Washington's Key Player: Danielle Lawrie

Super-Regional Information
Time: 12 Noon & approx. 1:30 PM
TV: ESPN

This year has been a historic year for Georgia Tech softball. The new field, finally on campus, has been a place where excitement has thrived, full of exciting and dominating performances. This Saturday marks the farthest the softball team has ever made it in the postseason. The hosting of the Super Regionals is a special mark. Proving you are among the elite of the softball teams (plus you have a facility that has lights).

It will be a daunting task on Saturday. The Washington Huskies come in as the National #3 seed (Tech is #14) and have National Player of the Year Finalist Danielle Lawrie on their side. Expect to see her and only her pitch this entire weekend. The only thing at stake? A berth in the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City.

She is who stands in the way

Danielle Lawrie is what powers the Huskies. With an overall recored of 35-7, she dominated the Regionals in Amherst, MA and has no-hitters logged against powerhouses #6 Arizona and #2 UCLA. She has also shutout No. 1 Florida, No. 4 Alabama, No. 5 Stanford, No. 7 Michigan, No. 8 Georgia and No. 11 Ohio State this season. Note that Florida, Alabama and Georgia all played and beat us this season. The task will be daunting, but the reward will be tremendous.

Washington is 44-11. They are not invincible and have been beaten. They also don't get involved in slugfests. Either their bats are hot and Lawrie throws the heat or the bats can't connect. When the Huskies have lost, they lose by an average of 4 runs. Not the slimmest of margins in softball, and this tells me that Lawrie is the anchor of the team. Her success leads to team success. Hold the other 8 at bay, make sure Lawrie doesn't beat you (twice) and you're in.

Sounds easy doesn't it?

A little bit of trivia: There is a degree of separation between Georgia Tech and Washington. Lawrie and our very own Jen Yee both played for Canada in the Beijing Olympics in August.