March 3, 2015
TROY, Ala. –Senior pitcher Kylie Kleinschmidt struck out a Georgia Tech school record 18 batters, but the Georgia Tech softball team (7-12) fell 4-3 to Troy (13-8) in 11 innings Tuesday night at the Troy Softball Complex.
Kleinschmidt (1-6) went the distance, fanning every batter in the lineup at least one and surpassing her previous best of 12 strikeouts. The previous Tech single-game record was 17 by Jessica Sallinger against Maryland on March 22, 2003.
“It was a pitcher’s duel,” head coach Shelly Hoerner said. “They kept us off balance as hitters, but we definitely had opportunities to score. We have to play better softball and execute a lot more in order to win games. It’s a tough loss because I felt Kylie pitched well enough to win. We will keep fighting as a team to get better.”
Tied 3-3 and headed to the bottom of the fourth extra inning, Troy singled with one out. Amanda Winters pulled through for the Trojans with a game-ending RBI-double that scored Michelle Phelps from first.
The Jackets got on the board first in the top of the third. Jessica Kowalewicz reached base on a Troy fielding error to lead off the inning and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Draven Sonnon. Samantha Pierannunzi and Chelsie Thomas reached base on a single and fielder’s choice, respectively, to load the bases with one out.
Katie Johnsky ripped a single through the left side to bring in Kowalewicz, and Courtney Ziese’s grounder up the middle brought Pierannunzi and Thomas home.
Troy erased Georgia Tech’s three-run lead in the sixth inning as the Trojans loaded the bases with two outs. A wild pitch and a single cleared the bases and tied the game 3-3 to force extra innings.
The Jackets had the go ahead run on third in the top of the eighth inning. Johnsky hit her team-leading sixth double on the season to lead off the inning and she moved to third on a Maddie Lionberger ground out, but the Jackets couldn’t cash her in.
Troy had a chance to put the game away in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Trojans put runners on second and third with two outs, but Kleinschmidt struck out her 15th batter of the game to get out of the jam.
Pierannunzi and Thomas smacked back-to-back singles to open the 10th. A sacrifice bunt from Johnsky moved the runners ahead, but the Jackets went down in order to strand the runners.
Troy’s Jaycee Affeldt (7-3) earned the win, pitching 8.1 innings with four hits, one walk and 14 strikeouts.
The Jackets are back in action with a three-game series at Virginia this weekend. The Jackets and Cavaliers square off in a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m. and a single game Sunday at 12 p.m.
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