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BSB: Georgia opens SEC Tournament vs. LSU tomorrow at 10:32 AM

Nationally-ranked Georgia opens the SEC Tournament Tuesday against LSU with first pitch at 10:32 a.m. ET. The game will be televised by the SEC Network and available on the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.

The eighth-ranked Bulldogs are 39-14 and earned the sixth seed after posting a 17-13 mark in league play under first-year Ike Cousins head baseball coach Wes Johnson. The Tigers are 36-20 and are the 11^th seed after going 13-17 in SEC action.

*The 2024 Bulldogs: Georgia, winners of nine of its past 11 games, aims to improve its NCAA resume and chances of being a top eight national seed. Currently, the Bulldogs are No. 6 in the RPI with a No. 9 SoS (Strength of Schedule). This year, Georgia finished 22-1 (.957) out of conference during the regular season, which is the best winning percentage in those games in school history. The Bulldogs have made 14 NCAA Playoff/Regional appearances. Georgia has been a national seed five times: No. 4 in 2019; No. 6 in 2001, No. 7 in 2006 and No. 8 in 2008 and 2018. They have made six trips to the CWS (1987-90-01-04-06-08), and the Bulldogs were the first SEC baseball team to win the national title.

*Stay Hot: The Bulldogs rank third nationally with a school record 140 home runs. Also, this year’s squad has hit a school record 11 grand slams. Georgia is third nationally with a .605 slugging percentage and fourth in on base percentage at .438. The Bulldogs are batting .307 with a 5.58 team ERA and a .973 fielding percentage. Georgia has posted double-digit runs in seven of its past nine SEC games.

*Top Hitters To Watch: The Bulldog offense is headlined by redshirt-sophomore All-America Charlie Condon. The potential top draft pick in 2024, he leads the NCAA with a .451 batting average, a school record 35 home runs (2nd in SEC history and most in the BBCOR era), 219 total bases, and a 1.063 SLG%. He has a .567 OB% (third nationally) with 50 walks (23 intentional) and 75 RBI. He has a team-best 24-game hitting streak, which matches his longest last year. Condon has smashed a school record 60 career home runs in only 109 games. Senior Corey Collins is enjoying a fine year at .361-18-52 while ranking second in the country with a .586 OB%. He ranks fifth nationally with an SEC-leading and school record 25 HBP this year. Freshman Tre Phelps checks in at .370-9-33.

*Top Pitchers To Watch: Georgia’s top starting pitchers of late have been sophomore RHP Leighton Finley (5-1, 4.18 ERA, 69K, 24BB, 64.2 IP) and sophomore RHP Kolten Smith (9-2, 4.40 ERA, 94K, 13BB, 61.1 IP) while graduate LHP Charlie Goldstein (4-1, 3.72 ERA, 43K, 13BB, 36.1 IP) has pitched just 7.2 innings since beating then No. 5 Tennessee in Knoxville on March 29. His last action came against No. 13 Vanderbilt on May 4 but left after 2.2 scoreless innings due to a triceps cramp. Georgia’s starter for the SEC Tournament opener is TBA.

*Hired This Man: Selected by J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Josh Brooks to lead the Bulldog baseball program last June, Ike Cousins head coach Wes Johnson already has set the school record for most overall wins and most SEC wins by a Georgia baseball coach in his first season. Also, he will be only the second Georgia baseball coach in school history to lead his team to the NCAA Tournament in his first season, joining David Perno who did it in 2002. Georgia was picked to finish sixth in the East in a preseason poll of SEC coaches, however the Bulldogs tied for fifth overall in the league and third in the East behind co-champions UK and UT.

*SEC Tournament History: Georgia, the No. 6 seed, will be making its 29th appearance at the SEC Tournament where the Bulldogs are 31-50. Georgia’s best finish has been second (1985, 1986, 1989). The Bulldogs went 1-2 in 2021 but have lost their opener the past two years.

        Georgia opens with LSU (36-20, 13-17 SEC) who it did not play during the regular season (along with Auburn and Arkansas). Georgia went 15-12 against the 2024 SEC Tournament field. LSU holds a 72-26-2 edge over Georgia in the all-time series that dates to 1975 including 9-3 in SEC Tournament matchups. The last SEC Tournament meeting came in 2021, and the Bulldogs won 4-1.

        If Georgia beats the Tigers, the Bulldogs face SEC Co-Champion Kentucky (39-12, 22-8 SEC) on Wednesday at 10:30 am ET. The Wildcats swept Georgia in Lexington to open league play. Georgia is 3-2 against the Wildcats when meeting in the SEC Tournament.

Radio/TV/Live Stats Links

Tuesday at 10:32 a.m. ET (SEC Network

Radio: 960TheRef (Jeff Dantzler & David Johnston)

https://georgiadogs.com/watch/?Live=4622&type=Live

TV: SEC Network (Dave Neal & Lance Cormier)

https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/3291b3cc-2f51-4e7b-9cbb-e463e71e8ba8

Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=527521

SB: Two wins over Liberty have UGA headed to the NCAA Super Regionals

The No. 11 national seed Georgia softball team defeated the Liberty Flames twice on Sunday to punch its ticket to the NCAA Super Regionals.

The Bulldogs beat Liberty 14-5 behind six home runs in Game 6 of the Athens Regional to force a winner-take-all Game 7. It was a pitcher’s duel most of the game, but seventh inning heroics from Dallis Goodnight and Sydney Chambley lifted Georgia to a 3-2 victory and a spot in the Super Regionals.

Game 1 Fast Facts
• Jayda Kearney and Sara Mosley each hit a home run, recording number 20 on the season for both. They become the first Georgia teammates to hit 20 home runs in the same season.
• Georgia’s six home runs is the most by the Bulldogs in a single game since March 5, 2016, vs. Austin Peay.
• Mosley inches closer to the career record of 68 home runs, now with 65.
• Georgia scattered a season-high 17 hits, eight going for extra bases (2 doubles, 6 home runs).
• Sydney Chambley tied a career-high four hits and recorded her seventh career two-home run day.
• Lyndi Rae Davis joined Chambley and Kearney with three RBI apiece.

Game 2 Fast Facts
• This will be Georgia’s 13^th Super Regional appearance in program history. The Bulldogs last made back-to-back Super Regional appearances in 2015 and 2016.
• 43 wins ties for the most in the Tony Baldwin era, matching 43 in his first season in 2022.
• Lilli Backes pitched a complete game in the circle, allowing two runs on four hits to the Flames. She walked none and struck out two. She finished the day pitching 10 and a third innings.
• Down 2-1 going to the top of the seventh, Emily Digby reached on a one-out single, her second hit of the game, then was bunted to second by Ellie Armistead. Digby scored on a single back up the middle off the bat of Dallis Goodnight to tie the game, 2-2, with two out.
• After an impressive Game 6, Sydney Chambley sent the first pitch she saw over the head of the centerfielder to drive in Goodnight and walk it off, 3-2.

Key Quotes
Head Coach Tony Baldwin
On the difficulty of the day…
“Wow! What a day! Just thankful for all the people that put on the event this weekend and dealing with all of the circumstances with the weather and the different things. A lot of people involved put this together. Hats off to Liberty. The competitor in their team showed up and they were certainly a worthy opponent. And Elena [Escobar], the way that she bounced back in that second game was as good as anybody we’ve seen. I mean, we’ve faced them all. Maybe there’s one or two out there that we haven’t seen, but it seems like we’ve seen all the top ones out there, and she was as good today at executing her pitches, and the spin, and the change in speeds was really good. Just proud of our team and the fight. I thought we came out obviously with a lot of fight in game one, and were getting some good pitches to hit and took care of business there. And sometimes when things go your way, when there’s such a gap, when it’s just everything’s going right in that first game, that second game is a real mental challenge because as soon as maybe it doesn’t go that way, then you start to think ‘Oh no’. And we maybe did that for a few innings there, but I thought we got back into just really competing, and then we showed the fight and competitiveness that our group has, and I’m just really proud of them.”

On some of the strength the team showed… 
“Lili B[ackes] was unbelievable, just such a competitor. And then, I thought our defense was amazing. We made a lot of really good plays. Played clean softball, really, for the whole weekend. Again, I can’t say enough how proud I am of our group. How excited and thrilled that we get to, we get to play some more softball. When we set out this weekend that was the goal. Not let this be the end, and thankfully, that’s why it worked out.”

On the impressive defensive plays the team made today…
“When I was fortunate enough to become the head coach, one of the things we set out to do was become one of the better defensive teams in the country. To do what we want to do, you have to be great on all three phases. And, I don’t know if we’re there yet, but we’re on the right path and we’re making strides. We don’t get the outcomes today without the defense and JT [D’Amico] does a great job. That’s why we were excited to get him to come to Athens. He invests in our players. Our players are prepared. He works well with Chelsea [Wilkinson] as to where we need to be to defend this particular hitter. And then, ultimately, we’re a pretty athletic team, so that gives us an opportunity to go steal some plays. I’m not going to pound my chest, but I’m gonna pound my chest. I’ll take Sydney Kuma’s athletic ability at second base over anybody in the country. She can go make plays that not very many people can. Dallis Goodnight can go get them as well as anybody. [Jaydin Goodwin] has just got a knack for the ball going in her glove. It’s not always the prettiest thing you’ve ever seen, but it seems to find her glove a lot, and Ellie Armistead made some unbelievable plays. Emily Digby has been a game-changer for us at first base with some of the defensive plays she’s made. I was really proud of Lyndi Rae [Davis]. I thought she caught really well today. She bounced out and fielded a bunt, made a bunt play, and worked really hard for our pitchers. So yeah, defensively, I thought we were really sharp, and if we can continue to do that, then we can compete at a pretty high level.”

Dallas Goodnight | Jr.
On the difference between games against same pitcher…
“Just staying within ourselves and doing what Georgia Softball does, not worrying about the other team. She’s a great competitor, a great pitcher. So just doing our thing, trusting ourselves and our process.”

Sydney Chambley | Sr.
On her winning hit…
“I’m thinking about what my teammates have set me up to be in that position, the confidence in my teammates put me there, so I’m going to get the job done. For them and just see ball, hit ball and everything.”

On the difference between games against same pitcher…
“I think when you get caught up in how they throw or what they throw, it’s only going to lead you to failure because it makes you start thinking less of us as a team. The less thinking we do, the more just getting in there, being competitive, playing softball, seeing the ball like that is how we should always go. I think for us, it’s just we’re great hitters. She’s a great pitcher, yes, but how can we be competitive. Just like that last inning and it’s finding a way to just make it happen. Whether we get the outcome or not, like we’ve been saying all season, it doesn’t matter.”

Game 1 – Softball | vs. Liberty | W, 14-5
   Winning pitcher: Lilli Backes (17-6)
   Losing pitcher: Elena Escobar (16-6)
Game 2 – Softball | vs. Liberty | W, 3-2
   Winning pitcher: Lilli Backes (18-6)
   Losing pitcher: Elena Escobar (16-7)
Season Record: 43-17

Up Next – LA Super Regional

The number 11 national seed University of Georgia softball team will travel to Los Angeles to take on sixth-seeded UCLA in the NCAA Super Regional round. The best-of-three series will begin Thursday, May 23 at 9:30 p.m. ET, airing live on ESPN2 from Easton Stadium.

Game two is the series will be Friday at 10 p.m. ET. If necessary, Saturday’s game three will begin at * p.m. ET.

This will be the third all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and Bruins in the Super Regional. Georgia and UCLA squared off in Supers in 2005. Georgia won game one, but UCLA won back-to-back one-run games to advance to OKC. The Bruins swept the Super Regional in LA in 2008. Georgia is 1-6 all-time against the Bruins in the postseason.

The Bulldogs and Bruins squared off earlier this season in Clearwater, Florida. Georgia won the matchup 7-2.

Georgia won three straight games out of the elimination bracket to win the NCAA Athens Regional on Sunday. Georgia will make its 13^th program appearance in the Super Regionals.

MTEN: Thomas Paulsell (singles) and Freddy Blaydes and Niels Ratiu (doubles) will represent UGA in their respective NCAA Championships

The Georgia men’s tennis team will be represented in the NCAA Singles Championship by Thomas Paulsell and in the doubles championship by Freddy Blaydes and Niels Ratiu, with action set to kick off tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET at the Greenwood Tennis Center in Stillwater, Okla.

Paulsell in Singles Tournament: In his first year playing in the singles lineup, junior Paulsell earned an at-large selection in the NCAA Singles Championships. The junior will play in his round of 64 match against Boise State’s Samuel Sippel on Monday at 10 a.m. ET. 

He played on court one in all but one completed match this season, picking up eight wins, after only seeing action in nine dual matches in the first two seasons. He finished with six wins against ranked opponents after only beating one ranked opponent in his first two seasons, five of which came against SEC competition. 

Paulsell peaked in singles rankings at No. 36 heading into the tournament, his career best. His highest-ranked win came versus the No. 46 ranked singles player twice this year – Nemanja Malesevic of Mississippi State and Filip Planinsek of Alabama.

Sippel enters the tournament with an 18-16 singles record and an 11-11 mark in dual match action. A senior, Sippel earned All-Mountain West honors in singles after all 11 of his wins in the spring came on court one, including three versus ranked opponents. 

Blaydes and Ratiu in Doubles Tournament: Freshmen Blaydes and Ratiu, the team’s leader in double wins together, earned an at-large selection after finishing 11-5 on court one with seven ranked wins. The Bulldog tandem will battle Old Dominion’s Codie Van Schalkwyk and Connor Van Schalkwyk on Tuesday, May 21 in the round of 32.

Blaydes and Ratiu are currently stand at No. 22 in the ITA Doubles Poll, their career-best ranking. The pair have won five of their last six matches, with their previous five coming against ranked opponents. 

The Van Schalkwyk brothers ended the season 11-6 on the year, splitting the eight doubles matches they played on court one together. The pair is 1-1 against ranked opponents. 

Back-to-Back: For the second consecutive season, Georgia will be represented by at least three players from its roster for the NCAA singles and doubles tournament. Last year, Phillip Henning earned a berth into the singles tournament, alongside freshman Ethan Quinn. Quinn, who turned pro following the conclusion of the 2022-2023 season, was also featured in the doubles tournament alongside Trent Bryde. 

Henning was also defeated in the first of the singles tournament by Miami’s Dan Martin, but Quinn advanced to win the singles national title, defeating Michigan’s Ondrej Styler in a thrilling 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 6-2 match to earn the program’s fifth singles national championship. 

Tournament History: Georgia has recorded five NCAA singles national titles. Mikael Pernfors and Matias Boeker each earned two titles each, with Pernfors winning in 1984 and 1985 and Boeker winning in 2001 and 2002. Quinn added the fifth in 2023. 

Six different Bulldogs have won the NCAA doubles national title with Ola Malmqvist and Allen Miller reaching the podium in 1983, followed by Matias Boeker and Travis Parrott in 2001 and most recently by John Isner and Antonio Ruiz in 2005. 

In all, Georgia boasts eight titles in the singles and doubles tournament to couple with its six NCAA team national titles. 

Dawgs in the Rankings: In singles, Paulsell leads the team with a No. 36 ranking, which set a new career best. The junior plays on court one and has won six matches against ranked opponents this season. He is followed by No. 69 Ryan Colby, who leads the team in ranked wins with nine, which was good for third-most in the SEC to cap off the regular season.

Blaydes and Ratiu lead the team in doubles on the court and in the rankings. The pair plays on court one and is ranked No. 22, earning career bests for both freshmen. Blaydes and Ratiu’s highest-ranked win came on March 24 when they beat No. 29 Bozo Barun and Jared Horwood of Arkansas by a 6-2 score.

Paulsell Earns All-SEC Honors: Paulsell was named to the All-Southeastern Conference Second Team, the league office announced on Thursday, April 25. This marks the first time Paulsell has earned an All-SEC nod in his collegiate career, becoming the 109^th Bulldog to be named to an all-conference team.

This season, Paulsell anchored the Bulldogs on court one with eight victories in SEC competition, six of which came against ranked opponents. On the season, the tournament-bound junior notched 15 singles wins. 

Last Time Out: Georgia fell in the first round of the 2024 NCAA team tournament to Arizona State at Winston-Salem Regional by a 4-3 decision on May 3.

Tournament-bound Freddy Blayes and Niels Ratiu defeated No. 40 Murphy Cassone and Jacob Bullard 6-3 on court one, and Ryan Colby and Thomas Paulsell clinched the doubles point on court two. 

Georgia picked up wins on courts two and six, but the Bulldogs were unable to overcome the Sun Devils throughout the rest of the singles competition to take the contest. 

NCAA SINGLES AND DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIPS INFO

Tournament Central: https://gado.gs/bwm

Singles Draw: https://gado.gs/bwl

Doubles Draw: https://gado.gs/bwk

WTEN: Georgia’s season ends in national championship match

The No. 7 Georgia women’s tennis team’s season came to an end after a heartbreaking 4-1 loss against No. 13 Texas A&M in the NCAA Tournament National Championship match at the Greenwood Tennis Center on Sunday.

Fast Facts

• Georgia finished its 2024 season with a 25-5 overall record, marking the eighth time in program history the Bulldogs have won 25+ games in a season.

• Anastasiia Lopata earned NCAA All-Tournament Team honors following the conclusion of the tournament.

• Anastasiia Lopata grabbed the Bulldogs only team point with a 6-4, 6-1 victory on court four over #45 Mia Kupres.

• Despite the loss, Drake Bernstein became the first coach in Georgia women’s tennis history to reach the NCAA Tournament National Championship match in his first season at the helm.

🐶 Super Regionals are set‼️

(11) Georgia will travel to Los Angeles to take on (6) UCLA in a best-of-three series beginning Thursday on ESPN2

Los Angeles Super Regional schedule:
Thursday, May 23 – 9:30 p.m. ET
Friday, May 24 – 10 p.m. ET
Saturday, May 25 – TBA (if necessary)… pic.twitter.com/xXVnf8c1kk

— Georgia Softball (@UGASoftball) May 20, 2024

Singles Results

#1 Mary Stoiana (TAMU) def. #16 Dasha Vidmanova (UGA), 6-1, 7-6(4)

#41 Alexandra Vecic (UGA) vs #88 Carson Branstine (TAMU), 2-6, 7-5, 0-5 (unfinished)

#26 Nicole Khirin (TAMU) def. #65 Mell Reasco (UGA), 6-4, 3-6, 6-1

#70 Anastasiia Lopata (UGA) def. #45 Mia Kupres (TAMU), 6-4, 6-1

Lucciana Perez (TAMU) def. Guillermina Grant (UGA), 6-2, 7-6(2)

#87 Mai Nirundorn (UGA) vs Jeanette Mireles (TAMU), 7-6(5), 4-5 (unfinished)

Doubles Results

#14 Aysegul Mert/Dasha Vidmanova (UGA) vs #7 Mary Stoiana/Mia Kupres (TAMU), 5-4 (unfinished)

Carson Branstine/Lucciana Perez (TAMU) def. #55 Mai Nirundorn/Guillermina Grant (UGA), 6-4

Nicole Khirin/Jeanette Mireles (TAMU) def. Anastasiia Lopata/ Mell Reasco (UGA), 6-3

Match Notes

Order of finish: Doubles — (3,2) Singles — (4,5,1,3)

Key Quote

Head Coach Drake Bernstein: “I couldn’t be more proud of the way this team fought. I mean really, we were behind the eight ball the entire night and to see this team just continue to push and really force them to play a level of tennis that was nothing short of incredible was, you know, you don’t always win. We can control the way that we compete and I’m super proud of the way we did that tonight. It shows how far the teams come.”

Next

With Georgia’s team season coming to an end, four Bulldogs will remain in Stillwater for the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships starting Monday, May 20. On the singles bracket, Dasha Vidmanova, Alexandra Vecic and Anastasiia Lopata will represent the Georgia individually while Vidmanova and Aysegul Mert team up in the doubles bracket.

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