Softball dominates opponents at home
By Christopher Gooley / Student Publications
The Jacket softball team has an eight-game winning streak. Wednesday they shutout the Georgia State Panthers 7-0.
Tuesday in Athens the softball team continued its strong play with a 4-3 victory over No. 12 Georgia.
Jacket ace Jessica Sallinger went the entire contest in the circle for Tech, striking out 10 for the complete-game victory.
The Jackets jumped out to a quick lead in the top of the first inning when Aileen Morales led off with a walk and proceeded to steal second and score on a throwing error by the UGA catcher.
UGA answered in the bottom of the first to tie the game, but Tech responded with a run in the second inning and another pair in the third to extend the lead to 4-1.
The Jackets would not score again, but they were able to hold on to their lead despite a bit of bad luck and a strong fight from their highly-ranked arch rival.
One of the more interesting plays of the game, which did little to help the Jackets, occurred in the fifth inning.
With the bases loaded and no outs, Amy Hosier lined a ball into the gap in right-center for Tech, but UGA's Kelsey Todd dove and made the catch. A throw to second and another toss to third later, the Jackets had fallen victim to a triple play.
"[The team] overcame some obstacles like the triple play, but [Sallinger] was able to come back the next inning and record three strikeouts to kill the momentum," Head Coach Ehren Earleywine said.
The win against UGA came on the heels of Tech defeating UAB in both games of a Saturday doubleheader. The Jackets won the first game by the score of 8-4 and won the nightcap 9-0. Savannah Brown and Daisey Paez hit a pair of home runs each to lead the Jackets. Tech faces Virginia Tech this weekend in a three-game ACC series.
