Softball wins Kennesaw Invitational
By Blake Israel / Student Publications
Tech defeated Kennesaw State Sunday. The 8-2 victory by the Jackets was the first time they have defeated the Owls in the series.
The softball team traveled up I-75 to play in the Kennesaw State Invitational against the Evansville Aces, Georgetown Hoyas, Miami (Ohio) Redhawks and the hosting Owls. Last Saturday, the Jackets won both games in five innings handling the Hoyas 17-0 and the Redhawks 10-0.
In Sunday's doubleheader, the Jackets had slightly more difficulty in victories over the Aces, 7-5, and the Owls, 8-2. In Tech's win against Kennesaw State, the Jackets beat the Owls for the first time in four tries. During the weekend tournament, the Jackets pitched well all weekend, with senior Sarah Wood, sophomore Lacey Richardson and junior Whitney Humphreys all making strong performances. During the tournament, Wood threw 7 and 1/3 innings allowing just six hits, two earned runs and ten walks. Richardson pitched 4 and 2/3 innings from the circle while walking and striking out five batters.
Humphreys started Saturday night's game against Georgetown and one-hit the Hoyas on the way to a 10-0 victory in five innings. For the weekend, Humphreys pitched a total of 12 innings, striking out 13 batters while walking seven.
From the dish, the Jackets put eight balls over the outfield fence during the weekend. Preseason All-American Whitney Haller and freshman third baseman Brittany Barnes were the main contributors for the Jackets with two apiece. During the series, Barnes came off of the bench in the third inning of game one against the Hoyas to hit 2-for-2 with a homerun.
Coach Perkins put Barnes into the starting lineup in the next game and went 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs.
In Sunday's games, the Jackets held off the Aces' rally in the ninth inning to win.
While Tech's defense allowed two errors in the Evansville half of the seventh, pitcher Richardson was able to close the game out with a ground out.
In the nightcap, Tech cruised against Kennesaw with the help of a five run third inning.
Second baseman Jennifer Yee and junior designated hitter Brittany Barnes each homered in the inning to give the Jackets four of the five RBIs.
Humphreys allowed just two runs in her seven innings of work for the complete game victory.
Tech had no problem in game one dispatching of Gardner-Webb with a 12-1 win in five innings, but had a more difficult time with the Bulldogs in game two, taking seven innings to win 9-4. After the victories, Tech improved their record to 8-1 for the season.
In game one, Tech received another good pitching performance coming from sophomore transfer Tiffany Johnson.
Johnson hurled four shutout innings from the circle in the shutout victory allowing just one hit, while striking out five.
In game two, senior Wood was unable to continue her success from over the weekend and allowed four earned runs in three innings of work.
Humphreys came in and pitched four shutout innings of relief with eight strikeouts to seal the game for Tech and give her another win to give her a 4-0 record for the season.
At the plate, the Jackets continue to overpower the opposition.
In game one, the Jackets had a home run in their 12th consecutive game and had six home runs for the two games.
Tech will play tomorrow in Columbus, Ga. in the NFCA Leadoff Classic against four ranked teams including No. 16 Baylor, No. 25 DePaul, No. 23 Massachusetts and No. 19 Florida.
This tournament will be a more difficult test for the Jackets than last weekend's tournament in Kennesaw and should give an early indication of how close this Tech team is to realizing their goal of becoming a contender on the National scene.
