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BSB: Vandy Takes Series with Friday Win

Fifth-ranked Georgia fell 13-7 to No. 19 Vanderbilt Friday at Hawkins Field as the Commodores clinched the series.

Fast Facts

• Vanderbilt took a 2-0 lead in the second on a two-run home run by Colin Barczi and Brodie Johnston made it 5-0 in the third with a three-run home run. Johnston added a three-run home run in the sixth for an 11-3 advantage while Braden Holcomb’s two-run home run made it 13-3 as part of a six-run outburst in the sixth.

• The Bulldogs cut the deficit to 5-3 on Dan Jackson’s three-run home blast in the fourth. It was his ninth home run of the year and traveled 442 feet.

• Junior Brennan Hudson connected for a three-run home run in the seventh to trim Vandy’s lead to 13-7. It was his second home run of the season.

• Senior Slate Alford led off the seventh with a double to extend his on base streak to 24 games this season.

• Georgia junior right-hander Kolten Smith (3-2) went 2.2 innings and allowed five runs on six hits with four strikeouts in a loss. Following a 50-minute delay due a bank of lights going out in the bottom of the third, Georgia looked to Zach Harris as he was the first of five relievers to see action.

Key Quotes

Ike Cousins Head Baseball Coach Wes Johnson

On the game

“We had opportunities after opportunities after opportunities, and we have to be able to move the baseball. All Vanderbilt has done all weekend is get to two strikes and moved the baseball. We can talk about exit velocity on their hits, but it doesn’t matter. They got them, and we haven’t. We’ve struck out. Then, you look at our pitchers, we’ve had some hitters 0-2 and throw the ball down the middle. You look at last weekend, and when things are going right, we’re executing, we’re fouling off pitches, we’re attacking the strike zone. We’re not going to make excuses. We have to wake up Saturday and play baseball. We have to be ready to go, and we weren’t here tonight.”

Box Score

Up Next

The Vanderbilt series concludes Saturday with first pitch at 3:02 p.m. EDT, and it has been picked up by the SEC Network.

WTEN: Georgia Sweeps Tennessee in the 2025 SEC Tournament Quarterfinals

AUBURN, Ala. — The No. 2 ranked and 2-seeded Georgia women’s tennis team (21-3, 13-2 SEC) returned to winning ways with a 4-0 sweep over No. 10-ranked and 7-seeded Tennessee (17-7, 10-5 SEC) in the 2025 SEC Tournament quarterfinal at the Yarbrough Tennis Center on Friday.

Fast Facts

• The Bulldogs have now advanced to their sixth consecutive SEC Tournament semifinal, dating back to the 2019 season (the 2020 SEC Tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19).
• Georgia now leads the all-time series 58-9 against Tennessee, winning each of the last 19 meetings.
• The Bulldogs are victorious against the Lady Volunteers for the fifth consecutive SEC Tournament, with three coming via sweep, including 2021 and 2024.
• Georgia opened the afternoon with the doubles point. The #74 tandem of Guillermina Grant and Anastasiia Lopata struck first with a 6-0 win over Elza Tomase and Saray Yli-Piipari on court two. After a Tennessee win on court three, #2 Dasha Vidmanova and Mell Reasco knocked off #26 Catherine Aulia and Leyla Britez Risso, 6-4, on court one to secure the doubles point for Georgia.
• In singles, #22 Lopata doubles the Bulldogs’ lead after knocking off #42 Aulia, 6-1, 6-1, on court two.
• Across the courts, #85 Grant produced a strong performance as she defeated Yli-Piipari, 6-3, 6-3, on court five to put Georgia one point away from the win.
• Within seconds, Sofia Rojas secured the clinch and the sweep for Georgia, taking down Maeve Thornton, 6-4, 6-1, on court six to send the Bulldogs to the semifinal.

Results
Doubles:
1. #2 Dasha Vidmanova/Mell Reasco (UGA) def. #26 Catherine Aulia/Leyla Britez Risso (TENN) 6-4
2. #74 Guillermina Grant/Anastasiia Lopata (UGA) def. Elza Tomase/Saray Yli-Piipari (TENN) 6-0
3. Vanesa Suarez/Maeve Thornton (TENN) def. Aysegul Mert/Hayden Mulberry (UGA) 6-1

Singles:
1. #1 Dasha Vidmanova (UGA) vs. #7 Elza Tomase (TENN) 4-6, 3-1, unfinished
2. #22 Anastasiia Lopata (UGA) def. #42 Catherine Aulia (TENN) 6-1, 6-1
3. Mell Reasco (UGA) vs. #70 Leyla Britez Risso (TENN) 6-3, 4-2, unfinished
4. #54 Aysegul Mert (UGA) vs. Vanesa Suarez (TENN) 6-0, 6-6, unfinished
5. #85 Guillermina Grant (UGA) def. Saray Yli-Piipari (TENN) 6-3, 6-3
6. Sofia Rojas (UGA) def. Maeve Thornton (TENN) 6-4, 6-1

Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (2,5,6)

Up Next
The Bulldogs will prepare for the SEC semifinal round, where they will face No. 5-ranked and 3-seeded Oklahoma on Saturday, April 19, at 1 p.m. ET at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.

Match 25 – No. 2 (2-seed) Georgia vs No. 5 (3-seed) Oklahoma (SEC Semifinal)
Date: Saturday, April 19, 2025
Time: 1 p.m. ET
Location: Auburn, Ala.
Site: Yarbrough Tennis Center
Live Video:https://gado.gs/d1v
Live Stats:https://gado.gs/d26

SB: Georgia Defeats Ole Miss to Even Series

SOFTBALL | vs. No. 17 OLE MISS | W, 6-4
   Winning pitcher: Lilli Backes (12-7)
   Losing Pitcher: Aliyah Binford (8-2)

Season Record: 28-16, 6-13 SEC

The 23^rd-ranked Georgia Bulldogs evened its series against No. 17 Ole Miss on Friday evening with a 6-4 victory at Jack Turner Stadium.

Georgia improves to 28-16 on the season and 6-13 in SEC play.

FAST FACTS

• Lyndi Rae Davis and Sarah Gordon each went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Gordon knocked her ninth home run of the season to move back into a tie for the team lead with Jaydyn Goodwin.
• Freshman Esther White hit her fourth home run, a three-run shot off the video board in right, to put Georgia ahead 3-0 in the second.
• After Ole Miss tied the game in the top of the fourth at 4-all, a Tyler Ellison sac fly and a Davis RBI hit put the Dawgs back in front and proved the difference makers in the game, 6-4.
• Lilli Backes pitched the complete game, allowing four runs on seven hits. She struck out five and walked just one. She closed out the game, retiring six straight Rebel batters en route to her 12^th win of the season.

Video Highlights

KEY QUOTES
Head Coach Tony Baldwin
On the team’s overall performance today…
“I’m just really proud of the resilience, the way that we’re playing for each other and sticking together, and when it’s hard, that’s when you need each other the most. And that’s what’s great about softball: it’s a team sport. No one carries the burden on one player or one side of the ball. We’re all in this together, and today I’m just really proud of the way that we fought until the end. Couldn’t be more proud of the way Lilli [Backes] was so resilient and closed out the game with her best two innings of the game – six up, six down in a tight game. I’m just really proud of the way she competed, and I thought we strung together a lot of good at-bats.”

UP NEXT
Georgia and Ole Miss will decide the weekend series on Saturday at 12 p.m. The series finale will air on SEC Network. Seniors Lilli Backes, Lyndi Rae Davis, Rachel Gibson, and Dallis Goodnight will be honored before the game as part of senior day.   

BSB: Kolby Branch Selected for the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List

Georgia’s Kolby Branch has been selected for the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List, the College Baseball Foundation (CBF) announced Friday.

The Wallace Award honors the nation’s top shortstop and will be presented by the CBF later this year. It is named for the former Texas Tech shortstop, who played for the Red Raiders from 1977-80. Wallace died of leukemia at the age of 27.

Branch, a 5-11, 190-pound junior from Lucas, Texas, has started all 40 games for the fifth-ranked Bulldogs. He is batting .314 with eight home runs and 24 RBI while fielding .978 in 139 total chances. Earlier this season, he tied a school record with two home runs in an inning, including the seventh grand slam of his career.

Currently, Georgia (33-7, 10-6 SEC) is in Nashville for a Southeastern Conference series against 19^th-ranked Vanderbilt (28-10, 9-7 SEC). Game two of the series is set for 7:02 p.m. (SECN+) and will be available on the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.

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