May 16, 2009

Georgia Tech Uses Long Ball To Power Past Auburn, 4-1, And Into Regional Final
A two-out, two-run home run by sophomore Jessica Weaver capped a three-run fourth inning as the No. 14 Georgia Tech Softball Team (45-13) beat Auburn (30-28), 4-1, Friday night in a winner's bracket game of the NCAA Softball Atlanta Regional.

The Yellow Jackets now advance into Sunday's regional final and will need to win just one game to earn to the programs' first-ever Super Regional bid. Georgia Tech has now won 10 straight games and will need to be defeated twice on Sunday.

Sophomore Kristen Adkins (24-7) picked up the win as she allowed one earned run on four hits and a walk. Adkins fanned three batters in the complete-game effort. 

Seminoles Defeat Mississippi State To Advance In NCAA Softball Regional
Florida State sophomore pitcher Sarah Hamilton pitched a no-hitter to lead top-seeded Florida State (44-15) to a 5-0 victory over Mississippi State in an elimination game at the NCAA Softball Tournament Tallahassee Regional Saturday at JoAnne Graf Field. The no-hitter was Hamilton's third of the season and third of her career and advanced the Seminoles into a second elimination game Saturday night against Oklahoma State. Mississippi State, which lost to Cal Friday', was eliminated from the tournament and finished the year 28-28.

Hamilton's no hitter was her third of the season with her first coming against Indiana on Feb. 21, 2009 and her second coming against Boston College on May 2. It was the second no-hitter in the span of two weeks for the Tallahassee native and 2009 ACC Pitcher of the Year.

Hamilton struck out 10, walked only two, enjoyed three 1-2-3 innings, allowed only one runner as far as third base and did not allow multiple base runners in the same inning until the seventh and final inning. Fittingly, Hamilton snared a line-drive off of the bat of Bulldog shortstop Jessie Spain to end the game. 

Florida State Falls In Extra Innings To Oklahoma State At NCAA Regional
A wild pitch in the bottom of the 12th inning lifted Oklahoma State to a 1-0 win over 16th-seeded Florida State in NCAA Softball Regional action late Saturday night at JoAnne Graf Field. The two teams battled for nearly three hours back and forth, but the Cowgirls finally prevailed to advance to Sunday's championship action while the loss ends the Seminoles' season.

Neither team was able to mount much of anything offensively as both starting pitchers were brilliant. OSU's Anna Whiddon went the full 12 innings and once again stymied the FSU offense one night after shutting them out in a 1-0 OSU win over FSU. For the Seminoles, starter Terese Gober went 6.2 innings while Sarah Hamilton went the final 4.2 innings after pitching seven innings earlier in the day.

In the 11th inning, OSU got the leadoff runner on and moved her to third with just one out. Florida State elected to intentionally walk the next two batters to load the bases up. Hamilton then got a pair of strikeouts to end the threat and bring the crowd to life. But Whiddon matched Hamilton with a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the 12th to keep the Cowgirls in it. In the bottom of the inning, Julie Ward led off with a double, moved to third base on a sacrifice bunt and scored the winning run on a wild pitch to end the game. 

Tar Heels Fall To Georgia, 4-2
North Carolina saw its 2009 campaign come to an end Saturday, as sixth-seeded Georgia defeated the Tar Heels, 4-2, in the final of the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional at Anderson Stadium. Danielle Spaulding hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the top of the fifth, but Megan Wiggins' two-run shot in the seventh sent the Bulldogs through to next weekend's super regional round. UNC finishes its season 47-13, while Georgia improved to 42-10.

The Bulldogs manufactured a run in the bottom of the first to take an early 1-0 lead. Taylor Schlopy reached on a leadoff walk and stole second before moving to third on Alisa Goler's one out single. Brianna Hesson then lifted a pop-up to short right that required an over-the-shoulder running catch by Tar Heel second baseman Brittany Robinson. Schlopy was able to take advantage of Robinson running away from home, however, and scored easily on the unconventional sacrifice fly.

Neither Spaulding (20-4) nor Georgia starter Sarah McCloud were at their best, but both pitchers kept their opponents off the scoreboard until Spaulding struck in the fifth. After a leadoff walk to Constance Orr, McCloud was lifted in favor of Christie Hamilton, the winner in Friday's meeting.