Feb. 10, 2003
ATLANTA – Having struggled at the plate in its first four games of the season, the No. 19 Georgia Tech softball team (2-2) hopes to find its offensive groove in a 4 p.m. doubleheader Tuesday at Chattanooga (0-5) at the Lady Mocs’ Jack Frost Stadium.
The Jackets, who took third at South Carolina’s Gamecock Invitational, batted just .204 as a team in four games at the tournament. Sophomore outfielder Kirin Kumar leads Tech regulars with a .364 average (4-for-11) to open the season. Kumar has also driven in a pair of runs. Senior catcher Lindsay Wood has provided much of the run production, as she leads the team with four runs batted in. She owns one homer and is batting .333 (3-for-9).
After a tough opening start against No. 20 South Carolina, Tech sophomore pitcher Jessica Sallinger (1-2) settled down for 12 innings without an earned run against UNC Greensboro and Boston College Sunday. She has fanned 20 batters in 15 innings this season. Junior Erin Voeltz is 1-0 after beating BC in the season-opener Saturday.
Chattanooga has also been cold at the plate and is currently hitting just .161 as a team. The Lady Mocs went winless at Auburn’s Tiger Invitational over the weekend.
Freshman Lindsey Howard (.429) and Jennifer Reed (.286) lead a Chattanooga offense that has produced just two runs on the season, while senior Awbrey Winckler (0-3, 3.20 ERA, 18 K) leads the pitching staff.
The Jackets and Lady Mocs are very familiar with one another, having met three times a year ago. Tech swept a doubleheader in Atlanta (5-1, 2-0) on April 3 and defeated Chattanooga on May 18 at the NCAA Regional in Tallahassee, Fla. This win was the Jackets’ last victory of the 2002 season. Sallinger fanned a school record 15 batters in this contest.
Tech leads the all-time series with Chattanooga, 4-3.
-GT-
