On May 16, Florida Atlantic’s softball team (44-10, 23-4 AAC) competed against the Georgia Tech University Yellow Jackets (27-22, 10-11 ACC) in the Gainesville Regional at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium, coming out victorious after eight innings with a final score of 5-4. 

While the Owls have not matched up against the Yellow Jackets since 2015, this time spent away was not enough to deter the Owls from coming out on top against their opponent for the second consecutive season. With a 10-year difference in matchups and a nine-year difference in regional appearances, there seemed to be a lot of “firsts” for this FAU softball team this season, including head coach Jordan Clark’s first time advancing in the postseason. 

“I get a little teary-eyed talking about it because it’s been a journey for three years, and just to see how far we’ve come,” said Clark. “This is a first for me as a coach, so it’s just really special.”

While the battle was far from easy, fluctuating between leads and tying the game a total of three times, although the end result was satisfying, FAU’s team knew their job was not done yet.

“I was actually frustrated for most of the ball game; yes, we had seven hits, yes, we had a couple of home runs, but ultimately we still have more in the tank,” said Clark.

Bella Cimino opened the scoring with a home run, the first run of the game for the Owls, in the bottom of the second inning. Ciara Gibson scored the second run of the game, which was also a home run, in the bottom of the fifth inning to put the Owls ahead 2-0.

Gibson doubled down the left field line for a run-batted-in (RBI) (0-2 count), allowing Destiny Johns to score in the bottom of the sixth inning, tying the game once more at 3-3. 

Kiley Shelton doubled down the left field line for an RBI (full count: 3-2), allowing Ciara Gibson to score to end the sixth inning, giving the lead back to the Owls, 4-3. Georgia Tech was able to tie the game at 4-4 in the top of the seventh inning to send the game into its eighth. 

Before you know it, Shelton shuts out the game with one run batted in and allows Johns to score, giving FAU the win.

“I was just trying to get the job done today and I knew when I went up there in both opportunities that I was going to put my butt on the ball and give my team the best shot to win,” said Shelton.

FAU is set to take on the Florida Gators on May 17 at 12 p.m., back at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium, looking to make it to the championship on Sunday.

Angelina Martell is the Sports Reporter for the University Press. Email her at amartell2023@fau.edu or contact her on Instagram @angieemartell for information regarding this or other stories.