April 2, 2002
ATLANTA – In between conference match-ups, the Georgia Tech softball team (31-9, 4-0 ACC) will host in-state rival Georgia Southern (15-21, 7-2 Southern) for a 3 p.m. doubleheader Wednesday at Glenn Field. The Jackets took a pair from the Eagles in Statesboro on February 16.
In the early-season meeting, Tech took game one, 1-0 in nine innings, and won the second game 6-0 behind the second no-hitter of the season by freshman Jessica Sallinger, who was named ACC Player of the Week on Monday.
Last time out, the Jackets swept Virginia, 5-1 and 3-1, to improve to 4-0 in conference play. With the two wins, Tech also reached the 30-win mark for the first time since 1996. A pair of victories over Georgia Southern would give the squads its most wins since a 35-win campaign in ’94.
The Eagles have turned things around since the early season. After starting the year 0-9, Georgia Southern is 15-12 since, including a 7-2 mark in the Southern Conference, which ranks second behind Chattanooga. The Eagles are 10-3 in their last 13 games.
Sallinger continues to lead the Tech pitchers with a 15-4 record and a 1.11 earned run average. She has a school-record 175 strikeouts on the season, which ranks fifth on the Yellow Jacket career list. Sophomore Erin Voeltz has also impressed with a 10-4 mark and a 1.77 ERA.
Offensively, sophomore shortstop Tara Knudsen continues to pace the Jackets with a .403 batting average to go along with nine homers and 33 runs batted in. Her home run total ranks as the third-highest single-season mark in program history.
Catcher Lindsay Wood (.277-4-13), third baseman Jamie Frost (.296-2-15) and center fielder Sara Wissmann (.236-2-18) also rank as key run producers for Tech.
Following this twin bill, the Jackets head to Chapel Hill, N.C., for a Friday doubleheader with North Carolina, as well as the Tar Heel Invitational on Saturday and Sunday.
-GT-
