On Wednesday, April 3rd, the third-ranked Georgia Bulldogs beat the Mercer University Bears 8-1. The Bulldogs defeated their in-state rival at Jack Turner Stadium, which was packed with 1,102 fans. 

First pitch was at 6:02pm and Riley Orcutt was pitching for the Bulldogs. The Georgia Bulldogs (29-6) showed strong defense against the Bears (15-18). In the second inning, Mercer’s Kassidy Moore flew out to the left field and Bulldog Jaydyn Goodwin made an impressive catch. In the bottom of the second inning, Goodwin also recorded the first hit for the Bulldogs as she doubled to the right center. 

At the top of the third, Alyssa Woods singled to the left field and made the first hit for the Bears. In the bottom of the third, Hannah Davila scored the first run for the Bulldogs on an RBI by Jayda Kearney. Sara Mosley, Jayda Kearney, and Jaydyn Goodwin also scored in the third inning, putting the Bulldogs up 4-0.

Dallis Goodnight put Georgia up another run in the fourth inning on an RBI by Sara Mosley. 

In the top of the sixth, Destin Howard stepped in to pitch for the Bulldogs. Kassidy Moore scored the first run for the Bears off an RBI hit by Emma Dorval, which put the score at 5-1. Georgia took the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Sara Mosley hit a home run to the left field, which drove in Lyndi Rae Davis (7-1). Mosley was stoked after her homer, and she said that “the feeling of hitting a home run never gets old.” The Bulldogs put their final point on the scoreboard when Kearney scored again on an RBI hit by Marisa Miller when she singled up the middle.

The game ended after the top of the seventh inning with a victory for Georgia with the score of 8-1. Head Coach Tony Baldwin said that the team “bounced back and played Georgia softball.” Baldwin and the team kept up the energy with his mantra “tonight is the most important game because we are playing it.” 

This weekend, the Bulldogs will travel to Knoxville to play in an SEC series against the Tennessee Volunteers. The first game will begin at 6pm this Friday. Coach Baldwin said that he is “looking forward to competition and getting after it.” Sara Mosley added the best way to compete this weekend is for the team to “play [their] best Georgia softball.”

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