April 5, 2002
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Powered by a pair of home runs by sophomore shortstop Tara Knudsen, the Georgia Tech softball team (35-9, 6-0 ACC) held on to defeat North Carolina, 5-4, to complete a doubleheader sweep of the Tar Heels at the UNC Softball Complex. The Jackets took game one, 1-0.
Knudsen homered in the fifth and seventh innings of the second game, and now has 11 round-trippers on the season. Her total ranks as the second-best single-season mark in Tech history. She also has 38 runs batted in this year.
The Tar Heels came out strong in game two, scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the first. Catcher Natalie Anter plated the first run with a RBI double, while the second came home on a groundout by first baseman Kelly Ramsey.
Tech responded in the top of the second, tying the score at two. Catcher Lindsay Wood led off the inning with a homer to center field, cutting the lead in half. With one out, third baseman Jamie Frost walked and then moved to third before coming home on a single to center by left fielder Kirin Kumar. Wood’s homer was her fifth of the season.
The game remained knotted at two until the Tech half of the fifth. After a lead off single by first baseman Katie Donovan, Knudsen sent her 10th home run of the season over the left field wall, giving the Jackets a 4-2 lead.
In the seventh, Knudsen struck again with a homer to straightaway center, extending the Tech lead to 5-2.
The Tar Heels made things interesting in the bottom of the inning, scoring two to cut the margin to 5-4. Yellow Jacket starter Jessica Sallinger struck out the side and left the bases loaded to earn her 17th win of the season.
She went seven innings, allowing nine hits and four runs (three earned), while striking out nine. At 17-4, Sallinger ties the school record for wins in a season.
Game one shaped up as a pitcher’s dual early, as Tech starter Erin Voeltz and North Carolina’s Ashley Allen allowed a combined three hits through four innings. The game remained scoreless until the Jackets posted a run in the fifth.
Frost got the rally started with a hard single to second base. She advanced to second on a single to left center by designated player Tasha Waugh. Kumar was then awarded first on a catcher’s interference call, loading the bases. Second baseman Felicia Coursey then singled up the middle to drive in Frost and give Tech a 1-0 advantage.
The one run was enough for Voeltz to earn her 12th victory of the season, as she allowed just four hits and two walks in the shutout. She also fanned six. Allen was the tough-luck loser, giving up just five hits and one run. She walked four and struck out four.
The 6-0 start in ACC play is a first for Tech and assures the Jackets of their first winning conference mark in program history. Tech finished .500 in 1995 and ’96.
The Jackets return to action Saturday in the Tar Heel Invitational. Tech plays Maryland at 2 p.m., followed by a third match-up with North Carolina at 6 p.m. On Sunday, the Jackets play Virginia at 10 a.m. followed by the consolation and championship games at 2 p.m.
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