Tech Softball Squad Looks to Continue Powerful Reign

Over the past two seasons, Georgia Tech’s softball team has ruled the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) with an iron fist, a flashy leather glove and a strong aluminum bat.

In 2011, the two-time defending ACC champions look to extend their dynastic reign beyond the conference boarders by conquering softball’s national landscape. The first step toward this goal begins this weekend as the Yellow Jackets take the field in the National Training Center (NTC) Elite Tournament in Clermont, Fla.

Georgia Tech opens up with back-to-back doubleheaders Friday, Feb. 11 versus Kent State and Chattanooga. On Feb. 12, they’ll face Fordham and Chattanooga. They close out the weekend against Fordham Feb. 13.

“We’re excited to get out and finally play someone other than ourselves. We’ve been scrimmaging against each other, so we’re ready to face some different competition,” said head coach Sharon Perkins. “The team is ready to play. We have a strong pitching staff. All of them are very different. It just depends on what kind of line up we’re facing as to who will pitch that day.”

Georgia Tech is ranked 17th in the nation in the preseason polls and is the unanimous pick to win its third-straight ACC championship. The Yellow Jackets tallied 49 points and received a maximum seven first-place votes from the coaches throughout the conference.

The 2011 Yellow Jackets feature 13 returning players, including four seniors, from a squad that finished 51-11 last spring. This year’s group hopes that their masterful blend of experience and talent takes them from an ACC juggernaut to becoming a serious national championship contender.

“That’s what it’s all about and that’s what you play for,” said senior center fielder Christy Jones. “We want to win three-straight ACC championships and go as far as we can go.”

Pitching will play an important role in the team’s quest for national glory, and the Yellow Jackets showcase one of the country’s top hurlers in sophomore ace Hope Rush.

Rush, who was the 2010 ACC Freshman of the Year, member of the All-ACC Team and tournament most valuable player, has been mowing down batters since high school. She was the catalyst on a team that won three consecutive state championships from 2006-08 at Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy in McDonough.

Her eye-popping freshman stats included leading the ACC in wins, going 22-8. Rush recorded eight shutouts, which ranked second in the conference and 28th in the nation. Her earned run average was a microscopic 2.01 and she held opposing hitters to a woeful .233 batting average.

Recently, Rush was named to the watch list for USA Softball Player of the Year by the Amateur Softball Association of America.

“I’m really excited about getting started. I think we have the potential of being better than we were last year,” said Rush. “It’s a real honor to get these awards, but it’s a bonus because it’s a team sport. I’m more concerned with how we do as a team.”

The road-weary Yellow Jackets will play 12 away games over the next month before suiting up for their home debut on Wednesday, March 2 versus Niagara. Georgia Tech begins ACC play with a three-game home series, March 26-27, against North Carolina State.

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