Georgia Tech Softball made their opening NCAA tournament appearance on Friday afternoon for the second consecutive year since the team’s ten-year run of showings in the NCAA Division I softball tournament in the 2000s.
The Jackets beat the #2 Texas State Bobcats 2-1. After edging their way into the tournament and scoring their first run in the third inning against the Bobcats, the Yellow Jackets pulled out the winning run in the sixth inning by senior infielder Addison Leschber.
Though a low-scoring
game, the two runs the Jackets put on the board began as leadoff singles by sophomore outfielder Alyssa Willer in the third inning and Leschber in the sixth. The Bobcats’ one run was by senior infielder Sami Hood in the third as well, evening the score against Willer’s point earlier the same inning.
Sophomore Madalyn Johnson pitched the game for the Jackets with a strong showing on the mound. Johnson faced 26 batters, with only three hits and one walk.
The most excitement was in those two innings with runs on the board – Johnson and the Jackets ended many of the other innings with quick outs.
Georgia Tech is joined in the Gainesville Regional bracket with the Florida A&M Rattlesnakes and #6 Florida Gators, alongside the Bobcats, competing in their double elimination bracket in Gainesville, Florida. The winner of the Gainesville Regional bracket will advance to the Super Regionals, facing the winner of the Lubbock Regional bracket in a best-of-three series.
The Yellow Jackets will face the #1 Florida Gators Saturday morning at 10AM in the Gators home territory to begin rounding out the Regional bracket.
