Softball wins 11 in a row, takes Buzz Classic

In the 14th installment of the Atlanta Marriot Buzz Classic, the Jacket softball team captured its first championship in the annual event hosted by Tech. Led by Buzz Classic MVP Christine Sheridan, the Jackets reeled off eight consecutive victories, including three during Sunday’s bracket play to improve their season record to 17-4.

Sheridan’s MVP performance included eight RBIs and a grand slam in pool play. Sheridan was 6-10 at the plate with two RBIs in Sunday’s three bracket games.

“Of course winning your own tournament is nice and it’s something that has never been done but more importantly than a plaque, is that we are playing better softball and making strides towards our end of the season goals,” Head Coach Ehren Earleywine said following Sunday’s victories, as reported by ramblinwreck.com.

Sunday’s championship game against N.C. State saw the Jackets dominate the Wolfpack, picking up a 7-1 victory. Freshman sensation Whitney Haller drove in the first run of the game on a first-inning sacrifice fly which was followed later in the inning by Kristina Hull’s two-run double. After N.C. State scored their only run of the game in the fifth inning, Amy Hosier and Sheridan each drove in a run in the fifth and sixth inning respectively.

The final two Tech runs were unearned, courtesy of a Wolfpack error. On the mound for the Jackets, sophomore pitcher Whitney Humphreys threw her second complete game of the day, allowing only one run on four hits while striking out four members of the Pack and collecting her tenth win of the season.

The Jacket victory in the championship game was preceded by three victories in bracket play—one on Saturday and two on Sunday. The first game in bracket play against the University of Texas at El Paso featured a 2-3 performance by Sheridan, including a home run and three RBIs.

Sophomore Aileen Morales contributed two RBIs, while Haller, Hosier, Hull and Kacey Ivey each drove in a run, propelling the Jackets to a 10-1 victory over the Miners in five innings. Freshman Lacey Richardson improved to 3-1 on the season, pitching the necessary five innings while allowing only one run on two hits and fanning seven.

In Sunday morning’s quarterfinal game against South Dakota State, Humphreys threw her first complete game of the day, striking out a career-high 11 batters while allowing only one run on four hits.

The Jackets were led on offense by Haller, who drove in three runs including a two-run homer, along with RBIs from Hosier, Sheridan, and freshman Blair Shimandle as they captured an 8-1 victory.

Following the win over SDSU, the Jackets disposed of Radford 6-4 in the semifinals behind six strong innings from junior pitcher Sarah Wood in which she gave up only one unearned run on three hits. Sophomore Stephanie Butler launched her first homer of her career in the fourth inning, a two-run shot that followed a three-run third inning that featured a two-run single by Hosier and an RBI single by Haller. Radford battled back with a three-run homer in the sixth inning but never got any closer as the Jackets held on for the victory.

During pool play on Friday and Saturday, the Jackets won all four of their games, defeating East Tennessee State 11-2, Marshall 12-6, Austin Peay 14-6 and Connecticut 4-0.

“I like what we accomplished this weekend and it’s a confidence builder. We continued to learn about some of the adjustments that some of our players need to make as we move forward in the season,” Earleywine said.