Softball finishes 48-22, loses to 'Bama in Regional

The Lady Jackets softball team concluded their season with a final record of 48-22. Tech's softball team finished the regular season fourth in the ACC at 12-9, with an overall record of 43-18.

During the season, Tech played several top 25 opponents.

While the Jackets finished 5-10 for the season against those top 25 opponents, they did split the season series with #10 ranked Georgia in Athens.

From the standpoint of personal performances, no other Tech player stood out as much as freshman Whitney Haller.

For the season, Haller had a .395 batting average, 24 home runs, and 72 RBI's. She also recorded six saves as the Jackets top closer. Haller's home run total was tied for 2nd overall in the NCAA.

The best Tech player from the circle this season was junior Sarah Wood. For the season, she had an ERA of 2.78, while striking out 98, and only walking 38.

Going into ACC tournament, the Jackets were the fourth seed. After falling in their first game to the Florida State Seminoles, Tech battled back through the loser's bracket by defeating Boston College and Virginia the next day to give themselves a chance to advance to the championship game.

In order to accomplish that feat, they would have had to defeat the Seminoles twice in a row.

While Tech was able to defeat Florida State in game one, lightning did not strike twice for the Jackets as they fell 7-4.

The Jackets did however qualify for the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive season.

In the Alabama regional, the softball team went 2-2. They lost twice to host Alabama, while defeating the three seed Florida A&M twice.

In game one, the Jackets came from behind after being down 3-0 to win 9-3 against the Rattlers.

Against Alabama the next day, Tech's ninth inning rally fell short in their 8-5 defeat.

The Jackets stayed alive the next day by winning a 10-7 slugfest to eliminate the Rattlers from the tournament and advance to the championship game against Alabama, where they would have to win twice to advance to the Super Regionals.

The Crimson Tide proved to be more than Tech could handle yet again as the Jackets ended their season with a 7-2 loss.

Looking toward next season, Tech's softball team will only lose two graduating senior players, outfielder Amy Hosier and shortstop Christine Sheridan.

This leaves many of the key players from this year's team for next season including standout players Whitney Haller and Lacey Richardson.

The Jackets will look to continue the streak of NCAA appearances next season. They will also try to duplicate the ACC title the team earned during the 2004-2005 season.