Cards Come Up Short in Nine-Inning Loss at Georgia Tech

Sunday, April 14

Atlanta, Ga.

12:00 PM

University of Louisville

24-18, 5-10

Georgia Tech

28-17, 11-7

Louisville

Georgia Tech

Cards Come Up Short in Nine-Inning Loss at Georgia Tech

April 14, 2024 | Softball

Box Score

Louisville ties the game in the seventh, but a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of ninth lifts Georgia Tech to a 5-3 win

By: Lori Harmon

ATLANTA –Vanessa Miller and Riley Frizell each connected on late-inning home runs to help the Cardinals rally from a 3-1 deficit, but Mallorie Black's two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth lifted Georgia Tech to a 5-3 win in the series finale Sunday afternoon at Mewborn Field.

The Cardinals (24-18, 5-10 ACC) will return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Eastern Kentucky for a midweek contest.

The Yellow Jackets (28-17, 11-7 ACC) took an early lead behind Madison Dobbins' three-run double in the bottom of the first.

Louisville got on the scoreboard third inning when Kiley Goff earned a walk and back-to-back singles by Daisy Hess and Riley Frizell loaded the bases. Goff crossed the plate on Bailee Richardson's walk to make the score 3-1.

Miller led off the sixth by crushing a shot over the right field wall for her ninth home run of the season to pull Louisville within a run. Frizell kept the offense going in the top of the seventh when the senior first baseman launched a two-out shot that cleared the video board behind the left field fence to even the score at 3-3.

Georgia Tech had a scoring opportunity in the home half of the seventh when Jin Sileo's hit bounced off the top of the fence in left field and fell in for a triple with one out, but Alyssa Zabala delivered a strikeout and a fly out to send the game into extra innings.

The Jackets threatened again in the bottom of the eighth as Ella Edgmon drew a leadoff walk, took second on a ground out and moved to third when center fielder Pickle Winkler chased down a fly ball for the second out of the inning. Dobbins walked to put runners on the corners, but Zabala retired the final batter to keep the score level.

The Cards had a chance to push a run across in the ninth when Goff was hit by a pitch, took second on a ground out and moved to third on a wild pitch. Frizell earned a walk to place runners on the corners with two outs, but a fly out ended the top of the inning.

In the home half of the frame, Sileo singled and, with two-outs in the inning, Black connected on a shot to center field for the 5-3 final.

Alyssa Zabala (17-11) took the loss, allowing three runs on four hits and striking out three in 4.1 innings of relief. Frizell paced the Cardinals with a 2-for-4 showing at the plate.

Kinsey Norton (7-4) picked up the win, holding the Cardinals scoreless on one hit and striking out two in two innings of relief. Sileo finished the game with two hits to lead the Jackets offensively.

NOTES:

Daisy Hess singled to extend her team-best on-base streak to 21 games
Riley Frizell and Vanessa Miller connected on timely home runs in the final two games of the Georgia Tech series. In Saturday's win, Frizell tied the score at 1-1 and Miller's two-run shot put the Cards on top in the eventual 4-1 win.
Frizell leads the team with 11 homers while Miller stands second with nine.
Frizell also leads the team with 11 multi-hit and nine multi-RBI games.
Kiley Goff has been hit by a pitch 20 times, tied for second on Louisville's all-time single season list. Melissa Roth owns the record with 23 (2009)