The Jackets softball program is back in full swing with the 26th annual Buzz Classic, a 10-game tournament stretching across the first weekend of NCAA season play. Tech hosts three college teams each year at the Shirley Clements Mewborn Field for their first group of home games.
Senior right-handed pitcher (RHP) Sophia Voyles — who earned the Academic All-ACC honors in 2023 and 2024 while collecting 68 strikeouts in 86.2 innings in the latter season—threw the first pitch of the season against the Belmont University Bruins on Feb. 7. Voyles starteds the year with her third complete game — only this time, the game went to seven innings. The Jackets required such a strong performance from Voyles because of Belmont’s redshirt junior starting pitcher Maya Johnson’s 10-strikeout appearance.
Tech had a single hit against Johnson before stepping into the batter’s box in the seventh-inning. But the Bruins made an unfortunate coaching decision to pull Johnson out and turn to sophomore Mackenzie Willis to finish the game. After walking junior second baseman Grace Connelly, freshman outfielder Alyssa Willer pinch ran for Connelly and ended up taking second base. Belmont collected two outs, meaning one more would send the game to extra innings, but junior left fielder Paige Vukadinovich had other plans: a deep line drive to center field gave Willis an opportunity to get home as the Jackets defeated the Bruins 1-0 in walk-off fashion.
Frankly, Tech did not want to carry their momentum from their bout with Belmont into their second game of the night — although they beat the Bruins, a reset could prove valuable before facing the Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) Colonels. Senior RHP Kinsey Norton got the start; however, head coach Aileen Morales leaned on the bullpen against EKU. Norton commanded the circle in the first three innings leaving the Colonels scoreless and hitless into the fourth-inning, while on the other side of the ball two Jackets ran home in the second-inning. EKU stole the game in the fourth-inning behind two consecutive walks, scoring four to put Tech down 2-4. Junior RHP Jaidyn Studebaker stepped in for Norton, but another two runs by the Colonels in the fifth-inning had the Jackets turn to sophomore left-handed pitcher (LHP) Makayla Coffield to close the game. A late seventh-inning double by sophomore third baseman Gracyn Tucker cut the lead to three runs but Tech couldn’t complete the comeback, falling 3-6.
Another double-header for Tech on Feb. 8 gave the Institute their first game against the Western Kentucky University (WKU) Hilltoppers and an opportunity for revenge against the Colonels.
Studebaker took the circle for a three-inning stint to start the game against the Hilltoppers. This was Studebaker’s fifth career start for the Jackets and she saw 13 WKU batters before her tenure was up. With two outs in the third-inning, the Hilltoppers got the first point on the scoreboard on a drive to center field. Tech had already seen a 1-0 game ending and refused to break — Morales looked deeper into the bullpen by relieving Studebaker with senior LHP and utility player Emma Minghini, who hadn’t taken the circle since her one-inning closer appearance on Feb. 23, 2024.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Jackets offense began to click. Freshman right-fielder Alyssa Willer got her first career hit with the bases loaded to score junior first-baseman Jayden Gailey. As Minghini retained control of the field in the fifth inning, Gailey returned in the bottom of the fifth to score senior designated hitter Eliana Gottlieb to put Tech up by one. Morales had freshman RHP Madison Furniss make her first appearance in the white and gold to start the sixth-inning. But she turned to Coffield to close the game with one out in the seventh-inning before WKU took home on a wild pitch. Two strikeouts later, the Jackets put their helmets on with a chance to finish the game. Gailey finished her strong appearance with the Institute’s second walk-off hit of the tournament in an incredibly perplexing shot to the first baseman to score senior center-fielder Ella Edgmon — Tech wins, 3-2.
Back in the win-column, the Jackets poised themselves to start a winning streak against the Colonels. Immediately, EKU knocked a double to right-center to score one on Voyles before Tech could collect an out. But the defense held the Colonels scoreless for the remaining six innings. Jackets offense continued to struggle to put runs on the board as they too remained scoreless for six innings. The seventh-inning spelt a different story.
Junior pinch hitter Addison Leschber got her first home run as a Jacket to match the Colonels’ lone score. The Institute wasn’t done yet — another walk-off hit, this time by Edgmon, to score Vukadinovich, gave Tech revenge against the Colonels in a 2-1 victory.
The Jackets grabbed their first multi-score victory of the season in their rematch against the Hilltoppers on Feb. 9. Although WKU struck first off a Tech error with freshman LHP Camden Anders making her pitching debut for the Institute, she was able to strike three Hilltoppers out in her 2.1 innings in the circle. Norton relieved Anders to close the game during the third-inning, where the defense combined with Norton’s four strikeouts to keep WKU scoreless until the seventh-inning.
In the bottom of the third, Gailey maintained her impressive weekend performance with a three-run homer, her first beyond-the-fences hit of the season, to grab a two-run lead for the Jackets. Norton gave up a solo-home run in the seventh-inning, but the Hilltoppers couldn’t climb out of the two-run hole left by Gailey as Tech finished the weekend on a 4-2 win over WKU.
The Jackets’ 4-1 record after the Buzz Classic weekend is a great start to the season and displays the team’s dedication to playing the entire seven innings. Tech will aim to build on their three-game win streak when they visit the Kennesaw State Owls on Feb. 12 before travelling to Starkville, Miss., for The Snowman Tournament.