The Yellow Jacket softball team has seen success recently, winning the last nine of their last 11 games since the opening of Mewborn Field on March 10. Tech was undefeated at its new stadium until the second game against Georgia Southern this past Tuesday.
Shirley Clements Mewborn Field opened with a win as sophomore pitcher/third baseman Kristen Adkins hit the game-winning two-run home run in game one against Tennessee Martin to give the Jackets a 2-1 win and head coach Sharon Perkins her one-hundredth career victory. In game two, Adkins continued her hot streak, being the winning pitcher, which helped to name her the ACC co-Softball Player of the Week. The Jackets took game two with a score of 7-5, ending opening day at Mewborn Field with a win in each game of the doubleheader.
Tech swept the next four games at home against Western Carolina and Winthrop on March 17 and 18. Freshman shortstop Kelsi Weseman went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and her first career home run as a Jacket. Freshman third baseman/outfielder Danielle Dike was 2-for-3 on the day with two doubles and five RBIs that helped Tech to overtake Western Carolina 10-1 and 8-0 in the doubleheader.
The next day, Tech swept the doubleheader with Winthrop 6-4 and 7-1. Five different players had at least three hits led by Weseman, who was 4-for-6 with two doubles and two RBIs. The day saw five home runs: Adkins had two while seniors pitcher Tiffany Johnson and first baseman Whitney Haller as well as junior second baseman Jen Yee each had one. Adkins, Johnson and Haller all had three RBIs on the day, while sophomore outfielder/second baseman Christy Jones, Adkins, Yee and Haller each had a three-hit day. With the win against Winthrop, the Jackets extended their winning streak to nine straight games.
The women’s team then traveled up to Blacksburg, VA for the next three games to open up ACC plays, facing Virginia Tech on March 21 and 22. On the first day of play, the Jackets won both games to sweep the Hokies 13-0 and 8-5 and increased Georgia Tech’s winning streak to 11 straight. Yee was 5-for-6 with four walks, five runs scored and had two doubles. Weseman was 5-for-8 with seven runs scored, a double and a solo home while Haller was 5-for-9 with a home run and seven RBIs. The Jackets had 27 hits on the day with a team on-base percentage of .500.
The next day, in the third and last game of the series, the Jackets suffered their first ACC loss while snapping the 11-game winning streak. Virginia Tech came from behind with a walk-off RBI single by Kristin Graham in the bottom of the seventh inning to give them the 3-2 win. Weseman was named the ACC Softball Player of the Week following the Virginia Tech series after batting .652 (15-for-23) in the seven games of the week. Weseman picked up 11 runs in addition to hitting six doubles, two home runs and six RBIs.
This past Tuesday, Tech hosted Georgia Southern in the doubleheader “Strikeout For The Cure Day”, in which Jacket pitchers combined to strike out 18 Eagles batters. Donations were made for each of those strikeouts to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
The women split the doubleheader as they won game one 9-1 in six innings, but fell in the later game by a 6-5 score. Adkins was 4-for-7, with a home run and two RBIs, while Yee had two home runs and three RBIs. Senior outfielder Blair Shimandle was 2-for-4, and scored three runs while stealing four bases for the Jackets. All four bases were stolen in game one, setting a new Tech single-game record.
The Jackets will host Florida State in a three-game ACC series this weekend. Saturday is Stadium Celebration Day where the first 200 fans will receive a Mewborn Field T-shirt. There will be free popcorn, free pizza for students, and special promotions and give-a-ways throughout the entire day.