March 17, 2004
ATLANTA – Junior second baseman Katie Donovan smashed a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning in game one and junior Jessica Sallinger (14-3) fired her seventh complete-game shutout in game two as the No. 21 Georgia Tech softball team swept Ball State, 2-1 and 6-0, this afternoon at Glenn Field. The Yellow Jackets improve to 23-5, while Ball State falls to 1-13.
In the opener, Tech got on the scoreboard in the first inning as senior center fielder Soraya Reddick led off with a walk and stole second base. Reddick later scored on a RBI double by senior shortstop Tara Knudsen to put the Jackets up 1-0.
Ball State tied the game in the fourth inning. BSU’s Taylor Yancey broke up senior Erin Voeltz’s no-hitter with a double to right field. She moved to third base on a sacrifice bunt and the next batter for the Cardinals drew a walk. Darla Dewig then hit a ball off the end of the bat that trickled in front of home plate, just far enough to push the game’s first run across. Voeltz then gave up a soft line drive up the middle that froze the BSU runners and Tech tallied a double play to get out of the inning.
The Yellow Jackets loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth inning with no outs on a walk and a pair of singles by freshman first baseman Kristina Hull and junior third baseman Kirin Kumar. Ball State’s Randi Freese struck out the side to keep the game tied a 1-1.
Sallinger entered the circle for the Jackets in the seventh inning. The Kennesaw, Ga., native struck out the side as Tech came to bat trailing by one. Donovan then came to the plate and struck the first offering by Freese over the center field fence to give Tech a 2-1 win.
Voeltz threw six innings, allowing two hits, one earned run and struck out four in a no decision.
Tech scored two runs, on five hits and had no errors, while Ball State tallied one run, on two hits and had no errors.
In the nightcap, neither team managed a run through the first four innings. In the fifth, the Yellow Jackets put runners at first and second with no outs as senior catcher Tasha Waugh singled to left field and Hull singled up the middle. The runners advanced to second and third after a sacrifice bunt and Kumar drove in the game’s first run with a base knock to right field. Reddick drove in the final run of the inning for the Jackets with a fielder’s choice to the shortstop as Tech led 2-0 after five innings.
The Rambling Wreck put the game away in the sixth inning with four more runs. Senior left fielder Sara Wissmann drove in two runs with a double to right field and scored on a Reddick double as the Yellow Jackets went on to defeat the Cardinals, 6-0.
The Jackets scored six runs, on 10 hits and committed three errors, while the Cardinals had no runs, on two hits and had two errors.
Sallinger finished the game with two-hit shutout, striking out 10 in the game for the 10th time this season. She picked up the win in both games today to improve to 14-3 on the season.
Knudsen and Waugh led Tech offensively on the afternoon. Knudsen finished 3-for-7, with a double and drove in one run, while Waugh finished 3-for-5, with a walk and two runs scored.
Georgia Tech will host the 12th annual Buzz Classic this weekend, March 19-21, at Al Bishop Softball Complex, in Marietta, Ga. The Yellow Jackets will tangle with Austin Peay and Ohio at 3 and 6 p.m. on Friday, March 19. Tech will wrap up pool play against Nicholls State (1 p.m.) and Western Kentucky (3 p.m.) on Saturday, March 20. A single-elimination bracket will start at 8 p.m. on Saturday evening and continue through Sunday, with the championship game scheduled for 1 p.m.
