ATLANTA (Feb. 14) – Georgia Tech’s softball team remains on the road for a second straight week with a single contest at Auburn Tuesday at 1 p.m., and then travels to the Triangle Classic at Walnut Creek Softball Complex in Raleigh, N.C., Friday-Sunday.
Tech (2-0) opens play in its pool against Elon at 2 p.m. Friday and then faces Wright State at 4 p.m. The Yellow Jackets face Minnesota Saturday at Noon and then move into tournament play, which concludes Sunday.
The Jackets opened the 2000 campaign with a doubleheader sweep of Georgia Southern last Saturday in Statesville, Ga., winning the first game 7-1 in nine innings and the second contest, 10-8.
“It is exciting to be facing Auburn for the first time in my tenure, which adds another solid SEC program to our schedule,” said second-year head coach Kate Madden. “Playing just one game, we will have to be ready to go from the first inning.”
The Jackets are led senior all-ACC catcher Anne Knobbe (Brea, Calif.), who went 5-for-10 with four RBI and two doubles in the two victories. She picked up where she left off last season, after setting school single-season records with 10 home runs and 62 RBI. Freshman shortstop Lindsay Wood (Marietta, Ga.) made an immediate impact for the Jackets as she batted third and went 5-for-9 with three RBI and two runs scored at the plate. Centerfielder Lauren Schwartz (Atlanta, Ga.) was 4-for-9 with five runs as the team’s No. 2 batter, and right fielder Kori Jacobson (Chandler, Ariz.) was 4-for-8 after moving to the ninth position in the batting order. Tech combined for 32 hits in the two contests, five short of the school record for a doubleheader of 37, set in 1997 against Samford.
Senior pitcher Jamie Smith (Salem, Ore.) earned a pair of victories against Georgia Southern, posting a complete game in the team’s 7-1 win. She came in and fired two innings of relief work in the second contest and held the Eagles to one run in the 10-8 win, notching her 30th career victory. Freshman Tiffany Goodman (Pleaston, Calif.) pitched five innings in second game and allowed just five hits, but gave up seven runs.
Tech will host its first home action of the year Feb. 23 when it welcomes Furman to Glenn Field for a 2 p.m., doubleheader.
