THE FLATS – Georgia Tech softball (24-9, 5-7 ACC) will trek to No. 25 Notre Dame (25-6, 5-2 ACC) for its next ACC weekend series, beginning Friday at 5 p.m. at Melissa Cook Stadium in South Bend, Ind.
Series Schedule
Friday, April 1 @ 5 p.m.
Saturday, April 2 @ 1 p.m.
Sunday, April 3 @ Noon
TV
The series will be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra.
Storylines
- Georgia Tech has outscored its opponents 183-100 to date.
- Tech got off to a 15-2 start on the year, the best for the program in 12 years. The 2010 Yellow Jackets started off 20-2 on the way to regular season and ACC tournament titles, making an NCAA regional appearance.
- The White and Gold won their first 11 straight home games, tying the 1991 Yellow Jackets for the best home start in program history.
- Georgia Tech has won eight straight games, including five in ACC play.
- The White and Gold have won two straight ACC series, topping Louisville before claiming their first ACC series sweep of the season against Syracuse.
- Georgia Tech owns three walk-off victories this season over Penn State, Dartmouth and Syracuse (excluding by way of mercy-rule).
- The Yellow Jackets have won seven games by mercy rule this season, including six in just five innings.
- Tech is undefeated at 20-0 when holding opponents to two runs or less.
- The Jackets are 19-3 when scoring first and 20-3 when getting out hit by opponents, not to mention being 11-3 when scoring in the first inning.
- Tech owns an 19-2 record against nonconference opponents as well as a 17-6 record in all home contests.
- The Yellow Jackets tout five wins tallying double digit runs on the year.
- Junior hurler Chandler Dennis is coming off a 4-0 week that resulted in ACC Co-Pitcher of the Week honors. She earned her eighth win of the season over Kennesaw State on Wednesday after tossing five innings.
- Georgia Tech picked up its first ranked win of the season over then No. 16 Georgia. Previously, the most recent ranked win for the Jackets came a season ago, downing No. 15 Virginia Tech on the road.
- Tech owns 65 ranked wins all time, including six top-10 triumphs, two top-five victories and one top-three win in the history of the program.
- Junior designated player Caroline Davis belted Tech’s second grand slam of the year against the Bulldogs following graduate slugger Tricia Awald’s same feat against Villanova (Feb. 12). The grand slam marked Davis’ first of her career, along with her fifth home run of the season and sixth of her career. Davis currently leads the team with six dingers this season.
- Awald has gotten a hit in 23 games and reached base in Tech’s first 19 games this season. She’s reached in 30 of the Jackets’ 33 games on the year.
- Junior Blake Neleman tossed a career-high 13 strikeouts in the season opener against Saint Joseph’s, fanning 12 of the 13 batters on the way to a complete game win. Neleman nearly matched that total against Mississippi State with 12 punchouts in another complete game win over Mississippi State. With five strikeouts in game two against Louisville, Neleman surpassed 300 career punchouts as well as her previous career high of 111 sit downs in a season. She owns 131 total this season and 319 throughout her career.
- Neleman owns eight complete game wins, two shutouts and an 11-5 record with two saves in 24 appearances on the year.
- The Jackets are currently among the nation’s most efficient at the plate and near the top of the league in multiple categories – 17th in the land and second in the league in on-base percentage (0.408), fourth in the NCAA and second in the ACC in walks (149) and 32nd in the country and fourth in the conference in doubles on the season (46).
- Tech stacks up among the nation’s best defensively as well, placing 18th in the country and third in the conference in fielding percentage (.976).
- Awald is among the nation’s best at the dish, currently ninth in the country and leading the conference in on-base percentage (.584) while ranking seventh in the land and leading the league in walks per game (0.91). Similarly, she’s been dinged the second most times in the conference and 31st most in the country with a 0.30 average of getting hit by pitches per game.
- Junior catcher Emma Kauf has excelled in hits for extra bases, sitting in 14th in the NCAA and atop the ACC in doubles (11).
- To date, Neleman is fourth in the league with 11 wins in the circle this season. She’s also 22nd in the country and second in the conference in strikeouts (131) while ranking 17th in the NCAA and leading the ACC in innings pitched (109 1/3). Her two saves also rank fourth in the league and 23rd in the land.
Series Notes
- Georgia Tech trails Notre Dame 16-4 in the all-time series.
- The Yellow Jackets’ last win over the Fighting Irish came a season ago in the form of an 8-7 victory.
- All four of the White and Gold’s victories in the series were claimed at home on The Flats.
- Tech earned its lone series triumph over Notre Dame at home in 2017, taking the first two of three as each game in the series went to extra innings.
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
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