leiter put two on, but Sallinger struck out the side to end the inning.
Reddick led off the Tech seventh with a single past the Moczulski but was thrown out trying to steal second, sending the game into extra innings.
After Maryland failed to score in the top of the eighth, Cyphert moved from designated player to pitcher, replacing Bettker, who allowed just four hits and no runs in seven innings of work. She had six strikeouts. Cyphert, who falls to 10-5 with the loss, faced four batters in the ninth before giving way to Bettker on the final at bat.
First baseman Katie Donovan went 2-for-3 to lead the Jackets at the plate, while Samanta Sweeney had two hits to lead Maryland.
The victory snaps a five-game losing streak in ACC Championship play for the Jackets, who last won a tournament game against UNC in 1999. Tech is now 5-0 this season against Maryland.
Tech will face either the Tar Heels, who defeated Virginia, 6-0, in the first game of the day, or the top-seeded Seminoles at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Jackets are 3-0 against North Carolina and 0-2 versus the Seminoles in 2002.
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