Clayton News Daily

Photo by Heather Middleton

By Doug Gorman

dgorman@news-daily.com

Here is a look at how local players at the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech are doing this year on the baseball and softball diamond.

Baseball:

Jake Davies (Georgia Tech)--The former ELCA standout began his career at Georgia Tech primarily in a pitching role. Now, he has found his niche at first base for the Yellow Jackets. The junior, who is the brother of Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Kyle Davies, is batting .386 with four home runs and 17 RBIs.

Davies and his teammates are ranked sixth in the national poll, but their 16-game winning streak ended Tuesday night when Tech was upset 4-2 at home against Mercer.

Softball:

Hope Rush (Georgia Tech)--Last year's ACC Freshman of the Year is off to another fast start. Wednesday night the former ELCA pitcher and her No. 24-ranked Georgia Tech teammates lost to No. 6-ranked rival Georgia 10-2, but Rush's season is going well.

Through Thursday's game against Georgia, Rush is batting .388. She leads the team with 12 home runs and 37 RBIs.

From the pitching circle, Rush is 10-3 with a 1.97 ERA. She has 63 strikeouts.

Sophomore Caitlin Jordan (Georgia Tech), who played high school softball at Union Grove, is batting .227 in 15 games. She has started three contests and has two RBIs.

Julia Echols (Georgia)--The former Clayton News Daily/Henry Daily Herald Southern Crescent Player of the Year and four-time member of ELCA state championship teams, is batting .250 for the University of Georgia. The freshman has played in 12 of her teams 32 games, starting six.